No citizen of this great country, Nigeria can pretend that ours can be a geopolitical reality without the various ethnic groups. But again we must also admit that Nigerians is one of the major threats to our collective desire to fashion out a great united nation, where justice and fair play reign, and inhabited by patriotic citizens.
Arising from this is the belief that most leaders in this country are confronted daily with the devastating effects of tribalism, yet because tribalism provides the platform for a lot of socio-political gains, and can easily be employed in whipping up sentiments, no attempts are made to purge it of its potential disruptive attributes.
The various governments of this country arguably have been insincere and native and dishonest in giving the monster called tribalism frontal assault. Can you blame them? When late Major-General Aguiyi Ironsi attempted a battle through decree number one of 1966, he was felled almost instantly. Since then equality of States, Federal character, quota system and what have you been craftily employed to get out of naked tribalism?
Nigeria started as three major ethnic entities, namely North (Hausa-Fulani), West (Yorubas) and East (Ibos), practicing for most purposes equality of regions and with Lagos as capital territory. Most analysts agreed that the process of creation of states in this country has been carefully manipulated to utter dismay of the Ibos. Clearly it depicts the use of ethnicity for political gains.
If one may ask, since independence how many people from the ethnic minorities have been appointed into ministerial positions in comparison with the ethnic majorities? Some minority ethnic groups have never produced a Federal Minister. Agreed that democracy puts power in the hands of the majority, but equally a greedy majority will never find rest or true progress unless the aspirations of the minorities are also incorporated into the political discourse of a nation. Our big brothers from the majority tribes certainly have not for one moment failed to use their tribal weapon whenever it was advantageous to do so.
Even in the various sub-regions, it has always been tales of neglect and oppression hence the clamour for creation of States has always been with us. The Governors of the various states have mostly come from the majority ethnic groups; while all the major political decisions taken in this country have been done at the pleasure of the majority ethnic groups. Poor minorities, they always have to wait for the crumbs from the table of the majority ethnic groups.
The oil wealth of this nation is derived from the land of the minorities; but visibly, the majority ethnic groups have ganged up to confiscate and supervise the use of this wealth. The echoes of despair from the oil-producing areas have been completely ignored by the majority groups who have demonstrated an unprecedented greed in their consumption patterns.
If you take the unsavour experience of seeing how the owners of these oil soaked lands have been neglected in abject poverty, then you will understand why no nation practicing injustice in whatever form can be truly great. Has it occurred to anyone in this country, what would have happened to these minorities if instead of their land oil had been found in the land of the ethnic majorities? Is it wrong for the way to be found in the political frame work of this country on how owners of wealth must benefit from their wealth?
Oil is usually in an area with difficult terrain, and this can be interpreted to mean nature’s way of providing for the development of these areas. The excuse of difficult terrain usually given by the planners of our economy does not justify the level of neglect presently suffered by these areas, while wealth from oil producing areas is used to develop other parts of the country; all in the name of national development. This experience seems to be peculiar to only this country, and it is perhaps becoming unbreakable.
My instinct tells me that if the third republic fails, the armed forces of Nigeria will be fragmented into tribal armies transforming us into another Lebanon and we should not forget that the Nigerian civil war was a tribal war.
As soon as any appointment is made into any top position in this country, the first question that arises is that of the ethnic origin of the person so appointed. His tribesmen organize reception parties to brandish and claim their son even if they did not know before the appointment. Remember tribalism generates jealousy and acrimony.
Elections in 2005 are around the corner, it will be miracle if tribal sentiments are not deliberately courted to win votes, as many voters will vote on tribal lines rather than for their best candidates.
Most people agree that our attempt to bring tribalism under control in this country seems to have yielded the opposite results. Federal character and quota systems have let minority ethnic groups in severe deprivations. Those who lead us speak flamboyantly about national unity, justice and fair play only to practice the worst types of nepotism, favouritism and tribalism.
In this display of tribalism, nourished by criminal neglect of ethnic minorities, national psyche will always be a shadow of itself. The problems emanating from the stench of tribalism need to be addressed now or what happened in the Nigerian civil war might repeat itself and if so, this will not just be a tribal war.
Nigeria, we hail thee!
Christopher Odamah,
400 level,
Political Science Education,
DELSU-Abraka, Nigeria.
