“Ethnicity should enrich us; it should make us a unique people in our diversity and not be used to divide us.” — Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
I grew up in a fairly rural Yoruba community. In those formative years, it was fun learning a language different from the one spoken in my village of birth, far away in the east. Reading Yoruba in school and speaking it with playmates at home gave me a special kind of excitement that words might not describe.
There were friends to make, those who cherished strangers to their land. There were also those who shut off, even as young as we were, who could not accommodate the “kobokobo” boy in their midst. This class of boys never hid their resentment when that boy got marks above their own scores in class work. Having sensed this, the “kobokobo” boy prayed that the teacher would stop her habit of publishing his scores after every class test, something she did to motivate others. Rather than catch up, they tried to bully instead. But the teacher was protective and loving.
“Kobokobo” is a derogatory name for easterners (Igbo people in particular) in the then Yoruba Western Region. The story is that the Yoruba was mimicking the Igbo on how they pronounced the penny (kộbộ) a coin used in the colonial past. Igbo, on the other hand, retaliates by calling the Yoruba “ndi ofe manụ” having observed the lavish use of red palm oil in the soup of an average Yoruba woman.
That notwithstanding, life went on, with no lethal implications to the subtle discrimination that existed. In 1966, all that changed drastically. That year’s disturbances resulted in the massacre of easterners in parts of the country other than theirs. They were killed in tens of thousands in the north and in the west, and so the survivors were forced to relocate to the East that was their home, humiliated, bloodied and empty handed.
What went wrong? A coup had taken place and the government violently toppled. Coups are purely military affairs and have nothing to do with the civilian populace. The coup that ignited the pogrom, up until today, has continued to be termed “Igbo coup” perhaps because it seemed there was the preponderance of Igbo officers in the group of plotters. A question, however, that failed to pair with this narrative was, who foiled the coup? An Igbo officer!
The other logic that should not escape notice is that at that time the Nigerian Army had a sizable number of Igbo as officers, especially in the rank of Major. So, it happened that there were 12 Igbo, seven Yoruba as well as others from other tribes.
Many years before the coup, indeed, the anti-Igbo sentiments had persisted. The first major recorded ethnic violence and targeted killings of Ndigbo in Northern Nigeria occurred during the Jos riot of 1945, 21 years before the 1966 coup. According to records, the disturbances centred around the rapid economic visibility which migrant Igbo workers gained against the indigenous northern groups in the mining and commercial sectors. The tension was merely generated by economic competition.
Efforts by top military officers alive today, who were actors in the dark days, such as former military president, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, to disabuse the minds of the ordinary Nigerian that it was not an Igbo coup has not been effective. From indications, it has been a “call a dog a bad name to hang it” affair.
The civil war followed. It was fought, according to former Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon, to keep Nigeria one. In a situation where people were massacred to keep a nation one, it becomes clear that the killers are after acquisition of territory rather than the unity of the people. There is therefore truth in the thoughts that the war was to keep Nigerian oil located in the East in the hands of the northerners who served as stooges to British colonialists. Britain was overtly involved in the push against the Igbo during the Biafra separatist revolution necessitated by the acrid anti-Igbo sentiments.
The ensuing military administration after the civil war merely suppressed the centrifugal spirit in different ethnic groups making up the giant of Africa. It continued the unitary system of governance adopted by Gen Aguiyi Ironsi, although it maintained the term, federal government. It created what it called states and assumed they were the federating units – a major error that has haunted Nigeria since the 1914 amalgamation. Where has federating units ever emerged by creation and not by volition? America? United Kingdom? Switzerland?
The military introduced the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme in 1973 where university and other tertiary institution graduates were posted to other states than their states of origin to serve the nation for one year, compulsorily. The aim was to achieve a measure of interaction and integration of the varied ethnic groups in the Lord Frederick Luggard’s country, and encourage intermarriage. It was a laudable idea. However, the more the government tried in this project, the more it appeared like an attempt to mix oil and water.
This narrative indicates that the inter-ethnic gap in Nigeria did not spring up in recent times. It has always been with us. It has always reflected in the common social engagements of different groups or tribes. To the northerners, the Igbo are “nyamiri”, a derogatory name given to them back in time. It is said that the word is a corruption of the expression, “nyem miri” meaning “give me water” in Igbo. Igbo, in return call them “Aboki” (Friend) and regard them as low witted.
Ethnic sentiments have gone rather virulent with the advent of the social media. Daily, the inter-tribal war rages on Facebook, WhatsApp, X (formerly Twitter) and the rest. It is either one Yoruba jingo throwing brickbats at Peter Obi, a presidential aspirant, and his tribe, or an Igbo chauvinist insulting Bola Tinubu, the President. The Fulani are constantly profiled as imperialists and landgrabbers.
Every day, hate comments fill the cyberspace. A Super Eagles player of Igbo stock misses a penalty and it becomes an issue. A Yoruba girl visits Owerri and finds out that her favourite meals were not in any restaurant. Oh, the Igbo are wicked!
Harbouring tribal sentiments is not really the mortal sin in the conversation. It is rooted in the love of self. Every individual has a foundation, comes from one corner of the earth or the other. As we live in a predatory world, groups tend to shield their space. Within the groups are also pockets of sub-groups that look apprehensively at each other. The apprehension cascades to families and individuals.
The tragedy of the Nigerian ethnicity problem, however, is that each tribe struggles to dominate the other. Resistance to subjugation is termed rebellion as if any tribe is slave to another. In Nigeria, the loyalty to one’s ethnic group over national identity is strong and disregards morality. It often leads to systemic inequality, political polarization, and social tension. Driven by elite manipulation and resource competition, it heavily influences governance, employment, and justice.
Electoral campaigns frequently exploit ethnic and religious fault lines rather than focusing on policy. Voters often support candidates simply because they share the same tribe. Nepotism reigns as influential figures often favour their own tribesmen for key government appointments and corporate promotions, regardless of merit. There is social distrust. The “us and them” mentality is made louder, breeding mutual suspicion, stereotyping, and sometimes violent clashes over land, resources, and power.
The course of history must blame Britain for not tidying up the country before leaving as colonialists, and of course, they never left because of the illicit economic gains they garnered. In southern Africa that went through colonization, the West partitioned the countries along the lines of tribe and tongue on leaving. And there was peace in that region. Rather than do that here, they exacerbated ethnic divisions by their divide and rule system.
Now, it is many times more difficult to achieve national cohesion because the gainers in the status quo can’t let go. Only a conscious shift from identity politics to competence-based leadership can lead the country to the promised land. It is imperative that federal character principles are strictly enforced to ensure fair representation at all levels of government. Should we say that the present administration has been fair in this aspect? Guess right.
Now, the big question – how can we make oil and water stay in the same container in peace? The cure-all is a TRULY FEDERAL SYSTEM that devolves power to the federating units and leaves space for each one to exercise its potential. Except this is done, there will continue to be strife in Nigeria. Yes, oil and water can remain in a bottle, each minding its own space. . On a Candid Note, whoever wins the presidency in 2027 should give this over-flogged suggestion a thought.
Dr. Odu can be reached through [email protected] or SMS 07064052031
