The dichotomy between Muslims and non-Muslims, noticed considerably in
the North-Middle Belt relations may be said to have its roots in the Jihad of
1804. Its negative impact on inter-group relations in Nigeria continues to
linger on. The middle belt region suffered a great deal of depopulation occasioned
by incessant slave raids by the emirates of Sokoto caliphate.
It is informative to mention here that payment of tributes in
form of slaves was part of the obligations of the emirs to the caliph. The non-
Muslim people of the middle-belt were in essence under constant attack as
enslavement of fellow Muslims was forbidden. Noticeable depopulation and
displacement became the lot of these peoples. This is said to be responsible
for the uneasy peace that reigns between the North and Middle Belt regions
of Nigeria today
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