Word: ibos
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Nigeria went four months ago. On May 30 the Ibo tribe, which dominates Nigeria's Eastern Region, seceded from the Nigerian Federation and proclaimed the independent Republic of Biafra; and on July 7 a federal attack on Biafra plunged the country into civil war. Nervous African leaders know that no African state was better prepared for independence, and they know that no African state is immune to the problems which beat Nigeria to its knees--those of a tribal society confronting modernization. They are hoping Nigeria will stand again...
...that time, a wave of fear sent Nigerians of all tribes scuttling back to their home territories, and forced the de facto partition of Nigeria into three tribal states--Yoruba West, Hausa North, and Ibo East. The largest group of refugees were 1.8 million Ibos from the North, many badly injured. Enraged, the Ibos demanded federal compensation of the injured and homeless. To prevent a repitition of the atrocities, they also called for the de jure recognition of Nigeria's partition--in the form of a confederation of almost autonomous states. They threatened to secede if the Federal Government...
...when Biafra capituates, Gowon will have even less elbow-room. Ibo resistance has hardly pacified the Hausas. And far from convincing the Ibos they belong in Nigeria, the war seems likely to reinforce their determination to escape the Federation Despite federal precautions, there seems little hope of avoiding a massive slaughter of Ibos as Hausa troops march through Ibo villages. Last year's wounds, it appears are going to be reopened with a vengance. Nigeria cannot hope for a lasting peace until it reconstitutes its government on a non-tribal basis...
...real sense, Nigeria's tribal antagonisms are the product of modernization's pressures. The Ibo's skills--and their ambition and industriousness--embittered the backward Hausas, particularly after Ibos captured most of the skilled jobs in the Northern Region. Hausa envy, inflamed by Ibo arrogance, goes a long way toward explaining the tribal explosion...
There is another side to the picture. When they rocketed to economic dominance, the Ibos upset traditional tribal relationships and displaced many local tribal elites. Moslem caliphs and emirs, who dominated the economy of the North for ages, found their power threatened by Ibo entrepeneurs. Cornered, the Hausas struck a blow for tradition on the streets of their desert-bound cities...