Christopher HitchensThere is almost no country in Africa where it is not essential to know to which tribe, or which subgroup of which tribe, the president belongs. From this single piece of information you can trace the lines of patronage and allegiance that define the state.
About This Quote
In the tribal setting of Africa, a person’s tribe often determines everything from the job he or she can get to where a person can live. This makes it essential to know which tribe a person belongs to in order to know what he or she is capable of. Knowing this information is also necessary in order to know how a person might behave towards you as an outsider. In other words, how he or she will treat you as a foreigner is based on this information as well as his or her knowledge of the tribe you belong to.
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