THE Racism in Africa nobody talks about

Chinecherem Esther Inyiama
ILLUMINATION
Published in
3 min readApr 16, 2023

The media war of Africa being a continent and not a country, never had its beginning today. This reasoning is from a parallel point of view that everybody in Africa is brother and sister who live close to each other. However, there is a clear contrast between Africans based on nationalism, region, religion, skin tone, sex, social class, and TRIBE. Narrowing it down to — TRIBALISM, it’s a strong sense of loyalty to one’s ethnicity or linguistic group, most times, it’s a form of identity politics that prioritizes group identity over individual identity.

Breaking the -Cause and Effect- of Tribalism

  1. The influence of colonialism on tribalism in Africa and how has this impacted social and economic inequality on the continent?
  2. The root causes of discrimination and some examples of tribalism
Photo by Ninno JackJr on Unsplash

Colonialism and imperialism, its influence on Tribalism

Africa before colonization was kingdoms based on one ethnicity and language that traded and interacted with other neighboring ancient kingdoms. Though, there were occurrences of wars between the ancient kingdoms like any other present state we see today, for example, the war between the ancient kingdom of Benin and Ife in present Nigeria. However, when the European colonizers arrived in Africa in the 19th century, they created the borders of African nations seen today ignoring the traditional tribal boundaries and forming a new political entity based on European concepts of state.

In most cases, colonial powers favored certain ethnic groups over others, using the ‘Divide and Rule’ strategy to maintain control and exploit the land. This is the origin of TRIBALISM in every African nation with multiple ethnicities. Even when the colonizers left, these ethnicities are still burning in sheer hatred for one another. These ethnicities would fight over resources, governance, and dominance over one another and in some cases result in — Genocide. Nigeria with over 250+ ethnicities is only noted down to three major ethnicities which are, Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo. Tribalism post-independence has been intense, especially during elections. Politicians also play a role in this division, urging people to vote for their tribe and religion not on their competence. Africa at large has never had true democracy because of sentimental politics and Godfatherism.

In Bruce’s essay, “Ethnicity and Democracy in Africa’, some important aspects you need to know about Tribalism in Africa are covered.

Here are some impacts of colonization on tribalism — Marginalization of less dominant groups, Fragmentation and conflicts, and less development in the country.

The root causes and some examples of tribalism

  1. Historical and Cultural rivalries between two groups and often at times passed from generation to generation resulting in ethnic conflict, tribalism in sports or media etc.
  2. Economic differences and access to resources and opportunities more than others.
  3. Politics and power struggles played on sentiments of tribe or religion example, political polarization.
  4. Lack of cultural understanding and empathy for another ethnicity.
  5. Negative stereotypes against particular groups.

Sample story of an ethnic war, the “Tutsi and Hutu” tribes in Rwanda covered by https://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/rwanda/historical-background.shtml

How some African nations address issues of tribalism within their societies

Through dialogue and reconciliation, constitutional protections, education and awareness, and political and economic reforms, some African countries have tried to dissolve tribalism.

The Rwanda government after the genocide has implemented a variety of initiatives to promote national unity and reconciliation. In Nigeria, the national orientation agency has implemented programs to promote inter-ethnic dialogue and understanding. Ethiopia has implemented a range of reforms to address historic injustices and promote inclusion.

Africa is still far away from being united, but younger educated generations are making some changes through participation in politics, education, social media and celebrating diversity.

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