By Joy Enoch
It’s not a gain saying that Nigeria is a land of milk and honey. Despite the country suffering from political epilepsy, the greatness of Nigeria is obvious even to the blind.
But it’s now too expensive to even call Nigeria the giant of Africa. From tribalism, religious intolerance, political violence to mammoth corruption; the democratic system in Nigeria is still far from reaching the promised land.
Nigeria is a federal setting comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The West African country has three major tribes: the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. Even though the country has over 520 other tribes considered as minorities, the rate at which tribalism continues to be a major chink in the armour of Nigeria’s partisan politics has reached a disturbing proportion, particularly among the major tribes.
We often ignore the fact that when a Nigerian receives accolades, around the world we unite to congratulate the individual and boast of the nation being recognised by foreign countries.
No wonder an American psychologist, Dr. Umar Johnson said that Tribalism is affecting the progress of African politics. If he should be particular, Nigeria would appear first in the list of countries suffering from tribalism.
The system of sense of state of origin should be discarded. It allows unnecessary wars and rivalry and builds walls around people in the older generation and it shouldn’t continue with the new generation. People should be the origins of where they were born and call home. For example, a person who lived his or her life in Sokoto state_despite a person’s origin rooted in Anambra State_ should be allowed to fully participate in political activities of the state.
The tribe of the process stands as a problem in politics: what should be taken into consideration is the leadership competency of the person. For a nation to rise, tribalism must fall, we are Nigerian first before any division. When we travel out of Nigeria we are called Nigerian not Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa.
As a nation, we are far behind in progress because of tribalism, both in ruling and choosing who to rule.
Nigeria should practice Ubuntu, a well-known phrase in South Africa which represents the country’s moral ideals, the spirit of togetherness and ability to work together.