Reintroduction of Nigeria

One of my favourite things to do is traveling. Not particularly because I enjoy the journey itself, it is because I am always excited to see new places, meet new people and learn new ways of life. This is why my service year remains one of my most pleasant memories. I had looked forward to it since the day I saw my elder brother’s pictures from when he was in orientation camp for his own service year…and I was still less than 10 years old. When the time came, I wanted nothing more than to be deployed to somewhere very far from home. It was the first time I would be spending an extended period away from home, all by myself, not answerable to anybody!

New environment, different weather, lots of interesting people. I actually enjoyed every moment of it. The experience allowed me to explore other parts of the country, her culture that I would otherwise may never have been able to learn about. Most importantly, I met a lot of wonderful people that I still maintain contact with. The friends I made still endure till now. Those friends are very dear to me and I am not willing to give them up.

Once I got there, the first thing I wanted to try was the food. I wanted something totally different from everything I grew up knowing. Since then, it has been a constant feature for me to always try local food wherever I find myself. I cannot imagine eating staple food like rice or bread in a place like Uyo. Please, let me have the afang and the edika-ikong. Starch gets me when I venture to Benin and Delta. Kindirimu remains my favourite dessert from the north. I enjoy trying new food...whatever it is, however it tastes. Some of those dishes, I will likely not try again. Some of them, I gorge myself whenever I find myself in those regions.

Before I left for my place of service, I held some beliefs about the north. When I got there, I was not ready for the shock that stared me in the face. I realised I was not the only person from the south that held those beliefs. Many of us have plenty of misconceptions about other regions we know very little about.

Referring to the north, it means the entire region north of River Niger up to the boundaries between Nigeria and our neighboring countries. That region contains a vast array of tribes and tongues. We in the south tend to place all of them in the same (Hausa) tribe, but not every northerner belongs to the Hausa or Fulani tribe. In the North-east, Hausa people are a minority and virtually non-existent in the North-central region.

Interestingly, the way we place them in the same bracket is the same way they class us as the same, especially for us in the southwest. They think we are all Yorùbá and that we speak the same language. Not everyone from the southwestern part has Yoruba as their tongue. When the Awori people from Badagry speak, I do not understand a word of what they say. Yet, they are classified by many across the Niger river as Yorubas.

It is common knowledge that Nigeria is made up of very many tribes but sometimes, many of us underestimate the vastness of that mix. In southern Nigeria for instance, South-south is about the most diverse with about 60 tribes. One day, a friend and old school mate, Efa Iwara said to me: "you think I am Calabar because I am from Cross River? I am from Ugep and I speak Lokaa". I used to think people from his state are either Efik or Ibibio but inside Cross River alone, there are close to 30 tribes that are known. Rivers, Delta and Edo are other states that are replete with numerous tongues. But that doesn't even come close to about 200 tribes in the north out of the estimated 250-300 tribes in Nigeria.

When I was serving in Jalingo, Taraba State, the sheer number of dialects and languages marvelled me for a seemingly homogeneous society. Even in Kaduna, a city many southerners will term as "core north", Hausa is just one of the very many tribes among the Attakar, Bajju, Kajuru, Kagoro, Kamaku and a plethora of others in Kaduna,

Another misconception is about religion. Not every Hausa is a Muslim. Even if you hear names like Mohammed or Habiba, it is not enough for you to conclude that the person is Muslim. I have met Fulani catholics. I have met people of the Anglican communion from Sokoto State. I was amazed to know that the state I served in, Taraba, has a majority Christian population. Not just Taraba, 4 more states in the north have a majority Christian population: Plateau, Adamawa, Nassarawa and Benue. And at least six more (Niger, Gombe, Kaduna, Kogi, Kwara and either Borno or Bauchi) have at least 40% Christian population. That then leaves us with only Kano, Kebbi, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara with Muslim populations above 60%. In the eastern part of the country, there are very many Obis that are Muslims. Many maazis have made the trip to the holy ground in Jeddah as part of the pillars that Islam encourages worshippers to fulfil.

Though I have seen a Kanuri woman speak Igbo so effortlessly and I've met an Edo man speak the three major languages so flawlessly, many of us still do not know enough about fellow Nigerians elsewhere. This closed mentality is what I think the NYSC scheme was designed to partially address but it may have been abused for other purposes. For many of us, the picture of Nigeria is an incomplete, incorrect one. Until we open our minds to learn about others, we may never be able to describe Nigeria correctly.