THE HIDDEN CHAINS OF TRIBALISM

UNITY IN DIVERSITY

It’s 2026 and tribalism is still breathing down our necks. We talk about unity in diversity but the moment a job vacancy opens up, or your daughter brings a man home, or a political debate starts, the woke exterior cracks. Suddenly, the first thing we’re looking for isn't character or competence, it’s a last name.

This is the main reason we’re still stuck in the same spot, scratching our heads and wondering why nothing in this country is actually working.

The "Our Person" Delusion

We have this unwritten rule that as long as the person in charge is one of us, it doesn’t matter if they are failing. We’ve seen it happen everywhere, from government offices to corporate boards. A man will be actively running a department into the ground, but his tribesmen will defend him like their lives depend on it.

Why? Because we’d rather have a brother who is a failure than a stranger who is a genius. When we choose tribe over talent, we are basically saying we prefer to suffer in a language we understand. You can't build a 21st-century nation on a foundation of he's from my village.

2. The Marriage war zone

This is arguably the most painful part. Tell me why, in this modern age, two people who are perfect for each other still have to break up and move on because one set of parents said, we don't marry those people. We are letting ghosts from decades ago, people who are probably no longer alive, decide who we sleep next to at night.

We claim we want our children to be happy, but what we actually want is for them to be compliant. When we let tribalism dictate who we love, we aren't just hurting our partners; we are teaching the next generation that hate is a family heirloom they must protect.

The Social Media Trap

Social media was supposed to bridge the gap, but it just gave us bigger speakers to shout at each other. Now, if one person from a certain tribe does something bad, we don't just blame the person, we blame the entire ethnic group.

We’ve turned people into caricatures but here is the bitter truth: the people at the top, the ones making the big decisions, don't care about tribe when they are sharing the national cake. They only bring it up when they want us to fight each other so we don't look at what they are doing.

To ponder on

If we’re going to get out of this, we need to be honest with ourselves. Ask yourself these hard questions; When you meet someone new, do you wait to hear their surname before you decide how much respect to give them? Is your circle of friends looking like a local government meeting for your home state, or does it actually look like a diverse world? If the best candidate for a job you're hiring for is from a rival tribe, would you actually give them the keys, or would you look for a brother who is 40% less qualified?

We have the talent, we have the energy, and we have the resources but we will never win the trophy as long as we’re playing against each other instead of the opposition.

Tribalism isn't just part of our culture, It’s a weight and until we drop that weight, we will keep running on the same spot while the rest of the world moves on.