Contestations and Ambivalence: 
Religion, Nationalism, and the Politics of 
Belonging in Nigeria

Author: David Idowu

Affiliation: Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University

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Abstract:​

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The nationalist agitations that characterize the modern Nigerian state, many would argue are far from the anti-colonial struggle that resulted in the country’s independence from European colonizers. The state of “nationalisms” in Nigeria currently reflects the deep polarization along religious, ethnic and regional lines and has often been accompanied with violence. This paper explores the ambivalent relationship between religion, nationalism and the politics of belonging in Nigeria, arguing that the current ‘strands’ of nationalism are historically layered and politically constructed phenomena shaped by religion, class, and elite power. Tracing the religio-political foundations of the Nigeria from the nineteenth-century to the postcolonial state, the paper demonstrates how elite actors have instrumentalized religious and ethnic identities to construct competing visions of national belonging. Drawing on postcolonial theory, African political thought, and a wide range of historical sources, the study reveals how these structures continue to fuel inter-group suspicion, exclusion, and violence, including in contemporary crises such as Boko Haram’s insurgency, the farmer-herder conflict, and regional secessionist movements. To address these enduring tensions, the paper proposes a “hermeneutics of citizenship and belonging,” which draws on the ethical thought of Paul Ricouer and Atalia Omer’s multiperspectival approach. This framework calls for a reimagining of Nigerian nationhood as a pluralistic, relational, and justice-oriented project, capable of transforming exclusionary narratives into inclusive solidarities.

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Keywords: Nationalism, Religion, Violence, Belonging, Contestations​

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ISSN 3069-8200