The Role of Interethnic/intertribal Relationship in Fostering PEACE and SECURITY

 THE ROLE OF INTERETHNIC/INTERTRIBAL RELATIONSHIP IN FOSTERING PEACE AND SECURITY

Ladies and Gentlemen, I feel so deeply humbled with the opportunity of delivering a lecture on this noble platform      

I'll be talking about "The Role of interethnic/intertribal relationship in fostering PEACE and SECURITY".                       

Please note that I'll only be laying the foundation of this discourse, as well as making emphasis on what other great minds have written or said about the topic.

Nigeria is a nation in the sub Africa continent that is made up of thirty-six (36) states. It has no fewer than 360 ethnic groups and more than 290 languages.
There are three principals and recognized religious organizations existing in the country. They are Christianity, Islam and Paganism.

So many factors are militating against the socio-political development of the country. These factors are mainly linguistics, religious discords and ethnocentric jingoism.

For any country to develop economically, politically and socially, its various ethnic groups or nationalities must be at peace with one another. Hence, no nation can develop in the atmosphere of rancour and acrimony.

As a Nation, ethnocentrism has been a bane in our pursuit of Nationhood and this has greatly resulted in lack of peaceful coexistence and insecurity                       

Prior to the coming of the colonial masters, the different ethnic and cultural groups in Nigeria were existing distinctly. However, independent city states and nations were living in harmony. Though periodically, inter-tribal wars occurred, but that did not completely erode the cordial relationship existing between the different cultural groups or communities, especially in the area of commerce.                        

Nigeria as a heterogeneous society is now facing series of challenges and the most paramount one is the security of lives of its citizenry. The various ethnic groups are no longer living in unison with their neighbours, such poor relationship cannot not foster any meaningful development.                       

No ethnic group can survive without seeking help from the other(s). We have come to an age where cultural integration and interdependency has given way to a debilitating pursuit of cultural supremacy and ethnocentrism. The various ethnic groups that made up the Nigerian society irrespective of their belief system, tradition and religion must strive to co-exist peacefully for the development of the country. “It’s either we all live peacefully together or be destroyed painfully, altogether.”

It's very vital to maintain peace and unity in the multi-ethnic and multi-religious country of Nigeria. With more than 250 ethnic tribes and various religious beliefs divided across geo-political lines of Muslim North and Christian South, the nation's unity is being woefully threatened by ethnocentrism, sentiments and religious fanaticism.

Recently, religious radicalism has exploded in the Northern part of the country, and more recently there has been an upsurge of ethno-tribal hatred down South-East and South-South, causing more harm and hatred among us all.                

Today, not just Nigeria, but most Africa is laced with some of the most obstinate conflicts, most of them constructed from differences in religious and ethnocultural identities. Religious and ethnic nationalism has led to conflicts about control of state power, unequal allocation of resources, citizenship issues, state collapse, economic decline and ethno-religious clashes. Nigeria has been pushed hither and thither by recurrent crises of regional or state illegitimacy, often impairing efforts at economic transformation, democratisation, national cohesion and stability.                   

DEEP knowledge of various religious and ethnic backgrounds in the country has been described as a veritable tool to promoting peace, security and harmony among Nigerians.

It is hoped that the message of love and tolerance as preached by LACUDE would spread to every nook and cranny of Nigeria.

I envision a Nigeria in which people from all ethnocultural root interact with each other and cooperate to serve their communities, thereby strengthening civil society and promoting the development of human values, ensuring peace and security in our communities. Nigeria is a plural society in terms of its multi ethnic and multi-religious nature.

The country has more than 400 ethnic groups and two major religions (Islam and Christianity). It is unfortunate that the country’s cultural diversity is not harnessed but so terribly politicized and exploited by the elite in such a way that retards the nation’s growth and progress. Worse still, to a large extent, the youths have bought into this bad product of ethnoreligiocentrism.

Friends, truth is, much more than our natural resources, our most important blessing as a Nation, is our multifaceted DIVERSITY. The unique and dynamic diversities in culture, language, religion and lifestyles etc, if well explored, will go a long way to cause us to leap frog into the comity of developed Nation.

In a world where, even the farthest point is within an arm’s reach, it is impossible to live anywhere without experiencing cultural diversity. In order for everyone to live peacefully, it is important for individuals to rise above ethnocultural differences that drive us apart or against each other.                        

We must strive to build healthy cross-cultural relationships that make us to celebrate and not just tolerate our differences.

We must unlearn the knowledge and disabuse our mind of the ethnic prejudice of the Igbo man being a fraudster or flattino head.

We must unlearn the knowledge and disabuse our mind of the ethnic prejudice of the Yoruba man being a coward or Afonja .

We must unlearn the knowledge and disabuse our mind of the ethnic prejudice of the Hausa man being a murderous Islamic aboki.

We must unlearn the knowledge and disabuse our mind of the   ethnic prejudice of the Calabar/Akwa-Ibom boy/girl being only good as "housegirl or boyboy'.

We must unlearn the knowledge and disabuse our mind of the ethnic prejudice of a Benue or Benin girl being promiscuous.

We must unlearn the knowledge and disabuse our mind of these and more.

Once upon a time in Nigeria, people lived in peace and harmony. Once upon a time in Nigeria, ethno-tribal and religious sentiments were not a topic for discourse in any forum. But things began to change gradually in the build-up to the 1966 coup that eliminated a crop of elite from a region in Nigeria. And the rest is now history.                        

Growing up, we had neighbours from all tribes and cultures, even from diverse religion. Our Igbo parents don't mind our Yoruba neighbours feeding us in their house. The Yoruba mother will keep the keys to our house and kitchen in the custody of her Igbo neighbour till her children return from school. There was mutual trust along cultural divide.

Religious and ethnic/tribal sentiments now dominate the country’s daily activities at the expense of peaceful co-existence. The atmosphere is awash with tales of ethnic and religious conflicts, so much so that allegiances from Nigerians are now based on ethnicity and religion. These two phenomena now come first before the country. Nigeria is now clearly divided along religious and ethnic lines which is unprecedented in our history. And the attendant result has been series of ethno-tribal and religious clashes in the country.

What a Shame.

Where is the good ole days of inter-tribal cum cultural displays at schools, multi-cultural shows on TV?

We cannot ignore the role of tolerance and love in every functional society. And it must be stated emphatically that “what Nigeria needs at this point in time are love and tolerance”. With love in our hearts, we would be able to tolerate one another, including our ethno-tribal inclinations cum cultural diversities.

Intercultural Tolerance is our safest refuge and our fortress against the handicaps that arise from schism, factions, ethnocentrism and the difficulties inherent in reaching mutual agreement                        

 

L’ACUDE must stand at the forefront to foster peace and security in Nigeria through dialogue and creating a platform for the coexistence of cultures and natives of different tribes and ethnicities.

Do I have anyone in the house who will pledge to make this noble dream of cultural integration a reality?

This is what Nigeria needs. We need to go back to those days where a Christian Igbo can dine freely with a Muslim Fulani without fear of food poisoning and vice versa.

We missed it a long time ago, and the earlier we began to preach the language of love and ethnotribal tolerance the better for the upcoming generation.

Finally, friends, the reality is, there is a lot of misunderstanding, a lot of suspicions amongst ethno-tribal and cultural lines, and a very good way we can clear this misunderstanding is by promoting healthy cross-cultural and inter-ethnic friendships and relationships of whatever nature.

We cannot completely eradicate ethnocentrism in Nigeria with just the snap of the finger, but permit me to borrow and contextualize the words of a great poet, philosopher and most iconic rap artist, Tupac Amaru Shakur, "I may not be able to completely eradicate ethnocentrism in Nigeria, but I just want to spark the brains that will promote intercultural harmonious relationships, that will fight ethnocentrism headlong”.

I'm as always, your friend, and fellow comrade in this noble pursuit.

(A collection of thought of other writers as well as Erukoghene Taunu Samuel)

Rev. Erukeoghene Taunu

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