Is Tribalism A Core Part Of The Nigerian’s DNA? -By Henry Chukwuemeka Onyema

Ever since the drama involving Reverend Father James Anelu of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos unfolded I have been reflecting on the issue of tribalism and the Nigerian. For those who do not know, the Edo-born clergyman was suspended by the Archbishop for angrily banning Igbo worship songs in his parish during offertory at Mass about a week ago. He went on to berate the Igbo people in his church for trying to dominate the parish and claimed that was how they took over the archbishopric in his native Benin City.

It bothers many Nigerians and perhaps non-Nigerians that the virus of tribal hatred and bigotry is strong in the veins of a clergyman who is supposed to be the father of all in the house of God. Personally, while I am saddened by the priest’s action, especially since I am a Catholic, I am not in the least surprised.  He is a man, after all, and a product of his society and times, though he is supposed to have a higher calling as a man of God. Besides, his outburst is not the only manifestation of ethnic animosity in Nigerian or even African Christendom.   The Benin episode that apparently ignited Father Anelu’s anger show that tribalism took the forefront of other considerations over the appointment of the Catholic Archbishop of Benin in 2011. Quite a number of Bini and non-Igbo Catholics were uncomfortable with the prospect of an Igbo being appointed as Archbishop to fill the vacant position. Benin is in Edo, a non-Igbo state of Southern Nigeria and it has the honour of being one of the earliest centres of Christianity in Nigeria in the fifteenth century. But the Igbo people who migrated there in large numbers in the twentieth century form a sizeable Catholic population there. Although Rome eventually ruled by selecting the Igbo Bishop Augustine Akubueze as the Archbishop, it appears that ten years on, there are Bini Catholics who have not come to terms with Rome’s decision.

This article is not a critique of tribal antagonism in Nigerian Christendom or any other religion practised in the country. Suffice it to say that tribal bigotry ought not to be present in institutions and systems that proclaim the higher ideals of universal brotherhood, oneness, love and common sonship/daughtership under a God of all. But the followers of these faiths, to paraphrase a famous Biblical verse, ‘are in the world though not of the world.’  So the concern is: what fuels tribal antagonism in Nigeria? Why do we see anyone from ethnic groups other than ours as ‘the other?’ In some cases we even see people from other sections of ethnic groups we belong to as ‘the other.’  Thus it is not out of place for some Igbo people from areas east of the River Niger to see their Igbo brethren from areas west of the River Niger as not being ‘pure Igbo,’ whatever that means.

Perhaps it is right to understand certain terms before answering the question inherent in the title of this article. Tribalism in itself is not evil. According to Wikipedia, tribalism means ‘the state of being organized by, or advocating for, tribes or tribal lifestyle.’ People have always been organized in tribes from time immemorial, right from the evolution of human societies from hunter-groups to settled agricultural civilizations. With the quest for resources human groups eventually took on features of commonalty such as culture, language, etc.  But tribalism has gained a negative connotation over the years, given political developments and the increasingly fierce competition for all forms of resources as societies became complex and group living grew more complicated.  Tribalism is not unique to Africa: both the neutral and negative connotations have afflicted all societies. In the context of Africa tribalism is seen as being opposed to nationalism. i.e. the interest of the tribe comes before and even overrides the interest of the nation-state.

Negative tribalism as we practice it in Nigeria is rooted in many factors. In most cases it does not usually emanate from ordinary people of the many tribes that make up Nigeria. It is a top-down development ignited by elites fiercely competing for resources. These resources can be economic, political, spiritual or even egoistical. And our elite includes religious leaders, hence the likes of Father Anelu can rail against the Igbo. I need not mention political, military and cultural icons.

Tribalism in Nigeria is rooted in

Ignorance;

Fundamentally, fear of ‘the other’ who you know little or nothing about

A skewered education system which disdains history and civic education.eg. The systems rarely teaches about the Nigerian civil war in our schools, let alone inform Nigerian children that Yoruba and other Nigerians shed their blood for the Igbo republic of Biafra while Igbo soldiers courageously fought for Nigeria against Biafra

Wrong parental upbringing

Poverty and the grinding struggle for survival

Building up of stereotypes due to hate of the ‘other’

Ugly and painful experiences at the hands of people of other tribes

Paying little or insincere attention to the tenets of our religions

Historical antagonisms

Government actions and policies that seem to favour a tribe or tribes

Adoption of tribal jingoists as national heroes

Insularity of the average Nigerian’s mentality which stops him from paying sober attention to how negative tribalism tore apart other countries and societies.eg. The Balkans

Etc

From all I have mentioned here it is obvious that tribalism is not necessarily ingrained in the Nigerian’s veins, though it appears more rooted in many, probably due to brainwashing by evil-minded elite. While negative tribalism cannot be totally eliminated because of the inevitable conflicts of group living, it is in our interest to manage it to the barest minimum.

Henry Chukwuemeka Onyema is a historian, teacher and author. His e-mail is henrykd2009@yahoo.com.