Middle Belt
The Middle Belt refers to the central region of Nigeria, encompassing a transitional zone between the predominantly Hausa-Fulani north and the Yoruba- and Igbo-dominated south, characterized by its exceptional ethnic and linguistic diversity with hundreds of distinct groups such as the Tiv, Berom, and Idoma.[1][2] This area, often including states like Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, and parts of Taraba and Niger, features varied topography from savannas to plateaus and has historical significance as the cradle of the ancient Nok culture, one of Africa's earliest iron-working societies dating back to around 1500 BCE.[2] The defining political feature of the Middle Belt is the autonomy movement that crystallized in the 1940s and 1950s, driven by minority ethnic groups resisting assimilation into the Hausa-Fulani dominated Northern Region under colonial and post-independence structures, advocating instead for separate administrative recognition to protect cultural and religious identities, many of which blend Christianity, Islam, and traditional beliefs.[2][3] Despite achieving partial state creations post-1960, the region continues to grapple with internal divisions and external manipulations that undermine unified action.[3] A persistent controversy defining the Middle Belt involves escalating farmer-herder conflicts, primarily pitting indigenous sedentary farmers against nomadic Fulani pastoralists over shrinking arable land and water resources, intensified by southward migration due to northern desertification and population growth, resulting in thousands of deaths and over 2 million displacements since 2018.[4][5][6] These clashes, concentrated in North Central states, exhibit patterns of targeted violence against farming communities, with empirical data indicating disproportionate casualties among non-Fulani groups, though official narratives often emphasize environmental factors while underreporting ethnic and religious dimensions amid institutional reluctance to confront underlying power asymmetries.[7][8]Definition and Geography
Geographical Scope and Boundaries
The Middle Belt designates a longitudinal region in central Nigeria, extending approximately from the western border with Benin Republic near longitude 3°E to the eastern border with Cameroon near longitude 14°E, primarily between latitudes 7°N and 11°N. This area functions as a transitional ecological and cultural zone between the arid Sahelian savannas of the north and the humid rainforests of the south, encompassing the Guinea savanna vegetation belt characterized by wooded grasslands and scattered trees.[9][10] Geographically, the region's boundaries are not formally delineated by Nigerian law or administrative divisions but are conceptualized based on ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity, distinguishing it from the Hausa-Fulani dominated core North and the Yoruba-Igbo influenced South. It roughly aligns with the southern portions of the former Northern Region established during British colonial rule, spanning savanna landscapes prone to seasonal flooding from rivers like the Niger and Benue. Definitions vary, with some sources limiting it to the North Central geopolitical zone while others extend it to include southern fringes of northeastern and northwestern states where non-Hausa-Fulani ethnic groups predominate.[11][12][13] This ambiguity in boundaries reflects ongoing debates over identity and resource control, as the Middle Belt lacks a unified administrative status and its scope often expands or contracts based on political advocacy by ethnic minorities seeking separation from northern hegemony. Empirical mappings, such as those highlighting conflict zones, depict it as a band bisecting the country, with approximate northern limits near the 11th parallel where Sudanic savanna transitions begin and southern edges abutting derived savanna at around 7°N.[14][15]Constituent States and Territories
The Middle Belt lacks a formally delineated set of constituent states under Nigerian federal law, as it represents a socio-ethnic rather than an administrative construct, primarily encompassing territories inhabited by non-Hausa-Fulani ethnic groups transitioning between the predominantly Muslim northern savanna and the southern rainforests.[9] Definitions vary, but scholarly and advocacy sources consistently identify core states within Nigeria's North Central geopolitical zone—Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT, Abuja)—as foundational, with these areas featuring diverse agrarian populations such as the Tiv, Idoma, Ebira, Igala, Nupe, Gbagyi, and Berom, who practice Christianity or traditional religions and have historically resisted northern Islamic emirates.[13] [16] Extended definitions, drawing from pre-colonial and colonial administrative histories like the former Northern Region's minority blocks, incorporate Adamawa and Taraba states (carved from the old Gongola State in 1991) due to their concentration of Middle Belt ethnicities including the Chamba, Jukun, and Mumuye, which align culturally and ecologically with the core zone despite falling under the North East geopolitical classification.[17] Southern portions of neighboring states such as Kaduna, Bauchi, and Gombe are occasionally included for similar ethnic reasons, though these remain contested and not universally accepted, reflecting ongoing debates over identity versus administrative boundaries.[16]| State/Territory | Key Ethnic Groups | Approximate Area (km²) | Population (2022 est.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benue | Tiv, Idoma, Igede | 34,059 | 6,000,000 | Predominantly Christian; major agricultural hub with recurrent herder-farmer conflicts.[13] |
| Kogi | Ebira, Igala, Okun | 29,833 | 5,000,000 | Confluence of Niger and Benue rivers; mixed Muslim-Christian demographics.[9] |
| Kwara | Nupe, Bariba, Yoruba subgroups | 36,825 | 4,200,000 | Borders Yoruba south; includes Ilorin emirate with partial Hausa influence.[13] |
| Nasarawa | Eggon, Gwandara, Mada | 27,117 | 2,600,000 | Formed from Plateau in 1996; mineral-rich with diverse hill tribes.[18] |
| Niger | Gbagyi, Nupe, Gwari | 76,363 | 6,200,000 | Largest by area; savanna transitioning to north, with significant non-Muslim majorities in southern districts.[13] |
| Plateau | Berom, Afizere, Tarok | 30,913 | 4,300,000 | Tin mining center; highland ecology fostering ethnic pluralism and violence hotspots like Jos.[19] |
| FCT (Abuja) | Gbagyi, Gwandara | 7,315 | 3,800,000 | Federal capital carved from Niger in 1976; urbanized with displaced indigenous communities.[18] |
| Adamawa (extended) | Chamba, Bata, Higgi | 36,692 | 4,200,000 | Includes non-Fulani savanna groups; disputed inclusion due to North East zoning.[17] |
| Taraba (extended) | Jukun, Kuteb, Mumuye | 54,473 | 3,500,000 | Riverine and highland mix; ethnic militias active in autonomy claims.[9] |
Historical Development
Pre-Colonial Ethnic Configurations
The pre-colonial Middle Belt region of central Nigeria hosted a mosaic of over 100 distinct ethnic groups, characterized by linguistic diversity within the Niger-Congo and Afro-Asiatic families, and political organizations ranging from acephalous village clusters to loose confederacies and nascent kingdoms. These societies, primarily agrarian and reliant on ironworking, fishing, and trade, occupied savanna and riverine zones between the Niger and Benue rivers, with smaller groups in the Jos Plateau's hilly terrains. Unlike the expansive caliphates of the north or city-states of the southwest, Middle Belt configurations emphasized localized autonomy, kinship-based governance, and defensive hilltop or riverine settlements to counter raids from Hausa or Bornu expansions.[20][1] In the Benue Valley, the Tiv, a Benue-Congo-speaking group, expanded through migrations originating from the Cameroon highlands around the 15th century, establishing segmentary lineage systems that prioritized territorial control via fissioning clans rather than centralized authority. Their oral traditions recount southward movements driven by population pressures and conflicts, leading to dominance in present-day southern Taraba and Benue areas by the 18th century. Adjacent Idoma groups, also Benue-Congo speakers, maintained similar decentralized structures, with origins traced to the multi-ethnic Kwararafa sphere, fostering inter-village alliances for farming and defense.[21][22] Further north and west, the Kwararafa confederacy, led by Jukun elites from approximately the mid-13th to late 18th centuries, represented one of the region's more structured entities, encompassing Jukun, Igala, and Idoma subgroups in a loose alliance that projected power toward Hausa bakwai states and Kanem-Bornu, often through cavalry raids and tribute extraction. To the west along the middle Niger, the Nupe kingdom coalesced in the mid-15th century under Edegi (Tsoede), who unified disparate riverine clans into a monarchy with ranked officials, controlling dye pits, iron production, and canoe-based trade networks extending to Yoruba territories.[22][23] The Igala kingdom, centered at Idah north of the Niger-Benue confluence, developed by the 16th century as a theocratic state under divine Attah rulers, with elaborate courts and taboos enforcing hierarchy; its military prowess, relying on poisoned arrows and canoes, secured influence over eastern trade routes and resisted Benin incursions. On the Plateau, groups like the Berom and Ngas formed hill-based chiefdoms for strategic defense, specializing in tin extraction and millet cultivation amid frequent skirmishes. These configurations facilitated commodity exchanges—such as Nupe cloth for Tiv yams—but also periodic conflicts over fertile floodplains, shaping a resilient patchwork resistant to full incorporation into northern Islamic polities until the 19th-century Fulani jihads.[24][25][26]Colonial Era and Administrative Divisions
The British conquest of Northern Nigeria began in 1900 following the defeat of the Sokoto Caliphate, establishing the Northern Nigeria Protectorate under Frederick Lugard as High Commissioner.[27] Middle Belt territories, inhabited by non-Islamic ethnic groups such as the Tiv, Idoma, and various Plateau peoples, were incorporated into this protectorate despite lacking the centralized emirate structures prevalent in the Hausa-Fulani north.[20] These areas, often characterized as "pagan" by colonial administrators, fell under provinces including Benue, Plateau, Ilorin, and Kabba, which encompassed diverse, largely acephalous societies resistant to centralized authority.[28] To implement indirect rule, British policy in emirate zones relied on existing Fulani emirs, but in Middle Belt regions, lacking such hierarchies, administrators appointed warrant chiefs or deployed Hausa-Fulani intermediaries as tax collectors and enforcers, a system termed "colonialism by proxy."[20][28] This approach, intended to extend Caliphate-style governance southward, provoked resentment among local populations who viewed the agents as alien overlords imposing Islamic-influenced administration on non-Muslim communities.[20] For instance, in Idoma areas of Benue Province, colonial officials created Native Authority districts such as Otukpo and Ado, eventually formalizing a paramount chieftaincy like the Och'Idoma in the 1940s to consolidate control.[29] Similarly, among the Tiv, resistance delayed full pacification until the early 1920s, after which Native Authorities were established under appointed leaders.[30] The 1914 amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates into the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, orchestrated by Lugard, unified fiscal and railway administration but preserved the Northern Province's dominance over Middle Belt territories, embedding them within a Muslim-majority regional framework.[31] Administrative divisions persisted through provinces subdivided into divisions and districts, with Native Treasuries funding local governance via taxation.[32] This structure reinforced ethnic minorities' subordination, as Middle Belt groups were administered via northern models ill-suited to their segmentary lineages, fostering early identitarian grievances that later fueled autonomy movements.[20] By the 1930s, reforms attempted to adapt indirect rule by recognizing indigenous councils, yet the proxy system endured, prioritizing efficiency over cultural congruence.[29]Post-Independence Political Evolution
Following Nigeria's independence on October 1, 1960, the Middle Belt region, incorporated into the Northern Region under the Northern People's Congress (NPC)-led government dominated by Hausa-Fulani elites, experienced heightened political tensions due to perceived marginalization of its diverse minority ethnic groups. The United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC), advocating for separation from the Northern Region to escape emirate-based governance and Islamic influence, initially allied with southern parties but later merged with the NPC in 1963 amid electoral pressures, though agitations persisted.[33][2] Serious riots erupted in Tivland in 1960 and intensified in 1964, triggered by resistance to tribute payments and demands for autonomy, with UMBC leader Isaac Sha’ahu declaring intent to secede to protect Tiv identity from northern dominance.[33][3] The 1966 military coups and ensuing Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970) marked a pivotal shift, with Middle Belt officers, including Yakubu Gowon—a Christian from the region—playing key roles in federal forces against Biafran secession, leveraging their strategic position to bolster national unity efforts. In May 1967, Gowon's regime restructured Nigeria into 12 states, creating Benue-Plateau State from northern minorities, including core Middle Belt territories like Benue and Plateau Provinces, as a direct response to separatist pressures and to fragment regional power bases amid wartime exigencies.[33][34] This carve-out partially addressed long-standing demands for administrative detachment from Hausa-Fulani control, though it subsumed the area under federal military rule rather than granting full regional status.[35] Subsequent state proliferations under military decrees further delineated Middle Belt polities: Benue-Plateau State was split into Benue and Plateau States in 1976, with additional entities like Nasarawa emerging in 1991, integrating the region into the North Central geopolitical zone while diluting unified autonomy claims. Political movements evolved into forums like the Middle Belt Forum, sustaining advocacy for minority rights and resistance to perceived northern hegemony, evidenced by the 1990 coup attempt led by Major Gideon Orkar, which sought to excise northern states in alliance with southern interests.[3][36] Despite these integrations, ethno-religious fault lines persisted, fueling conflicts such as the 1987 Zangon Kataf clashes and later farmer-herder violence, often framed as extensions of post-independence elite manipulations over land and identity.[3] By the return to civilian rule in 1999, Middle Belt actors had secured representation in national structures, yet demands for a distinct "Middle Belt Republic" or federal restructuring continued to highlight unresolved grievances from the independence era.[2]Political Dynamics
Formation of Political Movements
The Middle Belt movement's political articulation began in the late 1940s amid growing minority grievances in Northern Nigeria, where diverse ethnic groups resisted perceived Hausa-Fulani dominance under the Northern People's Congress (NPC). Initial organizations, such as the Non-Muslim League formed in 1949, emphasized cultural and religious distinctions, particularly non-Islamic identities among Tiv, Idoma, Birom, and other groups, to counter indirect rule's favoritism toward Muslim emirs.[37] These early efforts evolved from cultural unions like the Tiv Native Authority protests in the 1940s, which highlighted administrative marginalization and land disputes, laying groundwork for formalized political action.[35] By 1954, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka, a Tiv educator and activist, established the Middle Belt People's Party to advocate for regional autonomy and equitable representation within the Northern Region.[38] This merged in 1955 with the Middle Belt Zone League to form the United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC), Nigeria's first major party explicitly championing Middle Belt identity, uniting over 100 ethnic minorities against NPC hegemony.[39] Under Tarka's leadership, the UMBC petitioned the 1957 Willink Commission on Minority Rights, demanding a separate Middle Belt state to safeguard non-Muslim interests from Islamic expansion and economic exploitation.[40] The UMBC's formation reflected causal tensions from colonial legacies, including uneven missionary penetration fostering Christian majorities in the region, which clashed with post-World War II nationalist currents favoring regional majorities. Initially allying with the Action Group (AG) for electoral leverage, the party secured seats in the 1959 federal elections but faced internal fissures and NPC suppression, including the 1960 Tiv riots that underscored its mobilization against perceived cultural erasure.[33] Tarka's strategy emphasized federalism to devolve power, influencing subsequent state creations like Benue-Plateau in 1967, though the UMBC dissolved amid the First Republic's collapse in 1966.[11] This period marked the crystallization of Middle Belt politics as a minority rights bulwark, distinct from pan-Northern or Southern alignments.Agitations for Regional Autonomy
The agitations for regional autonomy in the Middle Belt of Nigeria originated in the early 1950s, driven by minority ethnic groups seeking to escape perceived domination by the Hausa-Fulani elites within the Northern Region. Tribal unions evolved into political entities, culminating in the formation of the United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC) in 1955, which explicitly demanded a separate administrative region to safeguard the interests of over 100 diverse ethnic groups against northern majoritarian control.[41][2] The UMBC's platform emphasized federalism with autonomous minority regions, arguing that lumping Middle Belt peoples—predominantly Christian and animist farmers—with the Muslim pastoralist North would perpetuate cultural subjugation and economic exploitation.[42] In response to escalating minority fears, the British colonial administration commissioned the Willink Commission in 1957, which investigated demands for protections and recommended special safeguards for the Middle Belt, including potential autonomy arrangements to prevent domination post-independence.[43] However, these proposals were effectively sidelined by northern political leaders, leading to the Middle Belt's involuntary incorporation into the Northern Region upon Nigeria's independence in 1960, fueling resentment over unaddressed marginalization.[43] The UMBC's alliance with the Action Group in the late 1950s aimed to amplify these calls but dissolved amid internal divisions, yet it laid the groundwork for persistent advocacy against northern hegemony.[44] Post-independence state creations in 1967 and 1976 partially alleviated pressures by carving out Middle Belt states like Benue-Plateau (later split into Benue, Plateau, and others), but activists argued these measures failed to grant true regional cohesion or resource control, as federal structures remained centralized.[45] Organizations such as the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), established in the 1990s, revived demands for a distinct Middle Belt geopolitical zone, rejecting subsumption under the North-Central designation and citing ongoing internal domination, including land grabs and violence from Fulani herders.[46][47] Contemporary agitations intensified in the 2010s and 2020s, with youth groups and coalitions like the MBF reiterating calls for constitutional recognition of the Middle Belt as an autonomous entity with self-rule and resource sovereignty, separate from northern zones.[48][49] In September 2024, Middle Belt leaders demanded implementation of historical commissions' recommendations, including a dedicated region to address marginalization affecting over 80 ethnic groups and to enable equitable development amid farmer-herder conflicts.[43][47] These movements frame autonomy not as secession but as restructuring for causal equity, rooted in ethnic pluralism and historical grievances, though they face resistance from federal authorities prioritizing national unity.[46][45]Integration into National Structures
The creation of Benue-Plateau State in May 1967 marked a pivotal step in integrating Middle Belt territories into Nigeria's federal framework, as General Yakubu Gowon restructured the federation into 12 states to counter ethnic imbalances and secessionist pressures from the Northern Region.[34] This entity encompassed core Middle Belt provinces such as Benue, Plateau, and parts of others, granting ethnic minorities administrative separation from Hausa-Fulani dominated structures and enabling localized governance amid the Nigerian Civil War.[50] Prior agitations by groups like the United Middle Belt Congress had highlighted domination concerns, positioning statehood as a concession to foster loyalty to the federal center rather than full regional autonomy.[2] Subsequent military regimes refined this integration through further subdivisions, with Benue-Plateau split into Benue and Plateau states on February 3, 1976, under General Murtala Muhammed, to address intra-state ethnic tensions and distribute resources more equitably.[51] Additional states like Taraba (from Gongola in 1987) and Nasarawa (from Plateau in 1991) emerged under General Ibrahim Babangida and General Sani Abacha, respectively, expanding Middle Belt representation to nine states by 1996 and aligning the region with Nigeria's 36-state federal model.[34] These divisions facilitated federal revenue allocations based on the derivation principle and population, with Middle Belt states receiving budgetary shares proportional to their derived units, though critics note persistent underfunding relative to oil-rich southern or populous northern counterparts.[52] Politically, integration manifested through Middle Belt participation in national institutions, exemplified by figures like Joseph Tarka, whose advocacy transitioned from separatist demands to federal alliances, securing cabinet roles and influencing policies like the 1979 constitution's federal character principle to mandate ethnic balance in appointments.[35] By the Fourth Republic (1999 onward), Middle Belt governors and senators from parties like the People's Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress held sway in the National Assembly, contributing to legislation on resource control and security, yet ongoing farmer-herder clashes underscore incomplete assimilation, as federal responses often prioritize northern interests.[5] This duality—structural inclusion via states and quotas alongside cultural estrangement—defines the region's federal embedding, with no formal Middle Belt Region ever established despite periodic renewals of autonomy calls.[3]Demographic Profile
Population Estimates and Distribution
The Middle Belt region of Nigeria, often approximated by the North Central geopolitical zone encompassing Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau states, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), lacks a unified official population figure due to definitional variations and reliance on projections from the disputed 2006 census. Recent estimates for these core areas total approximately 32-35 million people as of 2022-2023, with annual growth rates of 2-3% driven by high fertility and migration, potentially reaching 35-38 million by 2025. These figures derive from extrapolations by bodies like the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and international demographers, accounting for underenumeration in prior censuses and internal displacements from conflicts. Broader definitions including peripheral states like Taraba or Adamawa can inflate estimates to 40-45 million, though such inclusions dilute the region's distinct ethnic and geographic coherence.[53]| State/Territory | Estimated Population (2022 Projection) | Area (km²) | Density (people/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benue | 6,141,300 | 30,783 | 199 |
| Kogi | 4,466,800 | 28,989 | 154 |
| Kwara | 3,551,000 | 33,433 | 106 |
| Nasarawa | 2,886,000 | 27,117 | 106 |
| Niger | 6,783,300 | 70,955 | 96 |
| Plateau | 4,700,000 | 30,913 | 152 |
| FCT (Abuja) | 3,067,500 | 7,620 | 403 |