Tribalism, racism or any “isms” has no place in our society. Yesterday, tribalism reared its ugly yansh (butt) in Nigerian society. In fact, it struck twice. The first was unexpectedly from filmmaker Kunle Afolayan. Read the story here if you missed it.
The second is the video below showing the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, threatening Igbo leaders in Lagos State if they fail to vote for his choice of candidate, for the upcoming governor elections.
There have been explanations since the video emerged that it was a joke, it is a generational gap and the list goes on. Either way, it doesn’t look good.
I will tell you a story.
I have always valued and enjoyed diversity of culture and people right from childhood. To be honest, I had no idea that even within the Nigerian community, a thing such as tribalism existed until I relocated to the States. As children, we were just who we were enjoying pure and amazing friendship! I had Igbo, Yoruba friends as my BFFs and we all seemed so clueless to tribalism or its impact.
Trust America to help you mature in ways you may not have imagined. From the Nigerian parties to isolated experiences with Nigerians, I began to understand a bit more about tribalism. I recall one specific instance when an African-American girlfriend of mine who had a knack for dating Nigerian men introduced me to her boyfriend. He was Igbo. Prior to that, she had dated a really sweet Nigerian guy who happened to be Hausa. The first and only time I met her Igbo boyfriend (now an ex), the first statement out of his mouth, when my friend introduced me, was to turn to her, laugh and explain that my people (our women) were known to be maids, cooks and sexual pleasers of men in bed.
WOW! Talk about making a terrible first impression. I was so shocked. Needless to say, I was highly offended. We’ve all got a long way to go. Watch the video below.
UPDATE: Response by Igbo Leaders after the Oba spoke, the allegation is that he was joking