Nigeria is house to over 250 ethnic groups, however one rivalry that stands out is that between the Yoruba and the Igbo tribe.
Although the Yoruba and Igbo are each culturally rich, accomplished, and highly influential, their relationship is commonly clouded by political rivalry and mistrust. In some households, inter-tribal marriage remains to be taboo. This tribalism has quietly filtered into on a regular basis life, from job alternatives and renting properties to heated social media debates.
However the place did all of it start? Is it colonial historical past, the Biafran conflict, financial energy struggles, or a long time of dangerous stereotypes handed down by way of generations? Let’s check out three main explanation why they hate one another.
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They consider the useless do not lie down.
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The group insisted that the present ambiance within the presidency displays concord and shared imaginative and prescient between Tinubu and Shettima.
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3 Causes Why Yorubas And Igbos Hate Every Different
1. Historical past
Earlier than British colonisation, the Yoruba and Igbo existed largely in isolation from one another. The Yoruba had structured kingdoms and city-states (like Oyo and Ife), whereas the Igbo lived in decentralised, egalitarian communities. These vastly totally different governance techniques made them culturally and politically distinct.
In 1914, the British amalgamated the Northern and Southern Protectorates right into a single entity, Nigeria, not for unity’s sake, however for administrative comfort. By this act, ethnic divisions weren’t solely ignored but in addition exploited and thus started the competitors for favour, entry, and identification underneath an imposed nationwide construction.
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2. Ethnic Politics
Within the years resulting in independence, politics shortly took on an ethnic character. The Yoruba nationalism was led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his Motion Group (AG), and Igbo nationalism, the NCNC, was led by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. The rivalry between Awolowo and Azikiwe mirrored the broader competitors between the 2 teams. Every chief was an emblem, and their conflict for dominance outlined a lot of pre-independence politics.
3. The Civil Warfare
The breaking level got here in 1966. A coup led largely by Igbo officers killed main northern and Yoruba leaders, sparking outrage. A counter-coup adopted, concentrating on the Igbo. Ethnic violence escalated, resulting in the secession of Biafra and the devastating Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970). Though the Yoruba weren’t direct members within the conflict, many Igbos noticed Awolowo’s help of the federal blockade, which led to mass hunger in Biafra, as betrayal.
For many years, this has formed Igbo notion of Yoruba politics: crafty, calculating, and self-preserving at the price of others. The Yoruba, however, considered the Igbo as aggressive and overreaching, pointing to the 1966 coup and perceived makes an attempt at domination.
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Current Political Tensions
After the conflict, the navy took over, and later democracy returned in 1999 with a Yoruba president, Olusegun Obasanjo. In the meantime, the Igbos, regardless of their inhabitants dimension and financial energy, remained politically fragmented and underrepresented on the federal degree.
Current elections, particularly in Lagos, have re-exposed this ethnic rivalry. The candidacy of Peter Obi (an Igbo) in 2023 and the backlash in some Yoruba quarters reignited questions of belonging, energy, and ethnic loyalty. Social media debates, identification politics, and market clashes have stored the rivalry contemporary within the nationwide consciousness.
The stereotype is that many Yorubas view Igbos as overly formidable, aggressive in enterprise, and detached to native customs, particularly in locations like Lagos. Whereas many Igbos understand Yorubas as two-faced, politically slippery, and too loyal to politicians. And this tribalism serves no function aside from to divide us all.
The Yoruba-Igbo rivalry just isn’t essentially pushed by hate. It is pushed by competitors for house, energy, and recognition in Nigeria. What’s wanted now’s a brand new technology of Nigerians who can interact past these stereotypes, demand accountable management throughout ethnic traces, and foster a nation constructed on benefit, not manipulation.
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