Tin Ore Mining, Migration and Conflicts in Plateau State, Nigeria: The Nexus
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67487/gjmret.v2i5.311Keywords:
Tin Ore, Mining, Migration, Conflict, Plateau State, Indigenous Groups, Hausa/FulaniAbstract
The discovery of tin ore in the Plateau area, Nigeria, in commercial quantity during the pre-colonial period led to the gradual migration of people from other parts of the country and beyond to the area for a better life. This development led to interactions between the British bourgeoisie and the Nigerian proletariat in the environment. While the interactions between the British capitalist and the labourers during the period was about tin mining, wages and the welfare of the workers in the mines, the interactions among the indigenes and the Hausa/Fulani settlers were suspicious, toxic; thereby leading to violent conflict after the value of tin ore plummeted in the 1980s. This paper examines the contribution of tin ore mining and migration to the incubation and spread of violent conflicts in Plateau State. It argues that the complexity of these conflicts is exacerbated by factors such as competition for scarce resources, ethnicity, religion and struggle for economic dominance. These factors have made conflict resolution blurred and challenging in the environment. It concludes that these conflict drivers have made peaceful co-existence difficult, having stratified the area into segregated environments in educational, religious, residential and social engagement.
References
Mangvwat, Y. M., 77, Oral Interview, Rayfield, Jos, Jos North LGA, Plateau State, Nigeria. 17/08/2023.
Bach, D. C. 1989. “Managing Plural Society: The Boomerang Effects of Nigerian Federalism”, Journal of Commonwealth and Comprehensive Politics, Vol. 27, (2). pp. 218-295.
Best, S. G. 2007. Conflict and Peace Building in Plateau State, Nigeria, Spectrum Books Ltd, Ibadan.
Coser, L. A. 1956. The Function of Social Conflict, Free Press, New York
Deng, F. M. 2011. “Anatomy of Conflicts in Africa”, in Vande Goor, et al, edited, Between Development and Destruction: An Inquiry into the causes of Conflicts in Pre-Colonial States, Macmillan Press Ltd, London.
Dougherty, J. E. and Pfattzgraff, R. L. 1990. Contending Theories of International Relations: A Comprehensive Survey, 3rd Edition, Harper Collins Publishers, New York.
Eliagwu, J. I. and Akindele, R. 1996. Foundation of Nigerian Federalism, 1960-1995, (eds), Abuja, National Council on Inter-Government Relations, Nigeria, Vol. 3. P. 226.
Fell, D. 1939. “Tin Mining in Nigeria”, Foreign Affairs, 1st April. pp. 246-258.
Freund, B. 1980. Capital and Labour in the Nigerian Tin Mines, Humanities Press, New Jersey.
Goten, C. T. 2004. “The Social Context of Ethno-Religious Conflicts in Plateau State”, in Ityavyar, D. and Gundu, Z. Muslim/Christian Dialogue on Peace in Jos, Edited, International Centre for Gender and Social Research (INTER-GENDER), Jos, December.
Human Rights Watch. 2005. “Revenge in the Name of Religion: The Cycle of Violence in Plateau and Kano State”, Vol.17 (8), May. pp. 2-5
International Organization for Migration: www.homeaffairs.ec.europa.eu/what is migration.
Newswatch Magazine, 2010. “Jos Erupt in Violence Again”, 23th January. Available at www.newswatchnigeria.com. Accessed 18/06/2025.
Nguvugher, C. D. 2014. “Istanbul and Jerusalem in Jos, Nigeria”, SWEM Journal of Religion and Philosophy, Benue State University, Makurdi, December, Vol. 2.
Nigerian Geological Survey Agency- (types of tin ore in Nigeria). www.ngsa.gov.ng.
Nwagwu, E. J. 2016. “Indigenes and Settlers Conflict in Nigeria: A Negation of National Integration and Nation-Building”, Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, Rome, MSSER Publishers, Vol. 7. (4). pp. 218-227.
Plateau Indigenous Development Association Network (PIDAN). 2010. The History, Ownership, Establishment of Jos and Misconception About the Recurrent, Jos, DAN-SIL Press, Vol.1 No.1. p. 6.
Plotnicov, L. 1971. “An Early Nigerian Disturbances: The 1945 Hausa-Ibo Riot in Jos”, Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 9. No.2. p. 297.
Raimi, L. 2019. “Poverty, Monetization of Conflict and Security in the Niger Delta Region”, International Journal of Operational Research in Management, Social Sciences and Education (JORMSSE), V3. (2). pp. 45-51.
Sayne, A. 2012. “Rethinking Nigerian Indigene/Settler Conflicts”, United States Institute of Peace, Washington DC, Special Report, Vol. 311. pp. 1-10.
Sha, D. P. 2005. The Politicization of Settler-Native Identities and Ethno-Religious Conflicts in Jos, North Central, Sterling Harden Publishers Ltd, Ibadan.
Sterba, J. P. 1982. “A Marxist Dilemma for Social Contract Theory”, American Philosophical Quarterly, University of Illinois Press, Illinois, Vol. 19. No. 1. January. 51-59.
Tanko, P. S. 2017. Understanding, Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution, 2nd Edition, Graphic Publisher, Jos.
Usman, B. 1989. The Manipulation of Religion in Nigeria, 1977-1987, Kaduna, Vanguard Printers and Publishers.
www.britanica.com – (what is tin ore).
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Author
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
