Brace up, long answer. I'm Nigerian. I'm not Yoruba, Hausa, or Igbo. I can speak igbo though albeit not too well. I'm a minority, yes I'm so minor that in the North before 2011, I would have been taken for an igbo. That's how minor i am. I'm from the tribe of this man
Isaac Adaka Boro
Images from Google.
Without delving much into history, it would be nonetheless neccessary to give a background to my viewpoint about the three major tribes in Nigeria. Why should I do this? well obviously because that's the best way to give people an idea of how many Nigerians and there are alot of them (atleast 30% of the population), who are neither Hausa-fulani, Yoruba or Igbo view these tribes.
My late grandmother told me of how back in the 60′s during the Nigeria Biafra war, our people were tortured and killed in their droves. They were mostly unarmed and ran for their lives during the war, their sin was that their leaders had chosen to be on the side of Nigeria instead of Biafra. Not that the leaders did much of a representation anyway. I was also told by some of my uncles how prior to the war, in Port Harcourt city, the Igbos used tribal slurs and mostly took the natives to be low class. To make this apparent, I've had some experiences in that direction though to be fair, it does not in anyway represent the larger opinion of the Igbos today.
So who am I? I'm an Ijaw or Izon. We are over 15 million people(Ijaws make up about 10% of the population) and that's a conservative estimate especially in Nigeria where the more people you have, the more resources you are allocated to, whether you produce anything or not.
The man in the picture major Jasper Isaac Adaka Boro (1938-1968) was born in the oil producing community of Oloibiri(this is where oil was first discovered in Nigeria).
Oloibiri Today- image from google
There is even a movie by that name
He was basically from a family that was better off than the rest of the population. After his secondary education he joined the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and became an activist. He was also the student union leader there. He left all that, with an opportunity to probably go to Europe or America, to come back home to fight for the right for his people who were totally oppressed by the Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo dominated Nigerian state. Taking one of his reasons from his book “The 12 day Revolution” he stated that, despite the huge natural resources in the Niger Delta, the old women did not have access to clean drinking water. Children had no good schools to attend. The majority of the people were impoverished and really had no say in how they were governed. That was as far back as 1966 though this would seem like a description of the current Niger Delta. He was the first militant. Though he lost out in the battle against the Nigerian state, he was later released from prison to fight against the biafran forces during the civil war. He became a nationalist after his release from prison and believed that Biafra was not in anyway going to treat his people better. So he fought against Biafra and was later assassinated by a Nigerian Soldier, a Yoruba man towards the end of the war. His memory leaves on.
Now back to the question of how Nigerians view the the three major tribes, let me start this way, there are in my opinion two ways to view a people, generally and individually. They are both connected.
The Hausa-Fulani
Though there is no tribe called Hausa-fulani, its either Hausa or Fulani, but politically and religiously they are aligned so lets ignore that for the moment. Many people who claim to know the Hausa may infact not know too much about them. This is because for those who live in the southern part of Nigeria, they assume everyone from the North is Hausa or Fulani. In reality the north has so many tribes, and is not even homogenous religiously. Though we can all agree it's majority Muslim, but that's just about it.
I've had very close encounters with Hausa people, not just your typical aboki who shines shoes or does other menial jobs in the south or all around the country. I've met educated and high class Hausa and Fulanis. My honest opinion about them is that most of them do not really care about what happens elsewhere in the country. They are very religious and basically are not the easiest people to debate or discuss with. Religious arguments are really a no go area for them. I've noticed this to be true even for the Christain Hausa. Generally speaking, the Hausa or Fulanis believe they are meant to rule Nigeria unchallenged. They will discriminate other tribes especially non Muslims in general. Like I said this is on a general level. Let me illustrate from my own experience. I studied in a middle eastern country. Prior to that time, I basically still believed that Nigeria could have a more united future despite her current challenges. This believe was predicated on the fact that people are getting more educated and enlightened by the day and with a fledgling democracy, things would change. All these assertions were to be shattered not even in Nigeria but outside the shores of the country. I arrived my college. After a couple of days I noticed certain Nigerians were playing football together, and others chose other fields to play. I was relatively shocked to realise that the Muslim, Hausa, fulani and kanuris played football together. Other Nigerians, wether Igbos, Yorubas and a few Christian Hausas played together in a different field. It was mind boggling to me. I've asked myself how can one talk about a future united Nigeria if these young men who will eventually go back home and be in the helm of affairs are already acting this way. I've also been on a ship which had a mixed race of people. I was a cadet then doing my sea training. Once again it was the Muslim Hausa and Fulanis who were on that ship that went to request that the Christian and Muslim cadets should be separated. There were other nationals in that ship, but then my brothers from the North never cease to disappoint. These and many other encounters have shaped my opinion of the Hausa. I believe one Nigeria coming from an Hausa in general is not about a united Nigeria where everyone has a right to control their destiny but rather one in which the Northerners rule and circumvent the will of the south and use their resources to do whatever they desire.
The Yorubas
I've had Yoruba friends from as long as I can remember. I think I'm not alone in this regard. Yorubas are basically non violent and would debate you on anything, whether it's religion or politics or whatever it is. This in my opinion is one of the most attractive attributes about Yorubas in general. I also think the Yorubas understood the Nigerian terrain early enough to adopt an attitude of neutrality in order to protect their interest. Neutrality is really not neutral. As one would see, it's merely a political game of betting on both sides and whoever wins becomes your friend. This way you hardly loose. Enough of the politics and let's get down to it. I respect the Yorubas just like i respect any other tribe. Though I must say Yorubas put tribe above religion, and Igbos money above tribe, while the Hausa put religion above tribe. These are generalizations anyway and like they say about any generalization it coud usually be false including this one. My experience with Yourbas are endless because while I'm writing this, majority of my acquitances are Yorubas, I basically have them all around so I can say my opinion is not from hear say. Yorubas are naturally friendly people. They don't get aggressive easily, they respect elders, and also expect others to respect them. A Muslim Yoruba can attend a church service and would see no big deal to it. I believe they take religion for what it is it —a way to worship God. The common issue I've noticed with Yorubas is tribalism. I think this seems ironic since many people see them as neutral. When a Yoruba man does something wrong in the political scene, fellow Yorubas will find a soft spot for him. Sometimes excusing whatever that was done irrespective of the gravity of the offence. One such recent case was with the Nigerian Minister for Finance Kemi Adeosun, who has allegedly used a forged NYSC certificate and yet is been shielded by the government of the day. I've been shocked to notice that some of my anti-corruption Yoruba friends who i respect are not outraged about this, rather you would hear things like “well it's Nigeria na.” These same people would leap to the band wagon to condemn and criticize people who are accused of similar offences provided they are from the South. In general I think Nigeria would be alot better if other tribes learned some of the attributes of the Yorubas especially their non violent approach to burning issues, and the Yorubas would be better of if they come out of their self acclaimed neutrality and stand for equality and fairness in Nigeria, not just when it is politically convenient.
The Igbos
I could speak Igbo as early as when I was 6. I helped interpret the messages in church to my grand mom who didn't understand the language but attended an Igbo speaking Deeper life Bible Church. I've lived more with the Igbos than any other tribe and can easily pass for one if I wanted to. Here is my take on the Igbos. They are mostly objective and open minded. The individual igbos do not take politics to an extreme. They will not choose violence easily and like the Yorubas are open to debate. My personal experience with them have left me with a couple of ideas. A typical igbo would think you are brainwashed if you are from Niger Delta and does not support the Biafra agitation. I've had several arguments and interactions with them. Trying to point out to them that, if you assume you are intellectually superior to Niger Deltans then there is no way you can have them stand with you to achieve your aims. I understand in the Nigerian political game at the moment, my people are aligned with the Igbos, it wasn't always the case. There is alot I could say about the Igbos but let me summarise it this way. The Igbos I know are hardworking, shrewd in business, accommodating, and mostly nice to everyone. Anyone can live freely in an igbo state without fearing that someday some youths will wake up and start burning down buildings and killing people. They love music but most importantly most igbos I know are good at handling money. Their bad attributes are mostly in the area of assuming other tribes are less intelligent than them, yet this isn't peculiar to them but can be found among the Yorubas too.
So, before you react or rather respond to my opinion on this, please be aware that I judge people on an individual bases. I hardly care about what tribe you are from except we are discussing politics. Now about politics, I'm always saddened when I see how the three major tribes have ruined the country with their ethnic bickering and yet believe they should come first in everything just because they have larger numbers than others. Thanks for reading.
Edited by Samuel J. Doupregha, lives in Nigeria
#498293219 Thank ReportSeptember 6, 2018, 10:32:59 AM
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