Secularism in Nigeria: An Assessment

Secularism is not the absence of religions in the state. Rather, it is the absence of a state sponsored religion where everyone will be made to choose a religion of their choice. People are free to follow which religious tenets they like without any fear, intimidation, victimization or favour. The central and state administrations are managed in such a way that no one is victimized because of his/her religious profession. The Nigerian 1999 constitution states in article 15(2) of chapter two that, ―National Integration shall be actively encouraged, whilst discrimination on the grounds of place of origin, sex, religion, status, ethnic or linguistic association or ties shall be prohibited‖. But is the spirit of the constitution adhered to in terms of its secularism as expected? This and other issues are what this paper intends to investigate that constitutes as obstacles to secularism in Nigeria

Traditional Settlement of Dispute amongst Ikwerre Ethnic Nationality in Rivers State, Nigeria: An Appraisal

Traditional Settlement of Dispute is the search for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as against the conventional peaceful methods of settling disputes and resolving conflict situations using the least expensive method without much acrimony. This system of resolving disputes has been the African traditional way of resolving conflicts in Nigeria, the sub-saharan societies and the entire Africa before the advent of European colonialism. The system therefore is a time tested exercise with many variations as one moves from one linguistic locality to another. Nevertheless, we are going to examine the practice as it is done by the Ikwerre ethnic nationality in Rivers State. Ikwerre ethnic nationality is the most populous ethnic nationality in Rivers State and from where the current Governor, Chibuike Amechi hails