There is a major problem affecting Nigeria and every Nigerian and those that have had the oppurtunity to stay with Nigerians from different tribes would understand. This problem is the issue of Tribalism.
This issue has eaten very deep into the Nigerian system that it is ranked on the same level as corruption or even greater. It is quite sad that after fifty-six years of independence, we still have not gotten over this issue.
Expressions like and I quote "Na Igbo people, they too like money, Na Yoruba people, they too dey smell" and so on and so forth are quite common words you hear from the mouth of Nigerians. Let me share a personal experience of what I witnessed in Nigeria.
Sometime last week, I was travelling from Benin to Lagos and I boarded one of those inter state travelling buses and I had this guy sitting behind me who had a low battery so he asked me to pass his phone to another guy that was sitting in the front close to the driver so that the guy can help him charge his phone using the in car charger. I did as I was told but the guy at the front told me that he was using the charger to charge his phone. I passed the information back to the guy and what happened next surprised me.
The next thing I heard was " Na Igbo people, they too greedy, even if him battery don full, e no go still allow me charge" The guy was saying that the man sitting at the front is Igbo and that Igbo people are greedy and even if his phone was full, he still won't allow him charge. This guy said this to me and was waiting for me to say something to support him or contradict him which is quite common in Nigeria when you having a discussion or argument but I kept quiet because I have learnt from past experience that you don't respond to everything.
Throughout the rest of the Journey, I could not stop thinking of what the guy said. How did he know that the guy sitting at the front was Igbo? Have they met before for him to know he was Igbo or was he judging from physical appearance? How certain was he that the guy s battery was full and he did not want him to charge? All this and many more was all I could think about throughout the duration of my Journey.
The example above is a classical example of what is wrong in Nigeria. Most times in Nigeria, you are not judged as an individual rather you are judged based on your tribe especially if you do something wrong and this is so wrong. People in Nigeria loose contracts, help and all other stuff just because they are not of the same ethnic group as the person awarding the contract. If a Nigerian finds himself in a public office, Most times, he only helps those that are from the same ethnic group as him. This does not happen all the time but most times .
Another way of breaking the barriers of tribalism is by Marriage but there are some people that have sworn that none of the Children must get married to someone that is not of the same ethnic group and any of their Child that goes against their wishes will be disowned. And we claim we are one Nigeria?? Frankly speaking, I think we are deceiving ourselves because we are just like a pastor that preaches but don't practice what he preaches.
The Igbo s which is my tribe have a strong hatred for the Hausa s and they don't consider the Yoruba s as people which is not right. I have been in a gathering with Igbo people where they say things like " I can never associate myself with Yoruba people". This is quite sad because these people are youths that are well enlightened and educated. In Nigeria we are taught by our parents that "United we stand and divided we fall".
Nigeria as a country is very influenced by the western countries. Nigerians love emulating the western countries.We dress like them, Some of us even speak like them, Hollywood has a big audience in Nigeria, Almost all Nigerian men watch the English primer league and so on and so forth.
Even the western countries know the Importance of Diversity because there is strength in Diversity. I have been opportuned to have studied in the United kingdom and I can happily say that my time there was one of the most enjoyable moments of my life and I really enjoyed my student experience. The reason for this was because of the diversity of the country. I had the opportunity to meet with people from all part of the world and also learnt about the cultures of other people. In the UK, you see people from all part of the world peacefully co-habiting together. I have also been to a marriage ceremony between a black guy and an Asian lady. Things like this strengthens ties among countries and also makes the world a better place. The USA conducts a scheme known as the Visa lottery whereby certain individuals from most countries in the world are randomly selected to come and work and stay in the US permanently. This reason for all of this is because these countries believe in the strength of Diversity.
If Nigeria wants to be great, then Tribalism needs to go. This is the most important thing to do to make this country great like the people we emulate.
Thanks for reading, pls share
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