Tribal discrimination is as real in Lagos as it is in some other urban areas around the world. As much as many people refer to the tribal discrimination among blacks and whites in Asian and European countries, it is not absent in Nigeria and even in Lagos. It is however simply sad that in this information age, there still exists discrimination. In almost every field, one form of discrimination or the other exists and the housing field is not left out.

Racial discrimination refers to any discrimination against an individual based on their skin color, racial or ethnic origin. Discrimination can come in different ways. People may refuse to do business with you based on your skin color or ethnicity. Some may refuse to socialize with you based on those realities while some may refuse to rent a house or rent out a house based on the same factors.

Lagos State is a State characterised by various ethnic groups since it is seen as a mega city and a place where the “big boys and girls”, businessmen and “High Class Citizens” in Nigeria live. However, racial discrimination has not ceased to bedevil the State.

Lagos house hunters have relayed their experiences on many occasions about how they were denied houses because they were from one tribe or the other. There has also been first-hand cases about some others refusing to stay in a particular apartment; because of the same reasons. This discrimination has prevailed for decades in the “mega city” of Lagos.

The following are two ways by which racial discrimination may occur during house hunting:

Stereotyping

A landlord may call a tenant “disrespectful” simply because people of a particular ethnic group are seen as disrespectful. If a prospective tenant gets to know that the house he/she is about to check belongs to a landlord from a particular tribe; he/she can turn back along the way because people from that tribe are seen as “dirty” people who cannot keep their houses clean, talk less of ensuring that their compounds are clean. Stereotyping typically involves the attribution of the same characteristics to all members of a group, regardless of individual differences. It is mostly based on misconceptions, incomplete information and/or false generalizations.  In most cases, stereotypes assume negative characteristics about a group.

Prejudice

During house hunting in Lagos, racial discrimination can occur in form of prejudice. There may be experiences of hostility as a result of negative feelings held by the other party about people from a certain race or group. As a result of this overt bias, some people are refused access to homes they may want to rent. This issue has been prevalent for a long time in Lagos. Prejudice, although not limited to house hunting, is a problem most house hunters worry about during this process.

Also, some subtle discriminations can come to play during this process. For example, some people may have been rest assured that a particular apartment will be rented by them but when the time for payment comes; house owners suddenly display certain attitudes that seek to change the minds of prospective tenants simply because there are underlying motives to rent the apartment out to a client with a preferable race. In other cases, the house owners may state

clearly that they do not want a particular ethnic group as tenants. In some other cases, racialized persons may not be granted equal access to maintenance and repairs. 

Effect of Tribal Discrimination in Lagos House Hunting

Over the years, Lagosians have not only cried out against ethnic discrimination in house hunting, but also religion-wise. Some houses are dominated by Muslims and some by Christians. Efforts to rent a house/apartment in a house dominated by another religion may be in vain. While some get to know about this discrimination from agents who say “there’s no use going to check out that house because your religion is not accepted”; some get to know at the point of filling the rental forms. With the increasing ethnic and religious discrimination in Lagos, one can only hope it fades away soon.

Racial discrimination is the reason why certain areas are stereotyped as belongings to a particular class of people. The continuous existence of racial discrimination in the “mega city” of Lagos only leads to more; and more demarcation in the State which is a poison to the promotion of unity.