Sectarian violence sparked by a deepening rift between Nigeria's Muslims and Christians has killed thousands over the past decade and threatens the future unity of Africa's most populous nation.
Launched April 4, 2011
In 1999, following decades of military dictatorship, Nigeria was returned to civilian rule. But as the heavy hand of authoritarianism was finally lifted to the general relief of a long-suffering nation, resurgent religious divisions boiled over into violent clashes that have killed at least 15,000 Nigerians to date and forced over one million more to flee their homes.
Widely portrayed both at home and internationally as a savage war of ideological extremists – a front-line battle in a global clash of civilizations – the country's sectarian crisis, in truth, has little to do with religion and a lot to do with desperation, ubiquitous poverty, and the increasingly flawed democracy of a failing Nigerian state. Resolution of the conflict will likely determine the future of Africa's most populous nation.
In late March, journalist Joe Bavier and photographer Bénédicte Kurzen traveled to Nigeria to uncover the real causes of the country's sectarian strife and separate the truth from a fiction that only serves to deepen divisions. Reporting during the 2011 general elections – a period of heightened sectarian tensions – their journey will take them from the epicenter of the violence in the Middle Belt region to northern Muslim strongholds and the southern seat of growing Christian economic and political influence: Africa's mega-city, Lagos.
Grantee
Joe Bavier has covered West and Central Africa for the past six years, reporting on armed conflict, famine, and political crises. Until December 2009, he served as Reuters correspondent in...
Grantee
Bénédicte Kurzen is based in Johannesburg. She holds a master’s degree with Excellence in Contemporary History from the Sorbonne, Paris. She also studied semiology for one year, and wrote her final...
Benedicte Kurzen's exploration of the political and religious tensions behind post-election violence in northern Nigeria is featured in The New York Times photography blog Lens.
Visa pour l'Image Perpignan 2012, France's international festival of photojournalism, features Bénédicte Kurzen's photography on Nigerian sectarian strife.
Boko Haram's increasingly coordinated attacks, including the Christmas church bombings and the attack on the U.N. building in Abuja, underscore growing tensions in Nigeria.
Photographer Bénédicte Kurzen documents the aftermath of the Christmas Day attack in Madalla, Nigeria, where the Islamist militant group Boko Haram set off a bomb at a Catholic church.
Pulitzer Center grantee Bénédicte Kurzen talks about Nigeria's worsening sectarian violence and the need for in-depth news coverage that would explain the root causes of this Muslim-Christian strife.
The 2011 general elections exposed Nigeria's deep economic, social and geographical fissures—which led to the worst single outbreak of violence since its independence-era civil war.
After bombing the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria, Boko Haram has gone from being a local nuisance to an international threat.
Pulitzer Center grantee Joe Bavier was featured in a CNN report on Boko Haram's increasingly coordinated terrorist attacks in Nigeria.
Veteran Africa correspondent Joe Bavier explains Boko Haram, the Nigerian terror group responsible for the Christmas Day church bombings.
The government must think hard about how to tackle an Islamist uprising that may have less to do with religion than the rebels claim.
Pulitzer Center grantee Bénédicte Kurzen talks about Nigeria's worsening sectarian violence and the need for in-depth news coverage that would explain the root causes of this Muslim-Christian strife.
The 2011 general elections exposed Nigeria's deep economic, social and geographical fissures—which led to the worst single outbreak of violence since its independence-era civil war.
Nigeria's presidential election in April resulted in massive violence in northern parts of the country by those rejecting the loss by the main presidential challenger, General Muhammadu Buhari.
Benedicte Kurzen's exploration of the political and religious tensions behind post-election violence in northern Nigeria is featured in The New York Times photography blog Lens.
After bombing the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria, Boko Haram has gone from being a local nuisance to an international threat.
Pulitzer Center grantee Joe Bavier was featured in a CNN report on Boko Haram's increasingly coordinated terrorist attacks in Nigeria.
Veteran Africa correspondent Joe Bavier explains Boko Haram, the Nigerian terror group responsible for the Christmas Day church bombings.
The government must think hard about how to tackle an Islamist uprising that may have less to do with religion than the rebels claim.
The Christmas Day church bombings demonstrate that Boko Haram, a radical and violent Islamist movement, is gaining momentum among impoverished Muslims in Nigeria.
Despite the hailed success of Nigeria's elections, sectarian and political violence have rocked the country this month. Nigerians now must learn to live together once again.
In Nigeria's Plateau State, tensions run high after hundreds were killed following last week's presidential election, revealing deep rifts between Christians and Muslims of the region.
Post-election violence in Nigeria is increasing. In a familiar scenario repeated since the end of military rule in 1999, political and religious antagonisms sharpen come election season.
The breakdown of election results continues to reveal prominent divisions between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, and all the while police brutality across Nigeria is exacerbating the situation.
Benedicte Kurzen's exploration of the political and religious tensions behind post-election violence in northern Nigeria is featured in The New York Times photography blog Lens.
Boko Haram's increasingly coordinated attacks, including the Christmas church bombings and the attack on the U.N. building in Abuja, underscore growing tensions in Nigeria.
Photographer Bénédicte Kurzen documents the aftermath of the Christmas Day attack in Madalla, Nigeria, where the Islamist militant group Boko Haram set off a bomb at a Catholic church.
The 2011 general elections exposed Nigeria's deep economic, social and geographical fissures—which led to the worst single outbreak of violence since its independence-era civil war.
The government must think hard about how to tackle an Islamist uprising that may have less to do with religion than the rebels claim.