Marie Michael Library

Ethnic structure, inequality and governance of the public sector in Nigeria

Mustapha, Abdul Raufu

Nigeria has many ethnic groups that are divided into 'majorities' and 'minorities'. There are three major ethnic groups: the Hausa-Fulani of the north, the Yoruba of the southwest, and the Igbo of the southeast. The dominance of the national population by the three majority groups was emphasized by the tripodal regional administrative structure of the 1950s. From this structure, Nigeria created a tripolar ethnic structure. This paper explores the consequences of this structure for the management of inter-ethnic relations, particularly within the public sector.