Why are Nigerians tribalistic?

I met a chic when i just started working in my office, we got a a little close and when she found out that i was Yoruba, she stopped talking to me. I later overheard her telling a fellow Igbo collegue that she didn't know i was Yoruba, considering that i am light skinned.

Tribalism is disease passed on from generation to generation by ignorant parents to their gullible
children. We really need to educate people and expose them to role models that are not tribalistic.

@poster
Because there are over 500 languages and 300 tribes in Nigeria today.

because we're all born nepotic.

we are not only tribalistic, we at times are too sentimental about our religion
christian will say it is the only way to eternity
muslim will say the same thing
BUT I BELIEVE GOD IS NOT LIKE YOU OR ME
HE create the world in  diversity so that we will  glorify HIM the more

@ poster

Dis tin dey our body

because each tribe tries to out do the other and we stereotype a lot.

we are more concerned about a persons home rather than his individual character.

Well said Seun.
It's very rampart.

honestly we need to abolish this tradition.

its a seed needs to be uprooted urgently. Its cancerous, happens even amongst d educated illiterate amongs us.YOU,yes YOU, am talking to u n u r pointin at the oda person, STOP IT, see all as ur broda.


1love

because people from certain tribes act alike, 90% of the igbo people i know are stingy; the mbaise ones honestly can't be trusted; 95% of the yoruba people i know are very free with money but cant keep a home neat; 100% of the kalabari men I know are as promiscous as hell and drink like fishes , so tell me if i meet an igbo, yoruba or kalabari person don't i have a right to be tribalistic

Because the politicians and so many people who call the shots want it that way;

Lets be frank how many people who talk about the problems with ethnocentricism (i hate the tribal labelling, for so many reasons) would want the government to abolish the state of origin thing when they apply for jobs and when they're conducting census etc ?

Not so many because they benefit from the divisions. And that's why there's so much clamouring for a further dividing of Nigeria into smaller and smaller states,

Listen up: until we're bold enough to demand for those things that reinforce our ethnicities and states of  origin to be abolished then we have not even started in the herculean task of dismanteling the tribalism (that word again) thing. Its difficult though, because the ethnic groups have all cast one another in so many negative stereotypes that even if some of those things are abolished there is need to change the mindsets that we have about one another.

Okay a little task: if you are a Yoruba person what image flashes in your mind immediately you think of an Igbo person? If you Igbo what images do you conjure of a Yoruba? If you're a Southerner what do you think of immediately you think of an Hausa person and so on,

For the task above, you have to be very very exposed to many other cultures in order not to start conjuring up uncomplimentary images in the task i just set. So if you've never really associated with people from outside your kparakpo, then how would you be able to break the cycle of tribalsim?

And let me ask this; how many of us first see ourselves as Nigerians before labelling ourselves as say Bini, Gwari, Kalabari, Igbo, Yoruba etc ?

Be honest.

And let me ask this; how many of us first see ourselves as Nigerians before labelling ourselves as say Bini, Gwari, Kalabari, Igbo, Yoruba etc ?

I don't see myself as a "Nigerian". I see myself as a human being first, man second, and entrepreneur third.

doctor b posted while i was still writing, but she's just reinforced what i stated in my post.
How can you talk in such high percentages? That means you already set off with the mind set that those people are what you already think of them before you actually start engaging with them.

We call that being prejudiced.

Lets look at other common prejudices:

Nigerians are criminals and are into 419.
Jamaicans are drug dealers.
Whites are racists.
Igbos love money too much
Yorubas are cowards.
Hausas are illiterate,

So what do you have to say about that?

@poster, dont blame da gurl ooooooooooooo, some people can be straight forward as in, they dont want to get into a relationship when they want to marry their own tribe, I simply call that having preference but it becomes tribalism when she does not talk to you at all cuz you are from another tribe

It can all be summed up in the word RACISM
Racism is not only when white people are prejudiced against colored people.

Once you are prejudiced against people because of age, color, religion, origin etc, you are a racist!

I see the word thrown around by Nigerians where I live, always in relation to the white but we are the biggest culprits. You'll think that Nigerians abroad will see themselves as one being away from home , but No! You'll hear comments like "I dont want to worship in that church, there's too much of an Ibo Presence.", "I dont like going to that salon, many of them are Yorubas." Haba!

Each of us as individuals should really look inwards and see if the change can start from each an every one of us. Its such a shame that a great country like ours suffer from a ravaging disease, that can only serve to hinder our progress.

Its called primordial sentiments. We are all like dat.
We associate with people and things that "seem" like us.
Its almost impossible to remove.
It differs slightly from stereotyping which beneli was talking about(i.e igbo like money youba na coward,hausa na illiterate etc)

It pains me to discover that at this age we are in,many of us that would boldly refer to ourselves as educated,still talk like those of the primitive age.I as a person,I refuse to be a tribalist.i would like to deal with people based on what you have to offer rather than assumed opinion of people;though notwitstanding,the assumed opinions still hold some ground,but it would tantamount to what Philosophers call fallacy of hasty generaliazation.The fact that "A" is a thief and 'A" comes from village AC, does not automatically mean that "B",who is from village AC,is also a thief.Lets have a rethink.

I am the number one person that hate that word tribalism, it doesnt make a nation to grow, but well yorubas are good in tribalism. In my working place, there is this yoruba guy saying that he will never in his life marry an outsider unless yoruba claiming to come from a royal family.
yorubas like claiming royal family and dont friend or marry outside yoruba land. the same also happen during my services year. so i will not blame in her choice of the relationship she wants but will blame for not talking to the guy, that one is racism.

fesse:

I am the number one person that hate that word tribalism, it doesnt make a nation to grow, but well yorubas are good in tribalism.

The Mother Of All Ironies!

What pains me most in this issue is that when you show someone that you want them around you and you wnat to trust them, they openly show you that they don't even want to see you.

Tribalism destroys a country; people who 'practice' tribalism should take a look at what happened in Rwanada betwwen the Tutsis and Hutus. I pray that no such thing should happen in Nigeria. To those who embrace other tribes keep it up; it the best from the health of any country.

x

I-man, i think its not a good thing to take shots at tribes here, i made a mistake of naming tribes in my first post, but if we look at it from all angles, majority of Nigerians are tribalistic.

You see shushu, am just kind of like you, my Dad is Yoruba, Mums is from Cameroun; i don't try to categorize myself into a any tribe. Am 'HALF BREED'. lol

as far as im concerned, i don't like people who tribalistic, i ve friends all over, that is different tribes, and i must warn people who generalize whenever someone from a particular tribe offends him, dey jus generalize it, that is why i like us to ponder on wot beneli posted,




Nigerians are criminals and are into 419.
Jamaicans are drug dealers.
Whites are racists.
Igbos love money too much
Yorubas are cowards.
Hausas are illiterate,



adeniyi, now u r talking, because b4 now, many are already seeing to be tribalistic by naming tribe, in case u dont know, each of us hav different tribes who hav offended us one way or the other, but we must tackle the problem and not the tribe, because tribes are involved

From my understanding of I-man post, the poster stated that she hates tribalism and then followed her assertion up with a very tribalistic statement!

Hence the irony.

But then let the man speak for himself!

I hope we are not getting each other wrong here.

Tribalism involves stereotyping an entire ethnic group.Now,unless "Fesse" has done a scientific study of the Yorubas vis a vis other ethnicities,she is being a tribalist for making her claims.

cutegeey, wrong section.

To all that are offended by me naming tribes here, please forgive me.

u no wot? i beliv oneday, tribalism will be minimized atleast to 10% level, if u notce, diz days sometimes u hardly recognice a yoruba or igbo or even hausa when u see one, sometimes we dress in difrent attires, even sometimes u find people sing music not their mother' tongue

adeniyi, i really accept your apology on our behalf of everybody here in dis forum, diz shows u really had a good intention for raisng this topic, my reall naija man!

Thank you doncnn.