Why Are Nigerians So Tribalistic?

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.

because we're all born nepotic.

@ poster

 Dis tin dey our body

Well said Seun.
It's very rampart.

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 you're pointin at the oda person, STOP IT, see all as your brother.


             1love

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.

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?

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 don't want to worship in that church, there's too much of an Ibo Presence.", "I don't 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.

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.

The Mother Of All Ironies!

adeniyi,
what you experienced was a tip of the iceberg.Firm advice from me to you is to toughen yourself up for more.
I happen to come from a very mixed background, paternal grandparents are from Akwa-Ibom and Cameroun, maternal grandparents are from Lagos island and the west Indies.as a result, i never belonged ANYWHERE. It got worse as i grew up especially because i could only speak English.
I was crucified from all angles.Imagine standing in a long queu waiting to register for NYSC (camp), university,common entrance and the likes of it and when you get to the front, the person screening sees your surnname (ibibio surnname and a yoruba first name) and starts to speak, ibibio. I don't understand a word and i say so, and i receive the insults of my life, typically  it goes like this
1.shame
2.your father married YORUBA
3.you can't speak youar language
 and they leave you standing there and not attending to you.

On my mothers side- i was always omo yomirin.

as time went on, i tried to learn ibibio, but whoever was to teach me, always got so annoyed "that i did not understand" and stopped teaching.

then i started to learn yoruba-folks teased me, called me omo igbo and all sorts, but it was better than learning ibibio.

I used to dread association with either tribe at a stage, but later on toughened myself and became non challant about the whole thing.

Today i understand yoruba very well, relate to ibibios well also (and can even mimick the accent)- you definitely learn to do that after years of hearing " YOU MEAN YOU DONT SPEAK YOUAR FATHERS LANGUAGE, SHAME"

and also educate both ends when they say something negative about one another.In all i have learnt to stay on top of the situation,you can do the same.Only little minded people discriminate.

cheers

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

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!

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.

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

Thank you doncnn.