MY TRIBE IS BETTER

I am proud to be African, Zambian and Namwanga by Tribe. Namwanga or Nyamwanga is a Bantu language spoken by the Winamwanga or Mwanga people in Northern province, Nakonde district of Zambia and also in the Mbeya region of Tanzania. We are believed to have come from North east Africa. The Winamwanga people are a very hardworking, kindhearted, united and cohesive people.
Julius Nyerere once said, “Without unity there is no future for Africa.”

There is an adage that states, “United we stand divided we fall.” Over the years and from my research and observation I have come to learn that unity plays a vital role in the development of a people, a nation and a country. If we go back to African history, we see that there is no African country that gained independence without being united despite its diversity of tribes. Unity was the key ingredient that made African countries gain their independence. We called this Ubuntu in the Southern Part of Africa while the East Africans called this unity Ujama.
When a people are united, when a people have one voice, when a people have the same vision, mission and objective, it is astonishing to imagine what they can achieve. When a people are united, when a nation is united, when a country is united they can achieve far beyond the impossible. Africans need to begin to work together as a team in order to achieve beyond what they have set their minds and hearts to achieve, because Together Everyone Achieves More. We can achieve more than we can ever imagine if only we work together and put aside tribal apartheid. Believe it or not, agree with it or not, love it or hate it but the fact still remains that there is strength and beauty in diversity or should I say there is strength and beauty in united and cohesive diversity.
You see when a people are not united but divided amongst themselves it brings about room for foreign interference. It brings about room for violence and it is difficult if not impossible to develop. People, starve, others get sick, some die and others lose loved ones. When you are starving to death, when you are sick or dying it is difficult if not impossible to think of developing, it is difficult to think of educating your children, it is impossible to think of finding African solutions to our African social or economic problems, it is difficult if not impossible to fight for Africa, to fight for the development of Mother Africa. Haile Selassie I was the emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974, he once said, “Above all, we must avoid the pitfalls of tribalism. If we are divided among ourselves on tribal lines, we open our doors to foreign intervention and its potentially harmful consequences.”
This tribal division most African countries are suffering from gives birth to violence. A good example is Kenya’s 2007 – 2008 post-election violence which revealed the extent to which tribal forces could quickly bring a country to the brink of civil war.

Not only Kenya but Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia and many other African countries have suffered and are still suffering from post-election violence due to tribal tensions.
When we go back again to African history we see that the white man segregated the black man from himself and divided the black man from the black man. What do I mean? The white man segregated himself from the black man because he felt he was more superior to the black man and considered the black man inferior to himself. This was and is what we call racism or apartheid.

The white man divided the black man from the black man by making superior certain tribes over other tribes. He gave certain privileges to these tribes so that they could help him easily control the other tribes or should I say Africans. This was probably the genesis or rather the birth of the so called tribalism. The tribes that were given privileges over other tribes by the white man begun to feel that they too were superior to the other tribes but little did they know that they were merely being used by the white man as a tool to control the other Africans.

You see, the white man understood and appreciated the power of a divided African people and greatly feared the power of a united African people which he still fears even today, but that’s an article for another day. Funny enough, even after uniting and gaining independence the spirit or should I say the curse of segregation and tribal tensions, the spirit of division has continued to live amongst the African people. Back then, we united against a common enemy with a common goal, only to divide and fight amongst ourselves after defeating the enemy, leaving enough room for the enemy to come back. When we take a look at the Africans that were taken as slaves to western countries specifically America, we see that the curse followed them even to far western lands. Even though they are not in Africa but still are of African descent they fight amongst themselves. Statistics show that black on black violence percentages are so high in the West. According to the latest estimates from the US Census Bureau 13% of Americans are Black and according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 93% of black victims were killed by blacks. Now this is tribal violence even though we cannot see it.

The word apartheid is well known to mean the policy of racial separation used by South Africa from 1948 to 1990 but it does not only mean or refer to racial separation but apartheid also means or is a policy or situation of segregation based on some specified attribute which can be race, gender, age or even tribe.
In Africa today tribalism means something different from what it actually means. Tribalism in Africa in simple words is the belief that one tribe is superior or inferior to another tribe or group of tribes which is similar to racism which is the belief that one race is superior or inferior to another race or group of races. This means that racism is a type of apartheid and tribalism is also a type of apartheid. In other words, racism and tribalism are two very similar un-identical twin sisters of the same mother who give birth to children that cause the retarded development of Africa. Racism and tribalism both hinder the development of a people and the African continent at large. 
Is tribalism bad? Or is tribalism good? In order for me to answer this question I had to carry out a research on some common word definitions. I had to find out what the word human means and I also had to find out what the word humanism means after which I had to find out what the word race means and what the word racism means, I also had to find out what the word nationalism means and finally I had to find out what the word tribe means and what the word tribalism actually means. I then had to connect these words to better understand tribalism and what it really means.
I believe the meanings of some of these words have been misunderstood in some way and to some extent taken out of context. Allow me to explain before you disagree with me. The word human means or refers to a living being belonging to the species Homo sapiens or its closest relatives or simply put a human is a person. Part of the word humanism comes from the word human which means or is the study of the humanities or liberal arts or from a historical point of view specifically, a cultural and intellectual movement in the 14th – 16th century in Europe characterized by attention to classical culture and a promotion of vernacular texts, notably during the Renaissance or it can also be defined as an ethical system that centers on humans and their values, needs, interests, abilities, dignity and freedom.
The word race in this context means a large group of people distinguished from others on the basis of common physical characteristics such as skin color or hair type. Racism is the belief that one race or ethnic group is superior or inferior to another race or group of races. A tribe is made up of a group of humans or should I say a group of people. The word tribe means or refers to a socially, ethnically, and politically cohesive group of people or can also mean a social group of distinct people who share common beliefs, culture, religion and who speak the same language. Part of the word tribalism comes from the word tribe which means and is simply a feeling of identity and loyalty to ones’ tribe. But in Africa today tribalism means or is the act of judging and condemning someone solely because they are from a certain tribe or social group.
Looking at the definitions presented to you, we see that a human is a person regardless of race, gender or tribe and humanism is the study of humans and a race is a group of distinct humans based on color of skin and a tribe is a group of humans and therefore tribalism should mean something different in Africa as opposed to its current meaning. Allow me to redefine tribalism in Africa. Tribalism is the study of different tribes or tribalism is an ethical system that centers on tribes and their values, needs, interests, abilities, religions, cultures and languages. Now this is the true meaning and definition of tribalism. Simply put tribalism is a feeling of identity and loyalty to one’s tribe. Just like we are patriotic, we feel we belong to, we identify and are loyal to the countries we come from which is not a bad thing. Nationalism which can also be referred to as patriotism is the idea of supporting one’s country, people or culture. In essence we all as Africans should be tribalists by nature and by default and we should practice tribalism. Without this practice a few decades down the line we would have lost and forgotten our culture, our tribal values, where we come from, our roots and what tribe we belong to. In a way practicing tribalism helps us preserve our culture. The act of being loyal to one’s tribe makes an individual want to know and learn more about his roots, where he comes from, his culture, customs, practices or simply put his tribe. To answer the question, “is tribalism bad?” the answer is NO! Tribalism is not bad but tribalism is good. Ernest Gellner was a British-Czech philosopher and social anthropologist, he once said concerning tribalism that, “Tribalism never prospers, for when it does, everyone will respect it as true nationalism, and no-one will dare call it tribalism.”

But lest we forget, too much of anything is bad. When anything is taken to the extremes it definitely becomes bad. If an individual takes too much sugar they risk suffering from diabetes which is not healthy for the body, if a person takes too much salt they risk having high blood pressure. A good example of extremism are Islamic extremist groups like Bokoharam and Al-Quaeda, these are groups that have taken Islam to the extremes and have distorted the true meaning of the Islam faith. Whenever a person hears the word Islam they immediately associate it with terrorism, suicide bombings and mass murder which shouldn’t be the case.

Likewise, in Africa whenever someone hears the word tribalism it is quickly associated with dirty politics, judging someone based on what tribe they belong to and putting people in inferior and superior classes based on the tribe that they belong to. This is tribalism to its extremes. People who do this should be called tribal extremists. This act is what should be referred to as extreme tribalism and not tribalism. In fact, without its inclination to politics we wouldn’t have this extreme tribalism because more often than not people only practice extreme Tribalism when there is politics involved. An African-American named Walter Rodney was a prominent Guyanese historian, political activist and academic, he once said, “Ethnic differences exist; of course they exist on the African continent. They are not necessarily political differences, however, they do not necessarily cause people to kill each other. They become the so-called ‘tribalism’ when they are politicized in a particular framework. And in post-independence Africa they have been politicized largely by sections of the so-called African elite.”

Today in Africa when it is election time you will find that citizen ‘A’ refuses to vote for presidential candidate ‘X’ but votes for presidential candidate ‘Z’ because citizen ‘A’ belongs to a different tribe that presidential candidate ‘X’ does not belong to. The sad part is that in Africa citizens vote for leaders based on tribal lines and not based on merit. What is even worse is that the leaders of these African political parties are at the forefront fueling the so called tribalism.
I would propose that, just like Islamic Extremist group actions are considered crimes so should Extreme tribalism actions be treated as crimes. Extreme tribalism brings about violence, civil wars, promotes mediocrity, hijacks the democratic process, encourages corruption and nepotism, stands in the way of national cohesion and often it creates a distraction away from serious national issues and largely contributes to community violence.
Most African countries suffer from ethnic or should I say tribal conflicts. Some of the African countries that suffer from this curse of extreme tribalism include Kenya, Morocco, Algeria, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Ethiopia, Somalia, Egypt, Libya, Zimbabwe and Sudan amongst others. In morocco we have the Berber and the Fassi, in Kenya we have the Kikuyu and the Luo, in Rwanda we have the Hutus and the Tutsis, in Zimbabwe we have the Shona’s and Ndebele’s, in Nigeria we have the Igbos and the Yoruba’s and so on… these tribes mentioned suffer from an inferiority and superiority complex. They are constantly in conflict with each other some more than others.
In conclusion, when we look at the definitions given earlier we see that all the words have got something in common, there is a key word that keeps appearing, they have a common denominator, which is that they all center on a human or humans. At the end of the day it does not matter what color your skin is, it does not matter what tribe you belong to, what matters is that we are all humans. We all belong to the human race as others would put it or as I would put it, the human tribe. We cannot all be the same, we cannot all be of the same race, and we cannot all be of the same tribe, where would the beauty in that be if we were? Like I said earlier there is strength and beauty in united and cohesive diversity. Contrary to the title of this article allow me to state that all tribes are good and my tribe is not better than any other tribe but is as good as any other tribe. I believe every tribe is good at something that the other tribe is not good at making every tribe equal by each having a unique quality that it only possesses.
Let us take the human body for example, the human body is made up of different body parts which include the hands, legs, eyes, ears, nose, fingers, mouth etc. which all have something in common which is that they all are body parts and they work together to achieve goals set by the human being. Despite their diversity they still work together. The eyes can be proud and happy to be the eyes but should not look down on the legs because what the legs can do the eyes cannot do and vice versa. The eyes can see where the body as a whole can go but the eyes cannot take the body to that place only the legs can. Imagine if all our body parts were the same body part all over, imagine if every body part was a leg where would the beauty in being human be? Imagine if certain body parts started looking down on other body parts based on what color that body part is or what function that body part performs, imagine if certain body parts started fighting other body parts for such reasons… yes it would be chaos but that is not what is happening.
I really love how the Bible puts it in the book of 1Corrinthians Chapter 12 verses 14 - 26 (AMP Version),
“14For the body does not consist of one limb or organ but of many.
15If the foot should say, because I am not the hand, I do not belong to the body, would it be therefore not a part of the body?
16If the ear should say, because I am not the eye, I do not belong to the body, would it be therefore not part of the body?
17If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?
18But as it is God has placed and arranged the limbs and organs in the body, each particular one of them, just as he wished and saw fit and with the best adaptation.
19But if the whole were all a single organ, were would the body be?
20And now there are certainly many limbs and organs, but a single body.
21And the eye is not able to say to the hand, I have no need of you, or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
22But instead there is absolute necessity for the parts of the body that are considered the more weak.
23And those parts of the body which are considered rather ignoble are the very parts which we invest with additional honor, and our unseemly parts and those unsuitable for exposure are treated with seemliness (modesty and decorum).
24Which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so adjusted (mingled, harmonized and subtly proportioned the parts of the whole body, giving the great honor and richer endowment to the inferior parts which lack apparent importance,
25So that there should be no division or discord or lack of adaptation of the parts of the body to each other, but the members all alike should have a mutual interest in and care for one another.
26And if one member suffers all the parts share the suffering; if one member is honored all the members share in the enjoyment of it.”
Let us be like the human body, let us learn to live and work with one another despite our different races or different tribes because at the end of the day we are all human and if Africa is to develop we need to begin to work together, we need to put aside tribal differences, we need to unite and together as one accelerate development in Africa.
Let me end by sharing a short story, “An Anthropologist proposed a game to kids of a certain African country. He put a basket full of fruits near a tree and told them that, whoever got there first won the basket of sweet fruits. When he told them to run they all took each other’s hands and ran together, then sat down enjoying their fruits. When he asked them why they had run like that as one could have had all the fruits for himself they said “UBUNTU”, how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?”

UBUNTU is a philosophy of African tribes that can be summed up as ‘I am because we are.’ It means I am because you are and you are because I am, your problems are my problems and your joys my joys.

The so called Tribalism or racism or religious disputes cannot exist the moment we all understand that we all belong to one humanity. In the words of Kofi Anan allow me to say, “We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin but we all belong to one human race.”

Always remember, there is no racism in wisdom and extreme tribalism has no place to lay its troubled head in the land of wisdom. If Africa is to begin to accelerate development, we need to awaken as Africa and get rid of the extreme tribalism that is slowly but surely destroying Africa.