Citizens,+Society,+and+the+State

Mariah Ketterman
A. Cleavages and Politics Nigeria is the home of over 250 ethnic groups, each with a unique cultural heritage.

Linguistic map of Nigeria displaying the different dialects that are primarily spoken in the different regions of Nigeria. While english is Nigeria's official language, there are over 500 other indigenous languages spoken.

A map of Nigeria displaying the states that have implemented Islamic law into their justice system.This map shows how Nigeria is physically divided by religion between Islam and chrisitanity. 50% of people in Nigeria are muslim, 40% of people in Nigeria are christian and the last 10% of people in Nigeria still follow traditional tribal beliefs.

B.Civil society and social capital
 * Over 70% of the population lives below the poverty line
 * The population of Nigeria is growing at a rate of 1.9%
 * The country also has a positive rate of urbanization
 * Risk of disease is very high, and little is done by the government to improve health care and conditions

C. Media Roles
 * 25.6% of households have television
 * 56% of people in Nigeria have mobile phones
 * 28% of people use the internest
 * 70+ government controlled stations
 * 40+ government controlled radio stations

D. Political Participation Due to the country's imperialist history, Nigeria has suffered from a very polarized society. The country has lacked untiy and common support for the regime, leading to a lack in political participation. The ethnic cleavages have led to deep political divides. Long time military rule has given the people of Nigeria the feeling that political participation and expression will not do much to incite change. There have been very few political protests in Nigeria. The most recent spontaneous protest was in 1998

E. Social Movements
 * Nigerian Development Movement
 * Galvanizing Social Movements
 * "This is an open meeting place where groups and movements of civil society opposed to neo-liberalism and a Nigeria dominated by capital and liberal thinking congregate. It is a space that opposes any form of imperialism, unbridled capitalism, but engaged in building a Nigerian society centred on the human person. Groups propose to debate alternative means to building a Nigeria, which respects universal human rights and those of all men, women, girls and boys, grounded in democratic African and International systems and institutions at the service of social justice, equality and the sovereignty of peoples."
 * NFS (Nigeria Social Forum)
 * Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN)
 * They use Christian ideals to try to encourage people of Nigeria to stand up and ask for change. They speak oiut against the corrupt nature of their government.
 * The Worker's Movement
 * They are unhappy with the rule of the capital elite, feeling that they have been used by them. They work for better conditions for workers, and the ability to have a better life. They feel the ruling capitalist elites plunder their nation's resources while leaving the country poor and underdeveloped.

F. Citizenship and Representation
 * Women are poorly represented, and very rarely participate in politics
 * In general, more people are emigrating than the number of people emigration

ANALYSIS: Nigeria is terribly divided in a lot aspects. I think one of the most strenuous cleavages is the very geographical divide of the Islamic North and the Christian South. I think these tensions are rising even more recently due to the religious and political tensions in the middle east and other nations in Africa. These divides are keeping the Nigerian people from uniting and trying to create change in their country's economic problems. The gap between the rich and poor is so great that I think it would require strong participation and a united front to really be able to create change.

Photos & Info Sites
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