Effect of Ethnic Conflict on the Information Sharing and Socio-Economic Development in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Nigeria

The study sought to investigate the effect of ethnic conflict on the information sharing and sociocultural development in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, the study had one research question, and one hypothesis respondents were eighty-five, comprising thirty-five people from Bassa ethnic community and fifty people from Egbura ethnic community. Five rating scale structured questionnaire was used for data collection using face to face method. Eightyfive copies of the questionnaire were properly filledand returned for use. Data collected were coded using Statistical Packages of Social Sciences (SPSS). The bio-data of the respondents were analyzed using frequency and percentages. Research questions were answered with mean and standard deviation, and the null hypothesis was tested using chi-square because it is the suitable tool used in testing effect in the research study. In answering research questions, items with a mean score of 3.0 and above were considered agree, and less than 2.5 disagree. In testing null hypotheses, if the probability value is equal to or greater than 0.05, the null hypothesis was retained. On the other hand, if the probability value is less than 0.05, the null hypothesis was rejected. The findings of the study revealed that ethnic conflict negatively affects the sociocultural stability and peaceful relation between Bassa and Egbura communities. This resulted in cases of possession of illegal arms and weapons among the members of the conflicting tribes resulting in an increased rate of crime, tension, and state of insecurity; thwarted commercial activities in the area; increased lawlessness and social vices; high level of distrust among members of conflicting communities; and increase in internally displaced persons. The government and other stakeholders in Bassa and Egbura ethnic communities should design policies that will embrace, capture and respect everybody's opinion and ensure equality in the distribution of the available social amenities and other infrastructures.