Re-the-three-major-tribes-of-nigeria-as-the-countrys-hindrance-to-development
September 7, 2020 | News
RE: THE THREE MAJOR TRIBES OF NIGERIA AS THE COUNTRY’S HINDRANCE TO DEVELOPMENT
The problem of this country right now is not President Buhari. The truth is that the entire Nigerian system is rotten with corruption everywhere, tribalism everywhere, nepotism everywhere and religious intolerance everywhere. These factors and their adverse effects would not have been severe if the three major ethnic groups of Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo, were honest and transparent within themselves. But sadly, these major tribes want to dominate the leadership domain of the country. We see this in the disposition and political attitudes of these major ethnic groups. This is also seen even in the organized private sector.
When you find a Yoruba man for instance as the Head of any organization, the next thing you will see him do is to use his power and position to fill up the entire place with his Yoruba people. The Igbos do the same thing, so also with the Hausa/Fulani tribes. Aside the fact that these major tribes do not trust one another, the whole situation makes it become difficult for the minority tribes in the South to trust these major tribes. Let me use our own Niger Delta region as an example with the operations of the International Oil Companies (IOCs). The first black African to rise in Shell (SPDC) was an Urhobo man, Godwin Omene, who was a Shell scholar who studied in the prestigious Imperial College London as a trained Engineer. Godwin Omene is a qualified Engineer in Mining Engineering and Petroleum Reservoir Engineering. He became the first African who rose on merit to become the Divisional Manager in the Western Operations of Shell (SPDC). Even if the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of an oil and gas company for instance, happens to be a non-Yoruba or non-Igbo person, it means those at the top as the Management Leaders of the said oil and gas company, will be dominated by the Igbos or Yorubas. In the NNPC for instance, the Hausas have dominated the entire top Management Leadership of the NNPC Group with its Subsidiaries.
In the early 80s, when Shell (SPDC) was to appoint the first African as the Deputy Manager Director (DMD), they saw that Omene was the right candidate with the right qualifications, training, competence, experience and capabilities to fit into the post. He had all they needed as DMD because it was a technical position more than the posts of the Managing Director (MD) and Country Chair of Shell (SPDC). The then MD and Country Chair of Shell (SPDC) was a ceremonial position but that of the DMD is the real technical person that will do all the job. The then Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, used his influence and connection and ordered Shell to appoint Mr. Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe (who is now the Obi of Onitsha), who was a top official in Shell (SPDC) but a far junior to Omene and less qualified than Omene, as the DMD. Omene was one of the best brains in the Imperial College London as an undergraduate. Alfred Achebe was not even an Engineer to fit into the post of DMD, which was a highly technical position because the DMD was responsible for the core technical operational projects in Shell then. And that was how Shell announced Achebe as the new DMD. But Omene protested to Shell in The Hague and Shell London Centre, and the said appointment was eventually reversed. But Omene, as a Nigerian in Shell, didn't fill Shell (SPDC) with his tribesmen but he based his appointments on merit. Appointment in Shell Nigeria was on merit in this period of Omene as DMD. But after Omene's tenure ended, Shell was turned into the Igbo and Yoruba forum. They turned the entire Shell companies in Nigeria (SCIN) into an Igbo and Yoruba thing.
In fact, at the moment, the Yorubas and Igbos have taken over all the Executive positions of all the IOCs in the country. So, in my own view, the Igbos, Yorubas and Hausas/Fulanis are birds of the same feathers. Name any Government Parastatal in Delta State that is being headed by a core Deltan? None! Surprisingly, in Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa lands, they will not allow that sort of thing to prevail. They won't allow that in Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun (FUPRE), Warri Refinery and Petrochemicals, Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), etc. In the lands of these major tribes, they won't allow another tribe to head any Federal Government Parastatal in places like University of Ibadan (UI), University of Ife (Obafemi Awolowo University), Nigeria University Nsuka, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, etc. They will not allow another tribe to be VCs, and Registrars. These are Federal Universities and not State-owned Universities and Colleges. Apart from the present Commissioner of Police (CP) in the Lagos State, the rest past one's were Yorubas. The new CP Lagos State was brought in by Governor Ambode, and that was one of the sins he committed against the Oba of Lagos, and they warned that henceforth, they will not allow a non-yoruba to be CP of Lagos State. If you are not a Yoruba man, they will not allow you to be CP or Director of the DSS in Yoruba States. The truth is that the three major tribes of Igbos, Hausas and Yorubas are the same kind of people with the same type of behavioral tendencies of looking after their own, and no one else's. They don't really care about the minorities in the South South.
The Ijaws, also have the same problem and they behave like the Igbos, Hausas and Yorubas. When former President Jonathan was in power, he had no regard for the Urhobos, Isokos, Efiks, Ibiobios, Itsekiri, etc. He gave his Ijaws tribesmen a field day in government to do as they pleased in the nation's collective wealth. We also see how the Igbos, with the connection of their in-law General Babangida (rtd), forced the Anioma (Igbos) on Delta State, though it was not a part of Delta State. They took it with force, and made Asaba the State Capital of Delta State. The Aniomas were never part of Delta province but were in the Benin province then. The two provinces then were the Delta and Benin Provinces, which formed Bendel State - Ben + Del. So, we can see that the problems in the country are severe.
Until the three major tribes start looking at the entire country as One entity called Nigeria, and they stop trying to dominate one another, and stop imposing tribal sentiments on the minority less-privileged tribes; then there will not be any foreseeable change in the divisive tendencies that have kept the nation underdeveloped for years to come. And there is also need for them to correct some of the injustice, unfair treatment in the distribution of social justice, no matter the tribes concerned, especially in the area of stopping the imposition of tribal interests and the siting of national or State public establishments/structures in the right and appropriate cities and towns. It is appalling that today, every tribe leader in a position of authority wants to take public establishments/offices to either their home town or their in-law’s place. A good example is the siting of Delta State capital in Asaba that was not part of Delta province. They not only forced themselves to be part of Delta State, but they also took the State capital to Asaba. They did not give a damn about what others felt. It was a marriage by force, whether those affected liked it or not.
The three major tribes have the same oppressive attributes, with each trying to outwit the other and the rest tribes in the quest for political power and economic influence. And that has been the major root problem of Nigeria's underdevelopment.
Zik Gbemre.
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes
The problem of this country right now is not President Buhari. The truth is that the entire Nigerian system is rotten with corruption everywhere, tribalism everywhere, nepotism everywhere and religious intolerance everywhere. These factors and their adverse effects would not have been severe if the three major ethnic groups of Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo, were honest and transparent within themselves. But sadly, these major tribes want to dominate the leadership domain of the country. We see this in the disposition and political attitudes of these major ethnic groups. This is also seen even in the organized private sector.
When you find a Yoruba man for instance as the Head of any organization, the next thing you will see him do is to use his power and position to fill up the entire place with his Yoruba people. The Igbos do the same thing, so also with the Hausa/Fulani tribes. Aside the fact that these major tribes do not trust one another, the whole situation makes it become difficult for the minority tribes in the South to trust these major tribes. Let me use our own Niger Delta region as an example with the operations of the International Oil Companies (IOCs). The first black African to rise in Shell (SPDC) was an Urhobo man, Godwin Omene, who was a Shell scholar who studied in the prestigious Imperial College London as a trained Engineer. Godwin Omene is a qualified Engineer in Mining Engineering and Petroleum Reservoir Engineering. He became the first African who rose on merit to become the Divisional Manager in the Western Operations of Shell (SPDC). Even if the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of an oil and gas company for instance, happens to be a non-Yoruba or non-Igbo person, it means those at the top as the Management Leaders of the said oil and gas company, will be dominated by the Igbos or Yorubas. In the NNPC for instance, the Hausas have dominated the entire top Management Leadership of the NNPC Group with its Subsidiaries.
In the early 80s, when Shell (SPDC) was to appoint the first African as the Deputy Manager Director (DMD), they saw that Omene was the right candidate with the right qualifications, training, competence, experience and capabilities to fit into the post. He had all they needed as DMD because it was a technical position more than the posts of the Managing Director (MD) and Country Chair of Shell (SPDC). The then MD and Country Chair of Shell (SPDC) was a ceremonial position but that of the DMD is the real technical person that will do all the job. The then Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, used his influence and connection and ordered Shell to appoint Mr. Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe (who is now the Obi of Onitsha), who was a top official in Shell (SPDC) but a far junior to Omene and less qualified than Omene, as the DMD. Omene was one of the best brains in the Imperial College London as an undergraduate. Alfred Achebe was not even an Engineer to fit into the post of DMD, which was a highly technical position because the DMD was responsible for the core technical operational projects in Shell then. And that was how Shell announced Achebe as the new DMD. But Omene protested to Shell in The Hague and Shell London Centre, and the said appointment was eventually reversed. But Omene, as a Nigerian in Shell, didn't fill Shell (SPDC) with his tribesmen but he based his appointments on merit. Appointment in Shell Nigeria was on merit in this period of Omene as DMD. But after Omene's tenure ended, Shell was turned into the Igbo and Yoruba forum. They turned the entire Shell companies in Nigeria (SCIN) into an Igbo and Yoruba thing.
In fact, at the moment, the Yorubas and Igbos have taken over all the Executive positions of all the IOCs in the country. So, in my own view, the Igbos, Yorubas and Hausas/Fulanis are birds of the same feathers. Name any Government Parastatal in Delta State that is being headed by a core Deltan? None! Surprisingly, in Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa lands, they will not allow that sort of thing to prevail. They won't allow that in Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun (FUPRE), Warri Refinery and Petrochemicals, Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), etc. In the lands of these major tribes, they won't allow another tribe to head any Federal Government Parastatal in places like University of Ibadan (UI), University of Ife (Obafemi Awolowo University), Nigeria University Nsuka, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, etc. They will not allow another tribe to be VCs, and Registrars. These are Federal Universities and not State-owned Universities and Colleges. Apart from the present Commissioner of Police (CP) in the Lagos State, the rest past one's were Yorubas. The new CP Lagos State was brought in by Governor Ambode, and that was one of the sins he committed against the Oba of Lagos, and they warned that henceforth, they will not allow a non-yoruba to be CP of Lagos State. If you are not a Yoruba man, they will not allow you to be CP or Director of the DSS in Yoruba States. The truth is that the three major tribes of Igbos, Hausas and Yorubas are the same kind of people with the same type of behavioral tendencies of looking after their own, and no one else's. They don't really care about the minorities in the South South.
The Ijaws, also have the same problem and they behave like the Igbos, Hausas and Yorubas. When former President Jonathan was in power, he had no regard for the Urhobos, Isokos, Efiks, Ibiobios, Itsekiri, etc. He gave his Ijaws tribesmen a field day in government to do as they pleased in the nation's collective wealth. We also see how the Igbos, with the connection of their in-law General Babangida (rtd), forced the Anioma (Igbos) on Delta State, though it was not a part of Delta State. They took it with force, and made Asaba the State Capital of Delta State. The Aniomas were never part of Delta province but were in the Benin province then. The two provinces then were the Delta and Benin Provinces, which formed Bendel State - Ben + Del. So, we can see that the problems in the country are severe.
Until the three major tribes start looking at the entire country as One entity called Nigeria, and they stop trying to dominate one another, and stop imposing tribal sentiments on the minority less-privileged tribes; then there will not be any foreseeable change in the divisive tendencies that have kept the nation underdeveloped for years to come. And there is also need for them to correct some of the injustice, unfair treatment in the distribution of social justice, no matter the tribes concerned, especially in the area of stopping the imposition of tribal interests and the siting of national or State public establishments/structures in the right and appropriate cities and towns. It is appalling that today, every tribe leader in a position of authority wants to take public establishments/offices to either their home town or their in-law’s place. A good example is the siting of Delta State capital in Asaba that was not part of Delta province. They not only forced themselves to be part of Delta State, but they also took the State capital to Asaba. They did not give a damn about what others felt. It was a marriage by force, whether those affected liked it or not.
The three major tribes have the same oppressive attributes, with each trying to outwit the other and the rest tribes in the quest for political power and economic influence. And that has been the major root problem of Nigeria's underdevelopment.
Zik Gbemre.
We Mobilize Others to Fight for Individual Causes as if Those Were Our Causes