Impact of Violent Ethno-Religious Conflicts on Residential Property Value Determination in Jos Metropolis of Northern Nigeria: Regression Analysis Results
16 Pages Posted: 19 Aug 2012
Date Written: August 19, 2012
Abstract
Urban violence in the form of ethnic and religious conflicts/crises and even open warfare have been on the increase in many African cities in the recent years. Observation from literature shows that the role of violent-ethno religious conflicts as a mobilizing agent is among the most important questions of this century as conflicts linked to ethnicity and religion have led to significant destruction life and residential properties. Due to the number of crises in Jos metropolis over the last two decades, there has been a process of residential segregation along religious lines, dividing the city into predominantly Christian and Muslim areas. This research paper, therefore, attempts to examine the impact of violent ethno-religious conflicts on residential property value determination in Jos metropolis of northern Nigeria. Data were collected by interviews, self-administered surveys through questionnaire and direct observation. The stratified random sampling technique was employed in order to generate the data for the research. Simple percentage distribution tables and regression analysis were used to analyze the data for the research. The findings reveal that violent ethno-religious conflicts manifesting as social security (safety) is a function of residential property value determinants in the study area. It has also been established through the findings of this study that the experience in the study area challenges the existing theories of residential property value determinants. The results of the analysis show that there is strong relationship between violent ethno-religious conflicts and people’s choice of where to live and or not to live. This result suggests that policies that encourage social integration, psycho-social healing and psychological transformation could enhance the attainment of peace in the study area. There is also a need on the part of investors and property developers to take security into consideration whenever they want to embark on huge real estate investment to avoid wasting of capital.
Keywords: conflict, ethno-religious violence, impact, residential property, value
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