The Changing Nature and Patterns of Inter-Group Relations in North Central Nigeria, 1960- 2010

The southern fringe of the former Northern Region and the northern fringe of the former Western and Eastern Regions are referred to as Central Nigeria. This region has metamorphosed severally both in name and geographical expanse. Before now, it is called Middle Belt, covering all the areas northern minorities live. But today the geographical scope has been reduced in size and the region called Middle Region or more appropriately, North Central Nigeria with the geographical space limited to Benue, Kaduna (southern Kaduna), Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Tar aba and FCT. North Central Nigeria area has for centuries been a melting pot for many peoples and cultures. Its strategic location of the area, being sand-wiched between the forest in the south and the open savannah to the north, is significant in several respects. The region lies mid-way between two geographical zones, being a transition from the forest to the wide open grassland vegetation. This accords it the advantage of being in contact with both zones: with societies of the forest in the south and the people of the open savannah to the north. For centuries people have criss-crossed the region from all directions. The zone is home to nearly all the ethnic groups in the country. The ethnic diversity in this region means the diversity of custom, cultural and religious practices. Until the decades of the 1980s North Central Nigeria was known for its peaceful and accommodative nature. As liberal democratic institutions were established, this admixture, which was once the pride of the region became the major source of its seemingly unending problems. This paper focused on the changing nature of this relationship of peaceful coexistence to conflictual existence; what went wrong? In the opinion of this paper, there is failure of successive leadership to construct a united, strong and self-reliant nation.