The eminence of manifold minority groups, to some degree, constitutes an ethno-linguistic barrier in the country and draws a separation between the principally Muslim North and the mainly Christian south.

[6] Some scholars argue that rather than a simple geographic definition, the Middle Belt represents a religious and cultural amalgamation of non-Hausa Christians.

[8]The veteran journalist, Chief Bayo Joseph, Media Consultant and Chairman, Editorial Board of the New Vision, on his own part said: Since amalgamation of 1914, the people of the Middle-Belt have been held under dehumanizing conditions, they are treated as third rated citizen, little or no regard is accorded their culture and tradition, while their so-called masters wallowed in affluence enjoying the best of everything to the detriment of the Middle-Belter...

[10]The definition of the Middle Belt areas are subject to great debate due to the presence of significant number of ethnic Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri and Igbo groups .

[13][14][15] Minorities in Nigeria tend to be dominated by the three largest ethnic groups, the Hausa of the North, the Yoruba of the Southwest and the Igbo of the Southeast.

Surrounded by divergent religious, economic, and cultural histories, the Middle Belt has been the melting pot where small and large ethno-religious groups in Nigeria have long coexisted, but where they have also increasingly collided over land, resources, identity and political power.