Nigeria

A man uses his phone to document the electoral process; Description: In the hands of Nigerian citizens, cell phones and other mobile devices played a significant role during the 2010 elections in Nigeria (Courtesy: Ford Foundation)

A man uses his phone to document the electoral process; Description: In the hands of Nigerian citizens, cell phones and other mobile devices played a significant role during the 2010 elections in Nigeria (Courtesy: Ford Foundation)

Nigeria is a country that is oil-rich but accountability poor. This is partially due to a lack of infrastructure (only about 10 percent of Nigerian roads are paved), low levels of Internet access and epileptic power and energy supply upon which service delivery and social accountability systems rely on.  This lack of infrastructure hiders people’s daily lives and opportunities, but also prevents them from being able to demand better services, and over time, it undermines their confidence that they can make demands at all.

Since its independence in 1960, Nigeria has struggled to unite its many peoples, ethnic groups, and religious groups under one national identify. Ethno-religious tensions in Nigeria are complex, fluid and a defining characteristic of the Nigerian political society.  The Nigerian political situation exemplifies the possible negative effects on societal problems when ethnic and religious affiliations are used to attain political goals or power.  The experience of many Nigerian groups displays that when minorities compete for power and influence, their tensions can develop an ethnic or religious character and quickly escalate to violent conflict.