SUMMARY

Tiv is a Christian ethno-linguistic group that number some 5,6 million. The group is settled mainly in Nigeria, but also in Cameroon. In Nigeria, it is the fifth largest ethnic group. They are prosperous subsistence farmers and traders who grow yams, millet and sorghum. In addition to their farming they raise small livestock and cattle.

In Nigeria, Tiv live in the Muslim-dominated central-eastern parts of the country. They have been in conflict with rivalling ethnicities on a number of occasions. At the heart of many of the historical conflicts that Tiv have been involved in lies the issue of minority/majority relationships between ethnicities, and subsequently who is to control the towns, villages or states in which these ethnicities reside. This is a by-product from colonial times, when the British colonizers arbitrarily merged different ethnicities and created artificial hierarchies between different ethnic groups. It was these types of situations that lead to violent clashes involving Tiv in 1959, 1960 and 1964. Since these conflicts were not resolved in terms of the underlying incompatibility they surfaced again in the 1990s and 2000s.

Aside from the land question, religion also complicates Tiv’s relation with most of their neighbours. Tiv tried to mitigate these potential problems by administering their own affairs, a move that was forcefully blocked by a coalition of northern Muslim-based political parties. It should be noted that while the religious divide has been a complicating factor, the main focus of the conflict is the land issues. However, since many clashes have been fought along religious lines there has been a risk of escalation and involvement of other groups in northern Nigeria.

Regarding leadership Tiv have not had any clear leader concerning the violence they have been involved in.

Tiv has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.