Ethnic distribution structure in violence-induced segregated urban environments

Abstract

Violence-induced segregation has its own peculiar characteristics and is often not mentioned in the discourse of the subject. Jos has been reported to be segregated along ethno-religious lines but how the current distribution of ethnic groups in the city is different from its previous state is not scientifically clear. This study therefore examines the distribution of ethnic groups in Jos city between two periods: before and after reported segregation. We employed thirty nine purposively selected stakeholders for estimation of the proportion of various ethnic groups across the fourteen wards in the city. The mean scores from descriptive statistics showed an almost uniformly spread structure in the distribution of the five main ethnic groups before segregation but homogenously concentrated groups in different parts of the city thereafter. The wards with high concentration of the Hausa ethnic group largely correspond to those of low concentrations of the natives. The result of Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test shows a statistically significant change and high level of difference in the distribution between the two periods. The residents are hence at the risk of experiencing socio-cultural consequences of residential segregation especially weak inter-ethnic social contacts and its probable consequences.