LET’s revisit some bits of the public lecture on the benefits of tribalism by Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe at the University of Nsukka, in 1964.
He said, some people seem to think that tribalism is an unmitigated evil, but it is not. Every Linguistic group has its cultural features which can have something of value to contribute to the way of life of its country or unit thereof. The first point is Tribalism.
Tribalism is an anthropological phenomenon and is a universal fact. When we speak of English, French, Dutch, German, Russian, Czech, Spanish, Italian, and other linguistic groups in Europe, we seem to overlook the fact that, by implication, our remarks apply equally to the Hausa, Igbo Yoruba Efik Kanuri TIV Ijaw Edo Idoma Gwari and other linguistics in Africa.
In the words of the Late Nigerian leader, whereas the citizens of the European country are referred to as “Nationals” of that country, the citizens of Africa are generally described as “Natives”. We let this mentality of tribalism divide us as a country instead of uniting us.
And then there is Greed and Selfishness. Kindly forgive me digression in this piece.
Nigeria today is surrounded by greedy folks who divert properties and money for personal use and complain about bad leadership in Nigeria.
The civil servant who comes to work once a week and shows up at the end of the month to receive a full salary complains about politicians who do nothing.
The student who spends the whole weekend partying, and sharing streaks on snap is complaining that Nigeria is stealing his/her dreams. The VIP driver can’t join a simple queue but keeps complaining about the disorderliness in Nigeria.
Doctors in public and teaching hospitals on Government payroll who abandon patients in these hospitals but are thriving in their private practice are complaining that Nigeria is hopeless. The Officer who sees ‘Roger’ as his birthright keeps on complaining that our leaders are evil so Nigeria is doomed.
The Mallaman tsangaya sends other people’s children to go and beg in the name of Almajiranci and bring money to him, he uses that money to take care of his family while the children are looking like slaves and the parents send their children as low as 5 years to Almajiri are complaining that Nigerian leaders don’t know God.
The Pastor who pays his driver 15,000 Naira while his son schools in the USA is complaining about the hopelessness in Nigeria. Will N15,000 a month be sufficient for a family man? or does the driver not have kids to send to school? Despite tithes and offerings collected.
The trader who removes two bowls of rice from each bag, repackages, and sells it as a full bag is complaining about the wickedness in Nigeria. The lecturer who insists on sex from a young girl to pass her exams is complaining about the rot in Nigeria.
The never-ending list of our problems keeps going on and on. Until we become that change we want to see, The giant of Africa is doomed.
To be continued…
Kabara, is a writer and public commentator. Her syndicated column, Voice, appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Mondays. She can be reached on hafceekay01@gmail.com
