Ideologies Of Igbos Born At Home And The Ones Born Outside

Ideologies Of Igbos Born At Home And The Ones Born Outside 

■ Author : Don Black D

■ Twitter: @umuchiukwu

■ 23th May 2023 

I've had numerous encounters with both the Igbos born in Igbo land before they traveled outside and the ones born outside Igbo land and have never returned to Igbo land. Here in this article, I want to categorically state the differences and how it is affecting our struggle.

THE ONES BORN AT HOME

This category of Igbo people was born at home and are well cultured. 

The majority of them understand the traditions of the land and not just that they're also aware of and believe in the universal saying that there's no place like home and as such charity must begin at home. So to many of them born in Igbo land, they know it is home first before anything. 

These Igbo people are wise enough to have completely understood that home is indeed home and further the reality on the ground in our everyday living in Nigeria always points us in that direction. The Igbos born and raised at home also know the importance of home cause they were born here, schooled here, raised here and everything about them is here. Home to them is everything that matters that's why after making money outside Igbo land a good percentage of them come back home to build and invest their wealth here. 

This category of Igbo people doesn't believe that (EVERYWHERE IS HOME) as the Nigerian of yesterday, today and tomorrow doesn't guarantee that in real-time even though the Constitution stated that as a law every citizen of the country has the right to leave and acquire properties anywhere but whenever there's little conflict between them and other ethnicities the Igbos will be forced to abandon their lawfully acquired properties or face with the threat of losing their lives.

The Igbos born here don't buy such ideas they have comfort in investing or should I say developing their homes. Most of these home-raised Igbo sons and daughters were the brains behind ONYE OGAZIRI YA CHETE NWANNE YA in translation it means if it is going well with you remember your siblings. 

Igbo land is currently experiencing these rapid developments as a result of those that fall into this category. I say kudos to them cause truly they're the real pioneers. No matter where they're in the world that spirit of one day I'll make it and return home never leaves their hearts. This category is the one making us proud both at home and abroad unlike the category below :

IGBOS BORN OUTSIDE HOME AND HAVE NEVER RETURNED BACK 

This category of Igbo people was the reason why things are getting difficult whenever the issue of home development comes into the picture. Their knowledge about home simply means staying far and wide, raising children and they'll grow without having anything to do with home. They know nothing about the cultures, traditions, and customs of the Igbo people yet they're called by our names. The only good thing about this set of Igbo people is that they were told that they're Igbos perhaps from Anambra, Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, Imo, Delta, Benue, or even Rivers. 

This category was most likely the ones causing us more harm than good and sometimes they lose their lives and properties due to their ignorance although they'll say to you that their father or mother is Igbo but ask them about their villages, towns, local government areas is only then you'll understand that they're nothing but OFEKE cause their ignorance concerning the Nigeria of yesterday, today and tomorrow is mind blowing and needs urgent Psychiatric attention. My encounters with some of this set make me wonder if truly they're Igbos. 

All their houses and investments were found outside Igbo land so to them EVERYWHERE IS A HOME which reality always throws to their faces anytime you've civil unrest in the country like what happened in the presidential/gubernatorial election on March 2023. 

I want to question the interest of the Igbo people in Lagos state gubernatorial elections where you've three major governorship candidates all from the same ethnic nationality contesting for the office of a governor in Lagos. 

Let me say that if one among the three contestants Mr. A, B, and C for example have won the election, he'll of course champion the betterment of the state, mind you it's not in your own Igbo state. So putting your lives at risk anytime there's a gubernatorial election in none Igbo state is unthinkable when you should've traveled back to your home state and voted out that bad man occupying the office of the governor while making life so unbearable for the people? This category of Igbo people will argue that HOME IS EVERYWHERE but I doubted it cause the Nigerian of yesterday, today, and tomorrow if you mark my words will never allow that to happen. 

These people are quick to make comments about other people's houses catching fire but when theirs catches fire they'll keep mute. The level of cowardice and idiosyncrasies you found in this category of Igbo born outside the home is overwhelming that those born at home will rather take bullets and do everything within their power to protect their common interest because they know for sure that if the home is destroyed one has lost a place of love, comfort, relaxation, Peace, growth, unity, identify, worth and cover but to them born outside Igbos land. 

They've lost it all so seeking relevance where none is existing has become their day-to-day routine and this is a total waste of time and effort. 

They should rethink now and start looking for ways to return to me the gene runs in them.

HOW IT IS AFFECTING OUR STRUGGLE

These Igbo people born outside the homeland that have never returned home have in one way or another affected the home struggle to make home a better place for our children. 

Their inability to sense danger is too obvious that all their properties and investments were outside Igbo land and this put them at risk as usual whenever ethnic sentiment beclouded the Nigerian political space. Economically, these people are setting us backward and using the resources that are supposed to be invested in our land and are investing it elsewhere. They've become landlords, company owners, and employment of labor. Yes, nothing is really bad about these developments except that they'll still lose it to the other tribes waiting to deploy all means to destroy whatever establishments put in place by this category of Igbo people because of greed, envy, jealousy, and hatred against the Igbo nation in general. This is not a wise thing to do because it's like building a house on the sand that when the flood comes it'll blow it away.

This category of Igbo people feel alright developing other people's villages, bushes and even bought land inside water, sand fill it, and build on it. All these investments outside the homeland make it difficult for them to return home as they prefer to die there than come back home. Indeed where one's wealth is, is where the heart is though they've forgotten that the Nigerian structure or should I say enterprise was never meant for their good, and by developing your homeland you'll surely have stable peace, comfort, growth, development, worth and command respect amongst your people.

I pity these Igbo people that have worked so hard to earn their money but foolishly invested it all outside Igbo land. Imagine how many Igbo markets were burnt down in Lagos, Kano, and other states in Nigeria just because they see things differently. Properties and goods were destroyed and people were again rendered hopeless. The selected Igbo people's buildings were demolished by the Lagos state government in another case study. Yet these Igbo people will beg and behave as if nothing had happened because they've lost respect, Worth, Identity, and sense of belonging. They hated Igbo land for no reason but not until they start having a rethink and looking forward to home building and development they'll remain irrelevant and continue to receive a nobody's type of treatment from the Nigerian State cause they're senseless and worthless for feeling that they can prosper where there's animosity.

 

Edited By Ezekwereogu Odinaka

Published By Nwaiwu Chiukwuebuka 

For Umuchukwu Writers .