IPOB in the Southeast, Oduduwa Republic in the Southwest and (a strand of) Arewa in the North; all campaigning for the balkanization of Nigeria. The typical response to the campaigns of these ethno-nationalists has been to urge Nigerians to look beyond their tribes and nationalities to see the need for Nigeria. This article sets out to do the opposite. It argues that, if we look within our tribes and nationalities, we would find ample inspiration and motivation to keep fighting to make Nigeria work. Here, as example, is my Igbo case for One Nigeria.
I am Igbo, and growing under the guidance of my parents, both of who are Igbos, and my relatives, I came to appreciate deeply, what it meant to Igbo.
Being Igbo is the only identity that the white man did not bestow on me, and beyond that, it is the prism through which I view the world around me. Being Igbo also means being inspired by the values of my tribe, that is; the values of egalitarianism (Igbo enwe Eze – Igbo has no King), entrepreneurship (Igbo na gba mbor – Igbo endeavours) and internationalism (Igbo na emepe Obodo – Igbo opens a town to the world). These values are the foundation upon which my belief in One Nigeria is built, not because the Nigerian project, as is, is great (it isn’t), but because, looking through the crystal ball of these values, I could see how much better a country, as diverse as it is large, could be with the Igbo as part of it.
Egalitarianism. Long before the West codified the concept of equality, and perhaps while many of their societies were still locked in a feudalist system which elevated royalty and nobles are higher humans, the Igbo already strongly believed that everyone, born of a woman, was equal. What differentiated people were their fortunes and endeavours, but even at that, we never had a rugged classist–and oppressive–society, it came about from western capitalism. Gender was also about roles, not domination, and the youths, in complete mockery of what we have today, had more say in the day-to-day running of the affairs of their societies. Thus, Igbo egalitarianism inspires me to help bring about an inclusive state, not one in which everyone speaks the same language, wears the same cultural attire or eats the same food, but one which is radically fairer, more equal and more democratic.
The gender discrimination that pervades every aspect of our country, and indeed Igbo land, is a perversion of the Igbo value of egalitarianism, as is the oppressive tendencies of our politicians, the rich and the powerful. For me, being Igbo means fighting these vices. And looking across the socio-political spectrum, it is obvious that the IPOB, led by a rabble rousing fascist, reeking of chauvinism and motivated by hate, is not an ally in the struggle for egalitarianism. The Igbo-hating wing of the Arewa aren’t either, nor are those in the Southwest vacuously campaigning for an Oduduwa Republic, whatever that means.
However, these groups represent a very tiny minority of opinion in the country, and being born and raised in the north, schooled in the Southeast and now earning a living in the Southwest, I have seen more than enough evidence across Nigeria to believe that the majority of Nigerians believe in equality and fairness. Thus, as an Igbo man, my responsibility is to link arms with Nigerians of all tribes and nationalities who share this value, in order to transform Nigeria into such an equal and free society.
Entrepreneurship. Perhaps the most common trait associated with the Igbo is our penchant for business. Sometimes, this has been painfully misconstrued to castigate the Igbo as greedy, domineering and individualistic; the opposite is actually the case. While, of course, there are greedy, domineering and individualistic Igbos (as there are across every tribe and nationality), the Igbo value of entrepreneurship speaks more to the belief that everyone has a value to contribute to society; that in any endeavour we choose to pursue, we deserve the opportunity to thrive; and most importantly, that we, as individuals and as a group, have a duty to lift up our community and those around us. This aged value, which predates colonialism, is extremely essential in today’s Nigeria, and indeed the whole of Igboland.
Faced with high levels of poverty, low standards of living and an economic recession that’s hit the poor and working class the worst, every part of this country direly needs a rapid economic growth and development that is inclusive and uplifts every community. The inspiration for such a growth model is abundant in the Igbo value of entrepreneurship, but very lacking in the vitriol of ethno-nationalists like Nnamdi Kanu and Co. In fact, taking cue from how well the Igbo have done by doing business in every nook and cranny of this country, it is much more the case that to achieve a thriving entrepreneurial state, Igbos would need to work, even more, politically and economically, with others across the country to build a better One Nigeria.
Internationalism. The Igbo people are arguably the most widely travelled in Africa. That’s because our outlook is outward. Long before colonialism made Europe and North America our main destinations, the Igbo loved going to new lands, meeting new people and establishing, or living in cosmopolitan marketing towns. This hasn’t changed, however, it is under threat from groups like the IPOB who preach a false gospel of an enclosed Igbo people in animosity with its neighbours and detached from the rest of the world. There is also a false narrative out there, propagated by groups like the Igbo-hating strand of the Arewa and some in the Southwest, that while the Igbo are internationalist in their outlook, they are xenophobic at home. This is wholly untrue as any visit to the east would easily prove. The issue is rather that not enough non-Igbos journey east, because people go where the opportunities are, and the bunch of these opportunities have sadly been confined to Lagos and Abuja. The only way to address this concentration of opportunity is to build a socioeconomic system that offers people opportunities everywhere they go; that is, a socioeconomic system that is internationalist in its framework and outlook.
The truth is, the concept of Nigeria sits perfectly with everything that it means to be Igbo. Our values of egalitarianism, entrepreneurship and internationalism are not only shared by people across the length and breadth of this country, they are brought to life by our interaction with others. But, make no mistake about it; Nigeria, as is, does not and will not work. What’s needed to make Nigeria work is a radical reform and restructuring of the country in the image of the common values of all its people, and not in the interest of European exploiters, as was hitherto done. As an Igbo person in every sense of the word, I believe in the potential of such a Nigeria, not in some shabby Biafran project parroted by an opportunistic anarchist.
