Indigenous-settler relations in urban Nigeria: Olutoyin Samuel Senbor, ‘Ethics, Culture, and Peaceful Co-Existence among Indigenous and Settler Communities in Ketu, Lagos State’, Interculturality, 1, 2, 2026 | settler colonial studies blog

Indigenous-settler relations in urban Nigeria: Olutoyin Samuel Senbor, ‘Ethics, Culture, and Peaceful Co-Existence among Indigenous and Settler Communities in Ketu, Lagos State’, Interculturality, 1, 2, 2026

27Mar26

Abstract: In urban Nigeria, the indigenous and the settler groups meet on a daily, long-lasting basis, challenging the questions of belongingness, recognition, and power. The research explored how ethics and culture influenced peaceful coexistence between indigenous and settler people in Ketu, a multi ethnic neighbourhood in Kosofe Local Government Area in Lagos State. An exploratory qualitative design was employed; the interviews applied were semi-structured (n=8), paired (n=4), and nonparticipant observation in markets and communal settings. A total of twelve participants were chosen purposively to include indigenous residents, settler residents, and community gatekeepers. Thematic analysis showed that in Ketu, coexistence was considerably governed by ethical commonalities like respect, tolerance, hospitality, and common responsibility, which defined the day-to-day interaction and cooperation in economic and religious settings. Nevertheless, coexistence was not equal and unconditional. Authority systems based on indigeneity meant that settlers were limited in their participation in the leadership and decision-making processes, which strengthened the symbolic and practical limits of belonging. The effect of these dynamics was that they created a negotiated form of coexistence that was characterized by moral restraint in place of institutional inclusion as a means of containing peace. The research found that, although in Ketu, civic ethics prevailed in everyday life with peaceful relations, subtle forms of exclusion, which are based on indigeneity, nonetheless dictated the local way of governance and the social hierarchy.

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