THE DANGER OF ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS PROFILING. LESSONS FROM 1994 RWANDAN GENOCIDE
What Nigeria Must Learn from the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 When Identity Becomes a Weapon History has repeatedly demonstrated that nations do not descend into catastrophic violence overnight. Before the machetes, there are words. Before the mass graves, there is propaganda. Before neighbours become enemies, there is usually a prolonged process of psychological separation—an intentional or politically exploited transformation of “us” and “them.” This is perhaps the most important lesson Nigeria must learn from Rwanda. Between April and July 1994, Rwanda experienced one of the most horrifying episodes of mass violence in modern African history. In approximately 100 days, between 800,000 and one million people were killed, overwhelmingly Tutsi civilians, alongside moderate Hutus who opposed or resisted the extremist campaign. The killings were not spontaneous. They were preceded by years of political manipulation, ethnic polarization, dehumanizing propaganda, militari...