Beating on the Drum of War: The Hausa Fulani Hegemony and Restructuring Agenda in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: It has been argued by sections of the Nigerian state that there exists a grand hegemonic game plan by the Fulani at Islamizing Nigeria. Some have argued the current happenings of rampaging banditry as evidence of the plot in itself. As a result of this, some sections of the country are calling the government of the day to “restructure” Nigeria’s federation into a working “true federal” state or have the country seize to exist altogether.
 Objective: The objective of this paper is to interrogate the reliability of this theory of Islamization and to investigate the questions that have pulled Nigeria to the bricks of war.
 Method: The paper employed qualitative sources and leveraged both academic, grey literature, and newspaper publications as its primary sources.
 Findings: The paper found out that the historical suspicion that has existed amongst the Nigerian people since independence is retrogressive and as such anti cohesion.
 Implications/Originality/Value: The paper recommends that our common problems of basic infrastructure, security, employment opportunities, social investment among others must be adequately addressed if Nigeria is to halt the drumbeats of war. Therefore, the paper concludes that until the major contradictions inherent within the state are properly tackled, the current problems would continue to reappear even if remedial solutions are found today.