The Yorubas and the Igbos, two of the most resourceful, engaging and outgoing ethnic groups in Nigeria, are becoming implacable enemies. Increasingly, they seem to hate one another with pure hatred. I never appreciated the extent of their animosity until the social media came of age in Nigeria. Now, hardly a day passes that you will not find Yorubas and Igbos exchanging hateful words on internet blogs.
The Nigerian civil war ended in 1970. Nevertheless, it continues to rage today on social media mostly by people who were not even alive during the civil war. In blog after blog, the Yorubas and the Igbos go out of their way to abuse one another for the most inconsequential of reasons. This hatred is becoming so deep-seated, it needs to be addressed before it gets completely out of hand. It is time to call a truce. A conscious effort needs to be made by opinion-leaders on both sides of the ethnic divide to put a stop to this nonsense.
Ethnic stereotyping
Both the Yorubas and the Igbo stereotype one another. To the Igbo, the Yorubas are the “ngbati ngbati” “ofemmanu” who eat too much oil. They are masters of duplicity and deception; saying one thing while meaning another. To the Yorubas, the Igbo are clannish and money-minded. They are Shylock traders who specialise in selling counterfeit goods.
But the truth is that stereotypes are essentially generalisations and exaggerations. In a lot of cases, they are unreliable and untrue. Stereotypes must be recognised at their most effective as a joke. They are the stock-in-trade of seasoned comedians; the garnish for side-splitting anecdotes at weddings and social gatherings. Stereotypes should not be taken seriously. We should laugh at them without being offended by them.
The more Nigeria develops as a melting pot of nations, the more we should be able to laugh at ourselves. The greater inclination to do this denotes increasing strength of character and self-confidence. However, with the advancement of social media, the banter has gone way beyond the jocular and innocuous to outright malice and unadulterated hatred. Increasingly, what you hear are abusive and pejorative labels of “Yariba,” “Yorubastards” and “Yorobbers;” as well as “Eboes,” “Zooafrans” and “Biafrauds.”
As the insults fly with abandon, you begin to wonder where all this comes from. What is the basis of all this hate? In the sixties, the Igbo were slaughtered in pogroms in the North. However, the principal exchange of hateful words today is not between Northerners and Easterners, but between Easterners and Westerners. Why are these two ethnic groups so much at loggerheads? How did we get to this pass?
Malicious stereotyping often involves denigrating the strengths of others. The Igbo are very enterprising; a very valuable resource in a developing country like Nigeria. But then this is castigated as mercenary. The Yorubas take great pride in education; another valuable asset in today’s modern world. But then they are derided as using this to get one over on others.
The saving grace is that the two groups live side-by-side in peace and quiet in different parts of the country. Moreover, the animosity between them, especially among the younger generation, has not prevented their boys and girls and men and women from falling in love. Yoruba men marry Igbo women; and Igbo men marry Yoruba women. Meanwhile, “a lutta continua.”
Awolowo factor
The Igbo tar the Yorubas with the brush of Awolowo, who they label as “the father of ethnicity in Nigeria.” In that narrative, it is conveniently overlooked that the broadmindedness of the Yorubas enabled Azikiwe, an Igbo man, to win a regional election in the Yoruba heartland in 1954. Instead, what is harped on is the fact that Awolowo mobilised Yoruba politicians to nullify that victory by decamping from Azikiwe’s more nationalist camp to Awolowo’s more ethnically-focused camp.
One of the newspaper headlines that sticks in my memory from 50 years ago is the one that said: “If East Goes, West will Go- Awo.” After a visit to Ojukwu in Enugu at the height of the acrimony over the mass killing of the Igbo in the North in the mid-1960s, Awolowo declared that if the East was allowed to secede as a result of acts of omission or commission, he would also lead the West into secession.
This flashed a green light for Igbo secession. But when the East seceded, Awolowo failed to mobilise the West to follow suit. Not only did the West not join the East in secession, it joined the North in fighting against the East. Awolowo then became the Commissioner of Finance and Vice-President of the Federal Executive Council of the Nigerian government that prosecuted the war against Biafran secession.
The Igbo have rightly deemed this a great betrayal. But their case against Awolowo did not end there. As finance minister, Awolowo was the brainchild of the strategy to blockade Biafra; leading to mass Igbo starvation and deaths. With the end of the war, it was also alleged that Awolowo orchestrated the policy whereby the totality of individual holdings of Biafran currency was converted to Nigerian legal tender at a flat maximum amount of only 20 pounds.
This effectively pauperized the Igbo. Since it also coincided with the period when Nigerian corporations were being privatised, it had the effect of locking out the Igbo from strategic sectors of the Nigerian economy; gobbled up in the main by the Hausa-Fulanis and Yorubas.
Brothers in adversity
The Igbo case against Awolowo has become the Igbo case against the Yorubas. In the process, it is easily overlooked that prominent Yorubas, like Tai Solarin and Wole Soyinka, defended the Igbo right to self-determination during the Biafran War. The properties the Igbo left behind in Yorubaland during the Civil War were not expropriated by the Yorubas, as they were in some other places. When Odumegwu Ojukwu came back from exile in Ivory Coast, all his father’s properties in Lagos remained intact.
Under President Obasanjo, a Yoruba man, the Igbos were given the control of Nigeria’s economic and monetary policy. The Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Governor of the Central Bank, Charles Soludo; and Director-General of the Stock Exchange, Ndidi Okereke-Onyuike, were all Igbos. So were the Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili; and the Director-General of NAFDAC, Dora Akinyuli.
Indeed, Obasanjo favoured the Igbo more than his native Yorubas. He appointed an Igbo, Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, as the Minister of Defense and another, Air Marshal Paul Dike, as Nigeria’s first Igbo Chief of Air Staff. While the Igbo visit the transgressions of Awolowo on the Yorubas, they do not visit the favouritism of Obasanjo on the Yorubas.
The sins of Awolowo were brought again to the fore in 2012 by Chinua Achebe in his book: “There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra.” The blogs came alive as blame was traded on both sides of the East-West divide. Awolowo was now cast by the Igbos as the father of the Yorubas; and they were determined to visit his sins on his Yoruba sons to the third and fourth generations.
Mistakes galore
Blunders continue to be made on both sides, fanning the flames of hatred. Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State blundered by deporting some destitute Igbos back to the East in the dead of night in 2013. This created uproar in the sizeable Igbo community in Lagos. Even though Fashola expressly apologised to Ndigbo for the faux pas, a ridiculous discussion nevertheless ensued about the rightful ownership of Lagos.
Orji Uzor Kalu, former governor of Abia State, put his foot in it when he declared that Lagos, as a former national capital, was “no man’s land and so belongs to all of us.” This incensed ethnic jingoists in Yorubaland who, forgetting the traditional hospitality of the Yorubas, asked the Igbo to leave Lagos and go back East.
But nothing quite compares to the broadside that came from the Oba of Lagos. During the 2015 election, Oba Rilwan Akiolu summoned Lagos Igbo leaders to his palace; only to threaten them: “If anyone of you, I swear in the name of God, goes against my wish that Ambode will be the next governor of Lagos state, the person is going to die inside this water. What you people cannot do in Onitsha, Aba or anywhere you cannot do it here. If you do what I want, Lagos will continue to be prosperous for you, if you go against my wish, you will perish in the water.”
It mattered little to His Royal Highness that Ambode’s close rival was not an Igbo but Jimi Agbaje; another Yoruba man.
Timeout
The Yorubas and Ndigbo do themselves great disservice by seeing themselves as arch-enemies. Within the framework of Nigerian politics, this has limited the freedom of action of both ethnic groups. If one is prominent in this political party, the other is more likely to align itself with another party. This means the one can always be manipulated against the other. Instead, the political space should be opened up by the possibility that the Yoruba and the Igbo can form an alliance. That eventuality is not implausible especially because they actually have common interests.
Both groups prefer a Nigeria that practices fiscal federalism. Both want a country with a weaker centre. Both want a Nigeria that rewards merit, with a state-structure based on resource-control. Both groups want a Nigeria committed to self-determination. These are grounds for cooperation as opposed to discord. If the North is not to continue to take the South for granted, it must not be allowed to continue to operate in the confidence that the East and the West will always be divided.
In politics, there are no permanent enemies and no permanent allies. Fifty years down the road, the politics of the Nigerian Civil War should not be allowed to continue to cast a shadow over Yoruba-Ndigbo relations. In the Second World War, Germany was the arch-enemy of France, but now both countries are the staunchest allies. Japan invaded the United States; but now both are on the same side. These turnarounds can and should be duplicated in Southern Nigeria.
As a first step, there is need for a grand gesture. A well-publicised meeting between the Afenifere and the Ohaneze, where declaratory statements should be made about burying the hatchet. Thereafter, standing committees should be established to deal with flashpoints; such as the dismantling of Oshodi market in Lagos. The hatred between the Yoruba and Ndigbo has gone on for far too long. Let there be love shared among us! Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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Lol...someone just called me...ohh sorry its not nairaland
ReplyDeleteFor once I, an Igbo man, can read FEMI Aribisala and say that he makes uncommon sense. This is such a great piece and the messages are one Ndigbo and the Yorubas must embrace. I schooled mostly in the West (Lagos and Ife) and have worked in Lagos for a large chunk of my adult life. I have sisters, brothers and cousins married to the Yoruba, so cannot for one fathom what this hatred is all about. My closest friends cut across all tribes and I can vouch for their lack of any ethnic leanings in our interactions. I love my Ndigbo for their republican spirit, entrepreneurial drive to excel and 'aje okuta ma mu'omi' 'habits'. I love my Yoruba for their majestic respect of ancient culture, corporate drive to excel and 'ofe mmanu' 'habits'. If these are harnessed, together with the positive aspects of all other ethnic groups in Nigeria, towards collaborative and competitive Nation building instead of this destructive rivalry, then maybe I will see the Nigeria of my dreams.
ReplyDeleteWell said bro
DeleteLet Yorubas start by declaring for Oduduwa, then we will takem serious... Biafra is our land. No more peace meeting with any tribe.
ReplyDeleteode, thats why u cant achieve anyting. biafra my foot
Delete@Prince, take it easy. @Anonymous: maybe if the Igbo have consulted the Yorubas before the their secession drive, the two might have come up with a plan that they can comfortably implement. The Yorubas will only take violence as the last option. The Igbo cannot start secession with violence and expect the Yorubas to just support them. Things do not pan out like that.
DeleteIT IS GOOD AND TIMELY BUT THE YORUBAS MAY NOT KEY INTO THAT BECAUSE OF THE SO-CALLED NEW FOUND POSITION AND ALSO BECAUSE THEY WOUNT ACCEPT THE FACT THAT THEY STARTED THE UNHOLY WAR BACK IN THE 1930s. IF THE SOUTH UNITES IT WILL SEND SHIVERS TO THE NORTH. THE SO-CALLED NORTH KNOWS HOW TO USE AND ROTATE THE SOUTHERNERS AS THEIR DEPUTIES: OBASANJO TO MURTALA, EKWUEME TO SHAGARI, DIYA TO ABACHA, JONATHAN TO YAR'ADUA, OSINBAJO TO BUHARI, etc. THE SOUTH IS ALWAYS READY TO PLAY SECOND FIDDLE. JUST MERE SPARE WIVES TO BE USED AND DROPPED AND LIKE WHORES THEIR LEGS ARE ALWAYS OPEN AND BECKONING. WHAT DID SOUTH DO WITH THE POWER BESTOWED ON THEM SINCE 1999 TO DATE EXCEPT ACRIMONY AND TO DANCE AZONTO TO THE NORTHERN HAWKS THAT PLANTED THEM THERE. SOUTHERNERS SHOULD UNITE AND LEARN FROM THEIR FOLLY. Jay 2, Abuja.
ReplyDeletethe igbos are good people,they dominate most market in lagos and other yoruba land i believe what had happen in the past should be let go so that there can be unity ,peace and progress then anything the igbo want i think when there is unity love and understanding among them they can achieve it and they now speak with one voice.....
ReplyDeleteYou missed the part where you should have mentioned how the south west politians seems to always conspire with the north to control the resources of the eastern nigerians. We will never go to federalise or confederate so let's just slice up and agree to divide before the hatred gets worse. I love yorubas but I do not want their leadership always undermining the progress of my people
ReplyDeleteVery simple, straightforward but honest write-up. I am a pure and unadulterated Igbo, and I'm sure if I have chance to re-incarnate and must still be a Nigerian, I can't choose anything different from being Igbo. Most of my best friends are Yorubas - male and female - in school, as work collegues and even after paid employment.
ReplyDeleteThere is just no reason for the venomous show of animosity as often read on various blogs on social media between members of the two greatly blessed and endowed ethnic nationalities. This clarion call from Femi Aribisala in my opinion is divine-inspired and should not be disregarded. His suggestions for a meeting between reps of the two ethnic groups should be made to happen without delay - if possible in this early part of the year 2016. Reps could be drawn from the town unions and similar bodies of various towns and communities. Lagos would be a beautiful place to hold the meeting. Leaders of Afenifere and Oha-na-eze Ndigbo to please take it up. I can be a rep in the meeting.
A true Igbo brother. Ndewo for your beautiful input.
DeleteAt last someone is thinking straight for the common good of the beloved southern protectorate feared by the British and hated by the emirates. Thank you Femi 🤓
ReplyDeleteIt is good to unite together, but the two groups that were suggested by Femi are traitors. The real name of that of Yoruba is "Afe ni fe ibi - agba osika" i.e. They don't want good for the populace except themselves and their children only. They are wicked and greedy elders. To buttress my point, look at the last confab, Ordinary man on the street is demanding for 40,000 naira minimum wage, they brushed it aside while per month during the confab, each one of them earn 4million naira, making 16million for the 4month exercise. How many 40 thousand are in 1million not to talk of 16million. We are there fellow nigerians/yorubas/igbos/hausas. Look at the on-going arm deal saga, the major beneficiaries are from these groups that we are counting on to unite us together. They will sell us! A new vibrant youthful group should emerge from every tribe to unite us. All these old fools including Aribisala should be side tracked. Remember that Femi Aribisala was saying that GEJ and PDP are the ones who can rule this nation and not ruin it! Why this article about uniting the tribes? An attempt to cover up or redeem his image. He belongs to the folks of the "Afe ni fe bi's".
ReplyDeleteI prefer friendship with hausa origin than yoruba's.Because,I did business with countless hausa's and everything went well.Problem with hausa's origin is the bad eggs among them which is fulani's. Even some hausa's origin are good people more than some of my ipob's brothers. But yoruba's are born cowardice and betrays right from nature. They have coming up again and knowing full well that Biafra is about to emerge.And if Biafra split off today hausa's are in a safely hand being an agricultural mask land that can sustains them generation to generations. I advice my reasonable ipob's brothers and sisters not to allow yoruba's discouragement till we reach to our promise land,then if there's peace possibilities we can consider. Because warriors don't discuss peace and reconciliations in battle front.
ReplyDeleteThis forum is not for children is for reasonable adult
Deletei read some comment among those that has sent their comment all i need to say is that we the new generation has discovered the fault of our past leaders.the yoruba now marry igbo and igbo now marry yoruba we love ourselves.for example my boss is an igbo man i love him to the extent that when i wake of the morning i will pray for him and members of his family so and there is need for us to move forward becos the memories of civil war in nigeria was a bad experience and we need not to have another bitter experience like that again let all of us the reasonable and God fearing youth begin to encourage the peaceful co-existence among ourselves .......Victor Aminu
ReplyDeleteI must be frank about the write up by Femi Aribisala. The write up is divine, complete and laudable. Nigerians should read over and over the contents of the write up and you will see some reasons why peace must be given a chance among the Igbo and Yoruba race. By nature, it is not easy to forget the past, but when there is a greater need to pursue peace and tranquility we must rest our desire to pursue warfare but love, peace and progress. It is not my desire to go back to the past judging from the era of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the role he played when he was Minister of Finance. If I may ask, what action Chief Awolowo took that was criminal to the Igbos? Nigeria was at war which must be prosecuted in order to move the country forward. The only way was to starve your enemies until they surrender! It is a painful way of winning the war, but it is the only plausible way to win the war! I am happy, there are inter tribal marriages extensively going on among the Igbos and the Yorubas This natural gesture will continue unabated because of both religious and cultural ties. As a matter of fact, the NYSC and the new model churches are playing a noble role in this direction. It is healthy and a welcome approach in bridging the gaps between the two groups. In passing, I have the belief that both the hausa/fulani groups should be brought into the proposed unity meeting. Nigeria, to my mind, should remain an entity so as to be a glaring example to other African nations to merge together in order to demonstrate to the world that in unity we stand. With unity, we can together achieve a lot economically and politically. Let our elders lead us in the right direction so that the youths will not go astray.
ReplyDelete