A non-profit organisation, Africa Polling Institute, (API), has scored the Nigeria Social Cohesion Index, NSCI, 39.6 percent with the Nigeria Social Cohesion Survey #SCS2022.
The Institute’s Executive Director, Prof. Bell Ihua, who disclosed this on Thursday, said the API made the survey on the heels of two past editions (2019 and 2021) to compute the Nigeria Social Cohesion Index and measure citizens’ perception on the state of social cohesion.
According to the report, this score remains below the average of 50%, and represents a 4.6% decline from the 2021 index of 44.2 percent; indicating a weakening of the state of cohesion in the country over the last year. The API explained that before presenting the report, the study adopted a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods, with the Citizens Perception Survey (CPS) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) adopted for primary data collection.
The survey reads in part, “A total of 7,245 contacts were contacted, out of which 5,178 interviews were completed, representing a response rate of 71.5%. Overall, the results of the Nigeria Social Cohesion Survey 2022 and the Nigeria Social Cohesion Index, computed with a score of 39.6%, demonstrate a weakening of the state of social cohesiveness in the country; owning to the increasing polarization along ethnic, religious, economic and political fault lines”.
Pointing to the key causes of polarisation, the survey showed that, “more Nigerians consider Ethnicity – (62%); Political affiliation – (60%), and Religion – (57%) as the top three factors that have divided the country today (in 2022) compared to the previous administration”.
However, the API recommended that the Federal Government strengthen existing policies, legislation and institutions, that help to create a sense of belonging, promote trust, foster good governance and provide a conducive atmosphere for citizens to thrive and fulfil their life aspirations.
