Is Phyna’s outburst a reflection of the subtle tribal bias in all of us?

BBNaija star Phyna recently found herself in hot water after a heated series of posts on X alleged that some Yoruba hoodlums damaged her car after she declined giving them money.

Her posts immediately drew sharp public criticism for reinforcing harmful stereotypes against Yorubas, and soon after, she issued a heartfelt apology, explaining that her words were driven by anger and not rooted in malice. 

She later said, “I must say I let my anger get the best of me with the tweets I made earlier. It’s just a whole lot going on, plus having to fix the scratches and replace what was taken from the windshield of my car.”

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However, her apology was not received by all. An outraged X user, among many, wrote,

Social media influencer Daniel Regha was among the people who were not placated by Phyna’s apology.

“Phyna apologizing over her tribalistic statement is one thing, but it’s sad that someone can even have such a mindset to begin with.

Firstly not everything should make it to the internet, and if it must, think it through. Yoruba this, Yoruba that, and yet, you still refuse to leave the state or region where they dominate.

Mind you Lagos is populated with other ethinicities, and many speak Yoruba (names aside), so it’s sickening to attribute a particular character to one ethnicity over a bad experience based on language spoken.

People should learn how to talk, it costs nothing to apply COMMON SENSE,”

Regha posted on X.

How tribalism is ingrained

Phyna’s misstep isn’t isolated; it is a literal representation of the subtle biases that many of us carry.

Even in harmless posts meant to celebrate Nigeria’s cultural diversity, these tribal biases creep out and create a battle of supremacy where one tribe must be denigrated to lift the other.

From sports to music, the beautiful moments that should unite us as Nigerians are used as means of scoring cheap tribal points by people who see their actions as normal rather than the subtle bigotry it is.

These become so normalised, buried in sarcasm or viral memes, until a public figure utters them in a moment of frustration, and suddenly, we’re reminded that prejudice often hides in the shadow of familiarity.

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