By Omowunmi Oladokun
Tolerance is the willingness to accept and respect other people’s behaviour, belief, language and practices that differs from yours.
Inability to tolerate others may lead to an outburst of anger, chaos and sometimes break down of systems.
Most of the challenges in the world today were probably borne out of intolerance bordering on differing religion, ethnicity, culture even in the home (marriage)
TRIBAL INTOLERANCE IN NIGERIA.
There are three major tribes in Nigeria: Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa and absolutely 371 tribes in Nigeria and The Federal Government that is being practiced in Nigeria has been an Umbrella that has been accommodating all the tribes and differences in Nigeria without prejudice.
Biafra came out of the desire of the Igbos to sectionalize and separate from other tribes on Nigeria.
It started with the Biafran War in July 6, 1967 and it was thought that it died down until it started rearing it’s head in Nigeria. Two legislation regulated intolerance in Nigeria:
Section 2(1) of the 1999 Constitution states that “Nigeria is a single, unified sovereign nation, meaning no region or state has the legal right to secede or break away.
Section 2 (2) of The 1999 Constitution states that:Nigeria operates a federal system composed of the federal government, 36 states, and the Federal Capital Territory, alongside local government areas.
Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution mandates that the composition of the federal government or any of its agencies must reflect the “federal character” of Nigeria to prevent the dominance of a few states, ethnic, or sectional groups.
Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria protects citizens from discrimination based on community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion, or political opinion.
In conclusion, tribal differences should not lead to intolerance in Nigeria and the belief in “unity in diversity” should override the desire of some to usurp power and sectionalize the country.
