This is not to defend Nigerians, but Indians are more like us than people think. As someone who is close to Indians here in Canada 🇨🇦 and has interacted with them closely, I’ve observed that just as we have Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa, Indians have Gujarati, Punjabi and South Indians. And from these interactions, they don’t really gel the way people assume, especially when it comes to marriage and community. Punjabis and Gujaratis are mostly Hindu and vegetarian, while many South Indians are Christian. Arranged marriage is still strong. Even in Canada, you generally can’t marry outside your group without parental consent. A Gujarati trying to marry a South Indian is usually rejected by the family. The idea that Indians “mix well” is overstated. They may speak similar languages, but their religions and cultures differ. For example, Garba dance or gods are celebrated by mostly Gujaratis, but not by Punjabis or most South Indians. What they have over us is numbers and the ability to prioritise multi-generational family living. Grandparents, uncles, aunts, husband and wife can still live under the same roof in Canada, and it works for them. But unity across tribes or different families is not better than ours. We’re practically the same in that regard. I’ve been seeing these narratives. Time to put an end to them.