It's the tribe, stupid.

Ethnicity matters quite a bit in Nigeria. Yes, I know about the history of Nigeria, I know about the artificial boundaries that were set around a landmass that was incredibly diverse in terms of ethnicities, cultures, languages, etc. I have heard of the lack of a strong Nigerian nation (there is a difference between state-building and nation-building; but without going into too much detail, let's just say that both did not take place very successfully in Nigeria), I have read about the cleavages, I have heard about the lack of a strong civil society - but I never imagined it to be so stark. People are mostly first of all members of their tribe before they are Nigerian, which is understandable, because the term "Nigeria" is in itself rather meaningless. It is just a name, given to a former British colony, which encompasses different people, different cultures, different ways of living. Paradoxically enough, Nigerians are very proud of their country, even though they do not seem to primarily identify themselves as Nigerians. Most conversations bring up the issue of ethnicity sooner or later. Pretty much everyone I have met here has in one way or the other told me which tribe they belong to. My friends that I stayed with the first few weeks are Ibo, the lady that I stay with now is Yoruba, so is one of my colleagues, the family friend that comes around once in a while is Fulani, most sellers on the local market in my area are Haussa (Abuja is considered to be in the "North" rather than in the South, even though it actually is in the middle of the country).

Each tribe is more or less secluded, through its own language, customs, and specific culture. And there are different rules of social conduct for different tribes. It will be easier for you to get along with people of the same tribe, not only because you share the language, but also because you know the tacit rules. It is obvious that personal relationships are often more close and sincere between two people from the same tribe, whereas inter-tribe relationships seem to be more complicated to maintain. There are certain characteristics (physical features and character attributes) that distinguish the main tribes from one another. I do not want to sound judgmental, but I have to admit that I have observed certain differences between tribes, at least in the people I have met. Yoruba (Southwest of Nigeria) are certainly the most aggressive and loudest. They are stubborn and certainly have an attitude, but they are also very welcoming and warm-hearted and fiercely Christian (bele for hurting anyone's feelings :)). I have the impression that Ibo people (Southeast of Nigeria) are the most open-minded. In comparison to the other tribes, they mix with members from other tribes quite frequently and are on average less conservative (when compared to European standards they are still extremely conservative though..). There tribal bonds might not be as strong, as they were historically fragmented and consolidated only rather recently. The Hausa are mainly concentrated in the North, they have certain bonds with the Arabs and most are either Muslim or follow traditional indigenous beliefs. They are very religious and strict (so no holding hands in Abuja), but their religion also dictates honesty and modesty, so buying from Hausa traders usually leaves you less ripped off than buying from someone from another tribe.

It is fascinating to see how these very different people with their very different cultures, ideas, religions, and ways of living are merged into one nation and manage to live together (mostly) peacefully. There are ethnic/religious conflicts, those mostly emerge in the Northern states, but considering the variety of people these conflicts are rather rare. By now I am actually quite succesful at my own little guessing game: I try to guess which tribe someone belongs to when I meet them, and I can be sure that it comes up somehow, sooner or later, so I can test my prediction. Surprisingly enough, I mostly am right. I think there definitely must be something to ethnic differences in Nigeria.