Abstract
Ethnoreligious hate speech is the precursor to political violence in Nigeria’s fourth republic. While it is true that one of the greatest benefits of democratic societies is freedom of speech, still no one should be allowed under the disguise of exercising the right to free speech to offend, humiliate and demean another human being. In Nigeria, hate speech has been elevated to the status of political campaign strategy and it accounts for the escalation of political violence in Nigeria’s fourth republic. Therefore, this study explored the impact of ethno-religious hate speech on political violence in Nigeria’s fourth public. A descriptive method was adopted and data was collected via a survey of 600 electorates in South-South zone of Nigeria. The study found that there is a positive and significant relationship between Ethno-religious hate speech and political violence in Nigeria’s fourth republic. This paper recommends among others that political campaign in Nigeria should focus on the implementation of the critical national issues such as economic, political, social, cultural, educational, and healthcare services rather than attack on political opponents or mobilization of ethnic, religious, and regional sentiments.
Highlights
Ethno-religious hate speech in Nigeria’s fourth republic has been characterized by violent outbursts by public officials, academia, and is demonstrated in several exchanges on the streets, online forums, and in sectarian print media in different parts of the country
Nigeria’s history, its diversity and political landscape makes it susceptible to ethnic and religious intolerance, which feeds into hate speech
This study examined the relationship between ethno-religious hate speech and political violence in Nigeria’s fourth republic
Summary
Ethno-religious hate speech in Nigeria’s fourth republic has been characterized by violent outbursts by public officials, academia, and is demonstrated in several exchanges on the streets, online forums, and in sectarian print media in different parts of the country. С. 106–120 orientations, cultural practices, religious beliefs, and linguistics. These differences have been a source of tension beginning from the colonial era under British rule (Joel, 2013). Its current manifestations are rapidly dividing the country into pockets of religious and ethnic cleavages. One of the main caveats of modern democratic societies everywhere in the world is the right to free speech. This means that people are inherently entitled to expressing their opinions regarding all aspects of life. As the waves of hateful, demeaning, and dehumanizing messages against particular individuals, or groups of individuals on the grounds of their political affiliation, religious conviction, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, etc., intensity and expand in proportion to the human race, it becomes highly debatable whether hate speech should be considered as freedom of speech
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