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Tribalism in Africa: Why The Hausa-Fulani And Igbo Still Hate Each Other

Nigeria is a nation with over 1150 dialects and ethnic groups. The country has 527 languages, seven of them are extinct. The six largest ethnic groups are the Hausa and Fulani in the north, the Igbo in the south East, and the Yoruba in the south West, Efik - Ibibio, and Ijaw of the south.

The Hausa-Fulanis and Igbo are the most predominant.

According to Wikipedia, “Hausa–Fulani are collectively the Hausa and Fulani people of Africa. The two are grouped together because since the Fulani War, their histories have been largely intertwined within Nigeria, while ‘Igbo’ as an ethnic identity developed comparatively recently, in the context of decolonization and the Nigerian Civil War. The various Igbo-speaking communities were historically fragmented and decentralized. In the opinion of Chinua Achebe (2000), Igbo identity should be placed somewhere between a "tribe" and a "nation". Since the defeat of the Republic of Biafra in 1970, the Igbo are sometimes classified as a "stateless nation"

The compound word “Hausa-Fulani” is not a reference to an ethnic group because the Hausa and the Fulani are distinct ethnic, linguistic and cultural groups that cannot be conflated sociologically.

There was, however, a historic meeting point in 1804 when the Jihad movement led essentially by Fulani Ulema (clergy) conquered Hausa land and established the Caliphate and ruling Fulani lineages all over Hausa land, the exceptions being Abuja (Suleja) and Bauchi.

At the turn of the 20th Century, the British conquered the Caliphate and under the leadership of Lord Lugard, the system of indirect rule was established in which the “natives” were ruled through their “traditional rulers”. For the British, the stars of indirect rule were the Fulani ruling classes of the Hausa people and henceforth, the compound word Hausa/Fulani was inevitable in the political lexicon. It did not matter that the Fulani ruling classes had become culturally Hausa and that the great majority of the Fulani people were not part of this narrative.

Africa’s literary giant and celebrated writer Chinua Achebe has claimed that Nigerians, especially the Hausa/Fulanis, do not like the Igbos because of their cultural ideology that emphasizes ‘change, individualism and competitiveness.’

He made this claim in his new book; There was a Country, which has generated controversy for his onslaught on the role of Obafemi Awolowo as the federal commissioner of finance during the Nigeria civil war.

He accused Awolowo of genocide and imposition of food blockade on Biafra, a claim that has drawn rebuttals and contradictions of emotional intensity from some southwest leaders and commentators.

“I have written in my small book entitled ‘The Trouble with Nigeria’ that Nigerians will probably achieve consensus on no other matter than their common resentment of the Igbo,” he wrote under the heading, a ‘History of Ethnic Tension and Resentment’. He traced the origin of “the national resentment of the Igbo” to its culture that “gave the Igbo man an unquestioned advantage over his compatriots in securing credentials for advancement in Nigerian colonial society.”

He observed that the Igbo culture’s emphasis on change, individualism and competitiveness gave his ethnic group an edge over the Hausa/Fulani man who was hindered by a “wary religion.”

He therefore described the Igbo, who are predominantly Catholic, as “fearing no god or man, was custom-made to grasp the opportunities, such as they were, of the white man’s dispensations. And the Igbo did so with both hands.”

“The increase was so exponential in such a short time that within three short decades, the Igbos had closed the gap and quickly moved ahead as the group with the highest literacy rate, the highest standard of living, and the greatest of citizens with post-secondary education in Nigeria,” he contended.

He said Nigerian leadership should have taken advantage of the Igbo talent and this failure was partly responsible for the failure of the Nigerian state, explaining further that competitive individualism and the adventurous spirit of the Igbo was a boon Nigerian leaders failed to recognize and harness for modernization.

“Nigeria’s pathetic attempt to crush these idiosyncrasies rather than celebrate them is one of the fundamental reasons the country has not developed as it should and has emerged as a laughing stock,” he claimed.

He noted that the ousting of prominent Igbos from top offices was a ploy to achieve a simple and crude goal. He said what the Nigerians wanted was to “get the achievers out and replace them with less qualified individuals from the desired ethnic background so as to gain access to the resources of the state.”

Achebe, however, saved some criticisms for his kinsmen. He criticized them for what he described as “hubris, overweening pride and thoughtlessness, which invites envy and hatred or even worse that can obsess the mind with material success and dispose it to all kinds of crude showiness.”

He added that the “contemporary Igbo behavior can offend by its noisy exhibitionism and disregard for humility and quietness.”

The Igbos continue to yearn for succession from the Nigeria they believe is controlled by the Hausa/Fulani.  Today, their agitation is rising to its peak now that a Fulani man is at the head of the Nigerian government (and he seems to be appointing more Hausa/Fulani in key government positions).

But should the Igbos breakaway from the country, the chance of other regions or ethnic groups doing the same would drastically increase. And the Hausa/Fulani believe the division of the country would be to their disadvantage, probably because they would no longer directly benefit from the other region's resources and wealth.

The chance of the Igbos staying happily in the present Nigeria is very slim because of their history with the Hausa/Fulani, their many reasons for hating them and their present state in the country. And should the Igbos move succeed, the Hausa/Fulani would definitely move to stop them in the name of protecting the unity of the country. With this it is clear that a fight between the Igbos and the Hausa/Fulani led Nigeria is imminent.

You can begin to understand why notable Igbos won't come out today to say they support succession of the Igbos. They know that if all Igbos say that they want succession it will result in a fight between them and the Hausa/Fulani led Nigeria. It is only some Igbos that will come out and say even if the path of succession will lead to a fight, they will still pursue it. It is not because they are fight loving people.

You can also now see the reason people in Nigeria condemn the Igbos and label them a violent group is because they wish for things to continue as they are in Nigeria. But a Nigeria where a particular group is forced to stay is not a true one Nigeria. You can't force others to do as you please because of your selfish reasons. And if the Igbos clan isn’t allowed self-determination then they are no different from being in bondage.

All this has made clear the fact that while the path of Igbos may lead to a fight between them and the Hausa/Fulani led Nigeria; the Hausa/Fulani led Nigeria are the ones that will initiate any fight that may result.

The Yoruba’s are mostly to be blamed though, because they are the ones that are supposed to checkmate these two major ethnic groups, they being the third major ethnic group. If the Yoruba would exercise their power as one of the major ethnic group and insist that the Hausa/Fulani do the right thing (not forcefully stop the Igbos from succeeding) instead of siding with the Hausa/Fulani, Nigeria won't be standing on this landmine today.

To stop the plight of the Igbos will not result in lasting peace in Nigeria. Years later the Igbos will still be aching to separate from the Hausa/Fulani. The way to ensure lasting peace for the Igbos is to allow them to succeed peacefully. One thing is certain though, the Hausa/Fulani won't let the Igbos succeed unless they are forced to by the Yoruba and other ethnic groups in Nigeria. But will the Yoruba choose to do the right thing?