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So in doing historical research for Of Infinite Night, one of the things I really wanted to figure out was what Philip's exact ethnicity would be. We all know he's Nigerian but Nigeria itself has MANY subgroups of people, all with their own culture. I spent days looking into it and came to the conclusion that Philip is of Igbo descent.

How did I come to this conclusion, you say? Well, allow me to explain. Prepare for a lesson fellas.

As I said, there are many different tribes in Nigeria but the three dominant ones are: Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani.

Igbo:

Educated and hardworking people

Typically more focused on constant improvement

More involved with businesses and more "advanced" jobs

Eager to travel from their community and strive for bigger and better things

Majority Christian.

Hausa-Fulani:

Not generally as focused on higher education

Rural and are generally farmers or marketplace workers

Tend to stay within their community with little interest in leaving what they know behind.

Highly value religious beliefs

Majority Muslim.

Yoruba:

Kind of a mix of the other two

Can be both highly educated or content to stay in their community

Religious belief can vary but they are generally more aligned with the Igbo people

This tribe wasn't very involved in the Biafra War, so I didn't look too much into them and safely ruled them out as an ethnic group Philip could be.

The following is a very general rundown of historical events. There's definitely more nuance in what happened in this war, so just be aware of that as I go into this.

The Conflict

The Biafran War (Nigerian Civil War) mainly happened due to a power imbalance in Nigeria when the country was released from British control. The British, predictably, did not take into account the different tribes and their political and religious beliefs, and so they gave the Hausa-Fulani most of the government power without much forethought or even an attempt for a fair system for Nigeria to choose their own leaders. This caused an uproar for the Igbo people, who as the generally more "educated" people, are well aware of the issues at hand. They felt like they deserved better representation and control over the Nigerian government over the Hausa-Fulani.

It's important to note that it was very likely that the Hausa-Fulani were predominantly Muslim, and so their rule would not align well with other ethnic groups at all. This is the root of the issue that the Igbo people had with the Hausa-Fulani having most of the government at their fingertips.

The Igbo people would eventually attempt to mitigate the Hausa-Fulani's governmental power by assassinating a number of Hausa-Fulani representatives and attempting to place Igbo people there instead. Of course, this would cause another uproar and would fast track both tribes into what would become the Nigerian Civil War. The Igbo, who lives majority in the south, would attempt to secede from Nigeria. They called themselves Biafra.

The actual war actually took place in the northern parts of Nigeria, which is where the Hausa-Fulani people were and still are dominant. We know from Philip's tome that he was living right in the middle of the war when it was happening. Or was he?

The Anti-Igbo Progroms

In 1966, the Hausa-Fulani would commit a progrom against the minority Igbo people in the northern territory. An organized genocide against their opposing tribe. The actual war didn't start until a year later in this area when Biafra in the south would attempt to push back.

Now, in Philip's tome, there's a piece of dialogue that confirms a few things to me:

Endless stories of death, destruction and mayhem. He didn't understand any of them.

"They hate us. Why? Why do they hate us?"

"Because the radio and the television tell them to."

"What did I ever do to them?"

"You were born in newly created Nigeria, that's what you did. You were born a Northerner!"

Philip asks why he's hated, and the answer he's given is that he was born in newly created Nigeria as a Northerner. So... that would sound like he's Hausa-Fulani right off the bat. Right?

Well, let's remember what we know of Philip in general:

He likes chess and math.

He thinks analytically

Throughout the tome we can discern that he's a critical thinker

His grandmother consistently attempts to keep Philip focused on educational things like his math and chess

We can assume through what we read going through Philip's thoughts while all this is happening that Philip is actually an incredibly sharp, smart boy. He's not stupid, he knows what's happening. He questions it and ponders on it.

Eventually, Philip would manage to leave Nigeria entirely, and as his base lore so elegantly says right off the bat:

Philip Ojomo came to this country without anything than hope for a new beginning.

Which tribe aligns the most with all of these traits?

The Religious References

There's talk from Philip's adoptive mother Funanya over this "Angel of Death" vs "Angel of Mercy". At first glance, we can assume this to be references to what might be tribal beliefs. Traditional entities. I don't think so, though. I think these angels are a cultural flair to what we're all pretty familiar with in our own worlds.

The Angel of Death is the devil. Satan.

The Angel of Mercy is the lord. God.

In other words, I think these are just another label for Christian entities. Take a look at how Philip and Funanya speak of them.

Tome 4 - Conviction: Algebra of Infinite Night

Philip hears his grandmother's voice. "Death plus destruction equals good business for devils disguised as humans."

Philip grinds his teeth and answers the disembodied voice, "They should all be killed... those who pay for murder and those who profit from murder...!"

Funanya stares at him. "Philip... don't say such things... they are trying to take our humanity from us and that is the one thing they cannot take unless we give it to them!"

Philip feels his face harden, "I don't want a sermon. I want my family back. I want them to pay for what they did!"

Funanya puts a hand on his shoulder, "Pray to the Angel of Mercy that we survive so that we may bear witness!"

Philip stares past her at the growing night, "I'd rather pray to the Angel of Death and watch them suffer. Forgive, and be forgiven. I can't! I hate them! How can they take money to do such things?"

"There will be justice, Philip. They will not get away with their crimes!"

Philip doesn't say anything. He doesn't say anything because like his father he believes that those with money, those who can afford killing crews and the quantities of kerosene required to burn humans by the thousands, can get away with any crime they choose to commit - even mass murder. She can pray for mercy all she likes. He'd rather pray for vengeance.

Talk of sermons, prayer, atonement and forgiveness. For me, this has a lot of Christian undertones. What do you think?

Also, after looking up her name, I have learned that Funanya means "love" in Igbo.

The Conclusion

With everything I have pointed out here, I think it is safe to say that Philip is ethnically Igbo.

He was among the unfortunate population of innocent Igbos living in Hausa-Fulani territory during the political mayhem which would turn into a war.

He's a Northerner in newly created Nigeria - in other words, a northern Igbo boy in the new Nigeria released to and ruled by the Hausa-Fulani. That's why he was hated. That's why his people were dying and being killed around him. Philip not only lived through this awful war, but was also a victim to a genocide of his people. He survived the killing crews of the anti-Igbo progrom in 1966.

TLDR: Philip is Igbo guys. Thanks for listening to my Ted talk. 🥲👍

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