Horizontal Inequality and West Africa’s Worsening Security: Case Studies of Mali and Nigeria

Abstract

Mutual distrust, suspicion, hate, fear of domination and marginalization compel in-group members to enhance their marked identities in order to differentiate themselves from others and mobilise against other groups that are viewed as threats. Groups in this sense include ethnic, religious and professional, and are further categorized in terms of demography into minority and majority groups. Groups accentuating the fear of each other are a recipe for violent conflict in any state. When governments contribute to this dichotomy through giving a group undue advantage at the expense of others, or deliberately deny a group of due benefits, group suspicion and conflict are taken to frightening levels that keep society dangling on the precipice of war. This research examines how Nigeria has fared under such state sponsored horizontal inequality, the impact on politics, cohesion and (in) security, and what could be done to reverse the trend. Ex post facto is adopted as the design for this study considering that the events under analysis have occurred and the researcher cannot manipulate the outcomes, and data was collected from secondary sources. This study concludes among others that promoting horizontal equality in society through governance is an effective means in reversing the negative effects of horizontal inequality.