Segregation, Tribalism, Racism in Nigeria
Tags: Tribalism In Nigeria, Racism, Nigeria, Discrimination, Tribalism

Humanity has a long way to go when it comes to treating our fellow men, Racism has been a constant disease we have battled as humans.

I see no reason why a person would be judged by the color of their skin and not by the content of their heart.

The Bible made us understand that God created everyone in His own Image and Likeness. If we had this registered in our minds, we would not have the cause to racially profile anybody.

According to Britannica, racism (also called Racialism), is the belief that humans may be divided into separate and exclusive biological entities called races. We can trace racism back to the era of slave trade — you can not really separate both incidences.

Systematized racial oppression first arose in the 1600s when European traders discovered that their superior technology gave them a tremendous advantage in Africa, including their sailing ships and firearms. Then they began to plunder Africa’s wealth and take slaves. So many Europeans grew up with the mentality that blacks are inferior to them — a sickening mindset.

Blacks over the years have suffered for just being black. We can look at the case of George Junius Stinney Jr., who was wrongly accused and sentenced to death because he was black.

How do we justify a 14 year old being ‘murdered’ by an all white jury because he was suspected to have killed two girls? He wasn’t even given a fair trial.

How do we explain that a murder trial lasted only 2 hours? A re-examination of the Stinney’s case began in 2004, and several individuals and Northeastern University School of Law sought a judicial review. His conviction was overturned in 2014. This was 70 years after his execution.

A court had ruled that he did not receive a fair trial, a young boy’s life was ended just like that. I can list so many cases of judicial injustice against blacks, not to talk of what goes on outside the judicial system. Do we talk about the killing of blacks like George Floyd?We can go on and on but the fact remains that racism has eaten deep into the fibers of our society.

If you read up the ‘History of Racism’ and see the injustice being meted out to a race, you would ask yourself, who is evil? The oppressor? Or the oppressed — who the oppressor claims to be a threat? Trust me, no article can conveniently accommodate all the atrocities done and still directed at the black race.

Racial discrimination would have been bearable if they just did it only in talks, but blacks over the years have been maimed, killed and marginalized for just being black. We can start looking at instances in history where blacks were treated as animals because of their skin color.

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Chief of which is the slave trade, according to Wikipedia. The Atlantic slave trade, Transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americans.

The Portuguese were the first set of people to start slave trade in the 16th century. In 1562, they transported the first set of slaves to Brazil. Slave trade was a booming “business” for the whites, and our fathers were subjected to inhumane treatments. The journey to freedom started under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson, and the new state of Virginia in 1778 became the first state and one of the first jurisdictions anywhere to stop the importation of slaves (Wikipedia). Denmark was equally the first country to abolish the slave trade. As it looks, slave trade might have ended but one may ask if we are truly free.

While we as blacks are battling racism in America and Europe, it is still painful to see fellow Africans segregating each other. Xenophobia in South Africa is not something new. Reading through the history of Liberia, you would find out that oppression in Liberia was started by slaves released in Europe who came back to oppress those in Liberia. South Africa has a history of segregation. Apartheid was a big problem in South Africa, when the whites segregated themselves and even made laws to favour themselves in our motherland Africa.

One principal question is; if they hate us that much, why did they come to our land in the first place?

It is quite disheartening to see liberated South Africans kill their fellow African brothers. Brothers that fought with them against apartheid and brought the desired freedom.

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We all say black lives matter, or does it only matter when it is a white man Killing us? There is something I noticed throughout history; humans do not like oppression if they are the ones being oppressed. As long as they are the oppressors, it is acceptable. While Nigerians are battling with racism in America, Xenophobia in South Africa, we still suffer tribalism in our own lands. I rather not delve into Nigerian police brutality here, it would require a separate piece.

The way forward in putting an end to racism and discrimination is re-orientation and stringent punishment for offenders of the racially oppressed. The football world is trying its best to curtail such in sports — we’ve had various incidents of such abuses and punishment meted out to offenders.

For Xenophobia, the Nigerian Government needs to start protecting its citizens home and abroad. Our Government is weak, and other countries are taking advantage of it to subject us to suffering.

End Racism

End Xenophobia

End Tribalism

We are all humans.