Leadership and Religious Violence in Africa: Insight from Nigeria and Implications for Sustainable Development

Abstract

The paper interrogates leadership and religious violence in Africa with insights from Nigeria and implications for sustainable development. Religious violence has done untold violence to Nigeria’s human, physical, political, fiscal, social and natural capital needed for sustainable development. It has also caused vulnerabilities, climate of fear and insecurity, capital flight, disinvestment and underdevelopment. Adopting a library research, critical review method, the paper establishes a nexus between leadership and religious violence in Nigeria and locates the genesis of religious violence in Nigeria to the rulership of the British colonial masters exacerbated by post independence poor leadership and bad governance. The paper, in the main, recommends evolutionary strategies such as effective leadership and good governance, religious education, western education, ethical reorientation, poverty eradication and Sovereign National Conference (SNC), interface of Christianity, Islam and Africa Traditional Religion (ATR) peace building and creation of Ministry of Northern Affairs.

Keywords: Ethno-religious, violence, Christianity, Islam, Religion, Boko-Haram