"Why do you know computer?" a man from one of largest ethnic group in an African country asked another from a relatively smaller ethnic group.
The man who had know-how in computers works as a computer analyst with national intelligence and security services.
It was evidenced by his facial look that such a question had puzzled and irritated him.
The other person again arrogantly told him that members from his community are just best in roaming grazing fields with their cattle.
He added that that the analyst must be coming from his community, which he believed was the most advanced and civilized.
He even asked if he had changed his name just to hide his real ethnic identity.
And in another scenario, re-enacted many times, some women from the same large ethnic group, mistaking a lady doctor to be a member of their community, talked to her in their mother-tongue.
When the doctor told them that she did not understand the language, and that she came from another community, same as the one for the computer analyst, they responded with exclamation and disdain, saying that the community is only good in grazing cattle.
The reason why they had spoken to her in their mother-tongue was the spelling and pronunciation of her name, which had resembled a name from their community.
When an ethnic war had broken out some years ago pitting the ethnic groups, out of arrogance, men from the large ethnic group said that they were not going to fight, but would just leave their other ethnic group to their wives, who would just use their baskets as weapons.
The other community's patience had run-out, and they went into war, leaving many members of the large ethnic community death and displaced.
The utterances of the larger ethnic community are unfounded.
The smaller ethnic group is characteristically unassuming, and has many distinguished scientists, leading financial experts, engineers, doctors and social scientists.
But arrogance of the larger ethnic group has blinded them to this fact.
Sometimes they would just refuse to accept the facts.
There are government departments that have the only PhD holders come from the community they despised.
They have even agitated for their removal, saying that they should be replaced by ones from a government friendly ethnic group.
Shared and accepted biases and prejudices have led to ethnic and racial arrogance, reflected in social, intellectual, economic and political arena.
Some ethnic groups believe members of other ethnic groups cannot articulate issues and does not have know-how to manage people and natural resources.
And worse, they see some ethnic groups to be better being in a zoo, since they believe they are unable to socialize, are incapable of intellectual pursuits, cannot understand the dynamics of economy and trade, and that they cannot be entrusted with a country's leadership.
In the political front, a minister in an African government that came into power a few years ago on a reform agenda, said that there was no need to curve the powers of the president, just because the sitting president was from his community.
He believed that his ethnic group can be trusted with any amount of power, yet he and his kinsmen acted irresponsibly.
They removed distinguished professionals from other communities believing that their high qualifications cannot be translated into desired results.
It is arrogance at its upper limits.
It is not easy to pinpoint with precision where arrogance or any form of prejudice might have originated.
Genocide, an overt form of arrogance seeks to systematically attempt to destroy a national, racial, religious or ethnic group.
And this has intrigued social scientists.
They may not know the root cause, but believe that it is common when a nation has suffered economic setbacks and/ or military defeat.
Massacre of Jews in Nazi Germany is a historical example.
There has to be beliefs and attitudes that would serve as rallying point.
Hitler's claim of Aryan Supremacy, reflected in his arrogance towards Jews may seem an isolated case of a man who ran mad, but it is more likely that he shared the same feelings with his country folks.
Hitler, with his oratory and convincing power, hatred towards the Jews, and his ambitions may have served only to heighten what was shared feelings and attitudes of many Germans.
At the height of his arrogance, Hitler, not only belief Germans were superior but his ways were superior too.
Rwanda massacre is another historical example of how prejudice of Hutus and Tutsi served as rallying points of senseless killings.
Though there are diversified and dissenting voices on what might have ignited the massacre, a more valid reason would be leadership.
Carl Lawrence, in his book, Rwanda A Walk Through Darkness into Light" by Visions House Publishing Inc.
Gresham, Oregon wrote that though Habyarimana's regime was relatively moderate, it was characterized by ineptness, corruption, and tribal prejudices.
Many leaders in Africa with good-will to bring change have not been able to change an ethnic group's rigid negative feelings and emotions about other people, and in the long run, prejudice with all its ugly forms, remains a source of arrogant behaviours of one ethnic group towards another.
One would want to kill some or annihilate a whole ethnic group because they belief they are less human, and does not deserve treatment accorded to members of human race.
If economic setback and/ or political defeat may lead to a massacre, what then would bring about other forms of ethnic and racial arrogance? Prejudice of social, intellectual, economy, and political nature characterized all forms of arrogance, including the massacre of 6 million Jews in Nazi Germany.
In the period 1933-1940, Jews were prohibited to intermarriage, Jews citizenship was revoked, and Jews property was confiscated, besides being forced to live in ghettos and to put an identifying star of David, a form of mockery, it seems.
Treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany resembles treatment of the Jews by Egyptians when they had multiplied and prospered, as is captured in the Genesis narrative.
But how does prejudice start in the first place? How can its overt aspects be prevented? It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when and where a prejudice developed, but what is clear is that it emanates from people's values, norms, interpretation of events, other people's folk-ways and mores.
Values and norms can also give an ethnic group a real or biased way of interpreting an organization's or a country's laws.
But is there hope to curve ethnic arrogance? Culture can be reshaped.
It must start with opinion leaders of ethnic groups coming together to form a national forum, with a cultural communication arm, and preferably with neutral observers.
The man who had know-how in computers works as a computer analyst with national intelligence and security services.
It was evidenced by his facial look that such a question had puzzled and irritated him.
The other person again arrogantly told him that members from his community are just best in roaming grazing fields with their cattle.
He added that that the analyst must be coming from his community, which he believed was the most advanced and civilized.
He even asked if he had changed his name just to hide his real ethnic identity.
And in another scenario, re-enacted many times, some women from the same large ethnic group, mistaking a lady doctor to be a member of their community, talked to her in their mother-tongue.
When the doctor told them that she did not understand the language, and that she came from another community, same as the one for the computer analyst, they responded with exclamation and disdain, saying that the community is only good in grazing cattle.
The reason why they had spoken to her in their mother-tongue was the spelling and pronunciation of her name, which had resembled a name from their community.
When an ethnic war had broken out some years ago pitting the ethnic groups, out of arrogance, men from the large ethnic group said that they were not going to fight, but would just leave their other ethnic group to their wives, who would just use their baskets as weapons.
The other community's patience had run-out, and they went into war, leaving many members of the large ethnic community death and displaced.
The utterances of the larger ethnic community are unfounded.
The smaller ethnic group is characteristically unassuming, and has many distinguished scientists, leading financial experts, engineers, doctors and social scientists.
But arrogance of the larger ethnic group has blinded them to this fact.
Sometimes they would just refuse to accept the facts.
There are government departments that have the only PhD holders come from the community they despised.
They have even agitated for their removal, saying that they should be replaced by ones from a government friendly ethnic group.
Shared and accepted biases and prejudices have led to ethnic and racial arrogance, reflected in social, intellectual, economic and political arena.
Some ethnic groups believe members of other ethnic groups cannot articulate issues and does not have know-how to manage people and natural resources.
And worse, they see some ethnic groups to be better being in a zoo, since they believe they are unable to socialize, are incapable of intellectual pursuits, cannot understand the dynamics of economy and trade, and that they cannot be entrusted with a country's leadership.
In the political front, a minister in an African government that came into power a few years ago on a reform agenda, said that there was no need to curve the powers of the president, just because the sitting president was from his community.
He believed that his ethnic group can be trusted with any amount of power, yet he and his kinsmen acted irresponsibly.
They removed distinguished professionals from other communities believing that their high qualifications cannot be translated into desired results.
It is arrogance at its upper limits.
It is not easy to pinpoint with precision where arrogance or any form of prejudice might have originated.
Genocide, an overt form of arrogance seeks to systematically attempt to destroy a national, racial, religious or ethnic group.
And this has intrigued social scientists.
They may not know the root cause, but believe that it is common when a nation has suffered economic setbacks and/ or military defeat.
Massacre of Jews in Nazi Germany is a historical example.
There has to be beliefs and attitudes that would serve as rallying point.
Hitler's claim of Aryan Supremacy, reflected in his arrogance towards Jews may seem an isolated case of a man who ran mad, but it is more likely that he shared the same feelings with his country folks.
Hitler, with his oratory and convincing power, hatred towards the Jews, and his ambitions may have served only to heighten what was shared feelings and attitudes of many Germans.
At the height of his arrogance, Hitler, not only belief Germans were superior but his ways were superior too.
Rwanda massacre is another historical example of how prejudice of Hutus and Tutsi served as rallying points of senseless killings.
Though there are diversified and dissenting voices on what might have ignited the massacre, a more valid reason would be leadership.
Carl Lawrence, in his book, Rwanda A Walk Through Darkness into Light" by Visions House Publishing Inc.
Gresham, Oregon wrote that though Habyarimana's regime was relatively moderate, it was characterized by ineptness, corruption, and tribal prejudices.
Many leaders in Africa with good-will to bring change have not been able to change an ethnic group's rigid negative feelings and emotions about other people, and in the long run, prejudice with all its ugly forms, remains a source of arrogant behaviours of one ethnic group towards another.
One would want to kill some or annihilate a whole ethnic group because they belief they are less human, and does not deserve treatment accorded to members of human race.
If economic setback and/ or political defeat may lead to a massacre, what then would bring about other forms of ethnic and racial arrogance? Prejudice of social, intellectual, economy, and political nature characterized all forms of arrogance, including the massacre of 6 million Jews in Nazi Germany.
In the period 1933-1940, Jews were prohibited to intermarriage, Jews citizenship was revoked, and Jews property was confiscated, besides being forced to live in ghettos and to put an identifying star of David, a form of mockery, it seems.
Treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany resembles treatment of the Jews by Egyptians when they had multiplied and prospered, as is captured in the Genesis narrative.
But how does prejudice start in the first place? How can its overt aspects be prevented? It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when and where a prejudice developed, but what is clear is that it emanates from people's values, norms, interpretation of events, other people's folk-ways and mores.
Values and norms can also give an ethnic group a real or biased way of interpreting an organization's or a country's laws.
But is there hope to curve ethnic arrogance? Culture can be reshaped.
It must start with opinion leaders of ethnic groups coming together to form a national forum, with a cultural communication arm, and preferably with neutral observers.