Ethnicity 101: Not Again

Hello, again fam. And a special welcome to newcomers. I'm glad to be writing (or typing) again. As most of us are aware, there's a lot of stuff going on right now and one of the main concepts that keep popping up is the issue of ethnic divide and tension. So that's what I decided to write on today.

I decided to talk about this because I believe some issues need to be discussed in length not just left to hasty, boiled, or emotional comments and retaliations. And true change will only happen when we solve the root issue.

images from inhersight and rewire

So what is the root issue?

In a country with various ethnic groups like Nigeria, we often boast of our diversity and rich culture but I think that we have often neglected or overlooked what it takes to maintain such diversity in real peace and unity. I like to think of each ethnic group as a child, each one different from the rest, needing a different style of parenting and nurturing. If a child feels neglected, they start to envy those who they think are in a better position than they are in and trouble begins. This, I believe is a core issue in the Nigerian governing system and culture, the fact that we overlook the specific needs of specific people. This is what leads to a feeling of marginalization which in some cases like in the 1970s lead to war. There are many branches to this ethnic divide and oppression tree.

One of them is the constant feeling that one group is going to backstab the other, either figuratively or literally. And I think this distrust has led to the many ethnic movements or groups we see today like the Biafran movement or the Oduduwa republic. For some of us, as we read those names, emotions started to spur in us because most of us believe we have an idea what they stand for. Personally, I believe that movements and groups such as these do not just pop up. People only gather in ways like these when they feel threatened, marginalized, oppressed, or overlooked. And this is not new. Movements like this exist all over the globe.

In the US for example, we have seen the rise of BLM or the Black Lives Matter group and Stop Asian Hate over the past year as Black and Asian groups have especially fallen victim of oppression, police rundown, and hate crimes. More globally, we see the feminist movement. These movements started because a certain group of people felt oppressed and needed to speak up, most times for their lives. The unfortunate part of all this is that instead of trying to listen to what each group has to say, most people have politicized them to the extent that people are more concerned about supporting or rejecting movements than actually doing something. We have lost focus. And most political leaders are aware. They are even the wielders of this dividing saw through the population. We now focus on what political identity each movement stands for. When we hear about a new movement, we hurry to find out, Is it Democratic or Republican? Is it APC or PDP related? Should we support or refute? like we are debators on some sort of lifelong stage on social issues. We seldom bother to think about why has this started. Movements are not the problem, they are the symptoms. And as long as our society is transfixed on treating symptoms and not curing the virus, it will keep on spreading. Why? Because most of the time, these people are fighting for their lives.

The ethnic divide and tension we see in our country today are a result of suppressed anger or fear towards other tribes. When the Civil War ended, was there reconciliation? Did anyone receive any compensation? I don't think so. The war ended with many lives lost, the core issue unsolved, fears ignored or suppressed, and the beginning of an era of pretense as the country tried to heal. Many families never found closure. And now, the anger and hate are being passed down to younger generations. Like a chronic disease, these fears, emotions, and stereotypes have grown and are now manifesting.

And many of the solutions being offered are not good enough. One of the most popular, a separation or secession of the country according to tribes.

Problem 1 with this is, it ignores the crucial fact that Nigeria is made of over 250 tribes. Are we planning to create 250 new countries? or are only 4? what happens to the Tivs, Ibibios, Efiks, and countless other tribes? If we ignore them now, they may become the next Biafra.

Problem 2. The issue is not solved. It is only buried. It's like someone with a rat infestation not cleaning up their environment, you kill the first generation of rats only for the next to arrive. At the end of the day, you'll spend more money buying rat poisons and traps than you would have if you just cleaned up your environment.

Once again, America is a good example, after the slave trade period, slaves were freed but subtly oppressed afterward. People still saw citizens of color especially the Black population as inferior and they were treated that way. The real cause of slavery was racism. People captured slaves because they thought they were inferior and brought them to work on plantations. When the slaves were freed in the 19th century, racism didn't end. It was just overlooked, ignored, people were still blatantly racist towards their fellow Americans. And now even after the Civil Rights Movement,150 years after slaves were freed, African Americans and other minorities group still face racism every day, everywhere. People are still being rejected from positions, being declined life-changing loans and mortgages, attending underfunded schools, being gunned down by police, having lesser access to medical care and most recently, more exposed and killed from COVID19. Why? All because of the color of their skin. This is what we face in Nigeria except a little different because here, it's not skin, it's ethnicity which you have to say makes it a whole lot harder.

Secession or breaking apart doesn't help because it doesn't solve the problem.

So we break off into factions, do we really think we can survive on our own.? Look at countries that fought Civil Wars, they still suffer from the effects today and their economies are not that strong either. India and Pakistan. Sudan and South Sudan. And now, Ethiopia. Ethiopia is basically a postcard from the future to Nigeria showing what can happen. In case, you are unaware, Ethiopia is currently undergoing a Civil War between two ethnic groups, the Tigrayans and Amharas. Hundreds if not thousands of lives are being lost every day and millions have now become refugees in bordering Sudan.

As unhappy as we can be with the ongoing crisis, war is never a good solution, and Nigeria may not dissolve without war. Plus, what happens after? The tribes still dislike each other and will be hostile towards each other. What will call that now? Racism? Tribalism? Countrialism? What about resources? Oil money? The drying North? And don't forget, party leaders. We would still have to deal with corrupt officials. I just think that it's a lot of stress to go through for something that solves little to no problems. The hate and anger that we see displayed on social media is sometimes fueled by a lot of hurt egos. That is what we need to solve. What we need is reconciliation, not war. To sit down, talk it out, and take responsible action. Most wars in history did not need to happen, and the lives lost in them did not need to die.

I say,

"It is harder yet nobler to reconcile, to amicably solve problems amongst groups than it is to fight because one requires more humility, courage, wisdom, leadership, grace, and forgiveness. Qualities we aspire to.

Reconciliation uplifts our fellow brothers or sisters from an opponent, an object on which wrath must be unleashed upon, to a human being, made in the image of God, deemed worthy of Christ's blood and God's forgiveness, therefore deserving of ours."

Secession is just taking the backdoor. We are not facing the problem, we're just running away from it.

Hi again friends!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and that it stirs to you think a little more deeply about the ongoing tension between Nigeria's ethnic groups. If you did, consider sharing on your socials to support the blog or leave a comment expressing your thoughts.

Next time, we can look forward to reading about what we can do to create positive change in our personal spaces and community when it comes to ethnic tension.

And if you have been feeling down or depressed, I'm definitely not going to leave you hanging. As we fight the good fight however we choose, through prayer or meaningful conversations, here are some resources that are helping me get through these times.

Documentaries and TV shows:

I'm not a big fan of TV shows but documentaries are my thing. If you feel you need to get away to recalibrate, here are the links to some of my faves. (And yes, they are all nature and geology docs :)

How The Earth Was Made: The Deepest Place on Earth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRZ1AvGpbI8&t=565s

One Planet: The Coastal Seas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9PeYPHdpNo

Tutankhamun's Treasures: Treasures of Egypt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-obKX-mqjXQ

The San Andreas Fault: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc4j59C_60E&t=230s

Inside the Ring of Fire: How the Earth Was Made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n18m2BdyIEY&t=476s

Our Planet: Frozen Worlds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTQ3Ko9ZKg8&t=484s

Not a fan of moving images, maybe a book or two will help. This is a good time to re-read some of your favorites or get new ones to cuddle up with. I'm currently reading Perry Mason's the Stuttering Bishop and it's going pretty interesting.

Not a book person?

Go outside for a walk, try a new hobby or just do nothing. Swap your Twitter or Insta time for some staring at the sky or taking pictures time.

For more ideas on stress management, you can check out one of my old posts titled Crisis Management Part 2 here.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

See you next time!

Peace and love.

✌🏽 & 💝