New Nigerian tribes: same old hate and hostility

In Nigeria, there are many tribes. They hate one another. They envy one another and they seek to harm one another. Their failure to love, support and cooperate with one another has set the country of Nigeria backward.

But the Nigerian tribes are not only the traditional ones we always knew – the Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, etc. There is an emerging new tribe. It is the tribe of Nigerians outside Nigeria, as against Nigerians in Nigeria.

Hatred and mutual rivalry between Nigerians in Nigeria and Nigerians in Diaspora is a matter you can easily observe. You may not have thought about it. But there is now this new Nigerian tribe. In the 1950s through 1970, Nigerians traveled overseas to get advanced education with intention to return. So, they never crested a steady and permanent tribe of Nigerians in Diaspora. But now, Nigerians emigrate with intention to become permanently overseas based. Thus, we can speak of Nigerians permanently overseas.

The same rivalry among Nigerian tribes apply between Nigerians in Nigeria and Nigerians outside Nigeria. There is an incredible envy.

Those outside Nigeria occasionally see how those they left in Nigeria 30 years ago have become governors, senators, and very rich from public office-holding, while they worked so hard overseas only to end up less wealthy than their poorly educated cousins that went into politics in Nigeria. This became more clearly after 1999 political transition in Nigeria.

In 1999 when the military had their last transition to civil rule. Nobody in his right mind believed that the military were serious about handing over power to a civilian government. So, only the unemployed and unemployable were willing to respond to the military governments call for civilian participation in politics. The transition went through and the unemployed and unemployable became governors and ministers, to the chagrins of the better educated and employed people, especially those who were based overseas.

At the same time Nigerians in Nigeria envy their cousins in America and other major countries of the world for their knowledge and urbane existence. This rivalry is so vicious and you see how the two groups undermine each other.  There are certain attitudinal dynamics between the two groups. They have divergent interests and are needlessly opposed. Each group even has pejorative terms for each other.

Perhaps we need to study this phenomenon more closely and seek new ways to improve understanding and cooperation. There is definitely need to organize the Nigerian Diaspora.