Igbo Marginalization: Analyzing a latent catalyst. (Part II) -By Ifeanyichukwu Mmoh

Every time there is a proliferation of writings on a subject matter or about the state of the nation or anything of particular interest; it is a sign that an era is either about to be born or about to die. Last week, I began a discourse on the latent catalyst which I referred to as self-marginalization and how it is in fact the major driving force behind what is well known as Igbo marginalization in the Nigerian lexicon.

After working on the book The Origin of Igbo Marginalization in Nigeria which took me about 8 years (amidst several technical interruptions) to write and publish; I began to truly see that the blame for who fomented the marginalization against the Ibos should go to the Ibos instead. I presented the first factor in Part I which you can find by clicking the link www.DiscourseNigeria.com.

This piece is a continuation and, shall dwell on what I referred to as Ikeotuonye; individualism or the strength or the effort of one individual. Appreciation for this contribution must be seen through the prism of the need to address the wrong understanding or views held by most of us on the subject by been able to begin to see that any redress for the Ibos must start from within instead of from without.

· Ikeotuonye: The value system of individualism and exclusivity.

The existence of a leaderless society can be sustained only by a people with a leaderless mindset. The stiff competition that can be found in such society can only be imagined. For when a people’s mentality is summed up as ‘I am my own government’; what the value system turns out to be is no less competitive than the struggle to overcome poverty.

We have looked at the first factor that drives self-marginalization – that is, a leaderless mindset. And we saw how a mindset that once fitted with the pre-colonial Ibo nation now became an Achilles’ heel for the contemporary Ibo nation in Nigeria; cutting her off from important opportunities and necessary privileges that should ordinarily befit her being one of the 3 largest ethnic groups in the federation.

In retrospect, it is natural at this juncture to forecast that the tendency or willingness to continue to hold onto a pre-colonial way of living in a post-colonial nation-state is the real reason the Ibos and by extension Nigeria was stagnant. Holding such a posture spelt doom for anyone whether the Ibos or the other members of the federation. It is the most counter-productive thing to do. But this is the behavior of every Nigerian tribe!

This next driver of self-marginalization; Ikeotuonye – the effort of one individual is a consequence of the leaderless mindset. The common quip: chop alone, die alone, tacitly describes Ikeotuonye as it’s used only in a situation where the individual became too individualistic. In Nigeria, the Ibos are easily known for their lifestyle of individualism which they displayed in their endeavors as entrepreneurs and petty traders.

To understand the Ibos, Nigerians only needed to understand how they operated their sole proprietorship. Sometimes, without any help from the financial house or the government, the Ibos begin from a single shop and build a retail chain, a conglomerate or a group of companies that span several sectors of the economy. For proof, the federal mortgage bank of Nigeria for instance will show that in the last 2 decades among the beneficiaries of housing loans; the Ibos are the least.

Their records will show that although the bank was created to assist Nigerians irrespective of tribe or religion to own a house; the Ibos are not eager to become beneficiaries for at the first sign of a bureaucratic hurdle; they gave up. And, their belief in self-made successes is a prime reason for not raising an alarm. Of course, there is no doubt that there are other reasons for this that is beyond the Ikeotuonye factor.

The story is not entirely different in the hunt for jobs after school. The Ibo hardly had more than 6 months to spare in search for a white collar job. Entrepreneurship is always an escape route. If the Ibos had restricted the use of Ikeotuonye in the business circle, perhaps their fortune would’ve turned out differently. To employ the Ikeotuonye mindset in politics was the height of infamy.

The in-fighting and the drag-him-down mentality has become an insignia that defines the politics of leaders of Ndígbo but when it was with the non-Ibos, they always played the second-fiddle or the carry-go-bastion-of-democracy-we-are-behind-you. Pundits have tried to ascertain the gains that accrued to the Ibos in the last 30 years of post-civil war Nigeria and are shocked to discover that the Ibos have recorded only losses.

Prompting the question: of what use is holding onto a value system as barbaric and unproductive as Ikeotuonye? A value system that thwarted the efforts of the 5 Majors to executive a successful change in Nigeria’s sociopolitical life; one that cost the death of Nigeria’s first head-of-state; one that plunged the country into war and robbed the tribe of innocent men, women and children? Of what use was Ikeotuonye today?

In pre-colonial times, the indolent had no place, no name, no friends and, no say in the decision making process of the Ibo society except to accept the fate imposed on them by the recognized of society. And so, because the social order of the time regarded the hardworking and exalted industry to celestial heights; no growing male wanted to fail hence the drive to be successful.

But success was never designed for only the individual as folks can also succeed in groups. If so, why was Igwebuike disregarded in favor of Ikeotuonye? Again, answers to these can be found in the leaderless mentality. A high premium was set from the onset just like we still see today in the requirements for marriage and or burial in some places within the Ibo nation.

It is common knowledge that archaic traditions about marriage or burial are still tenaciously held onto despite contemporary economic realities. Therefore, what other words could’ve defined marginalization better than the actions of self-injury; destructive competition and the willing consent to be bound by traditions that are no longer practicable given today’s realities. Theirs’ is like the folks from the north who consciously and willingly made room for the Almajiri system through polygamy.

Today, the vulnerability of the average Ibo within the federation of Nigeria often times moved the other members of Nigeria to tears in their empathy for them. Some of us may have noticed that except the federation insisted on ceding political power to the Ibos to the extent of pointedly picking a candidate out the basket full of candidates; the Ibo’s chances of clinching to power will remain a mirage.

The absence of cohesiveness in the manner in which the Ibos conducted self unlike what obtained with the Fulani and the Yoruba ethnic groups is simply a clear evidence of the destructiveness of Ikeotuonye! The Ibos remained the loser for it. Ikeotuonye would be a virtue if and only if Nigeria practiced fairness, equity and justice. Then the strength of an individual would count for whatever it’s worth.

In summary, I would wind down Part II of this analysis by reviewing the gains of Ikeotuonye in the past and today. Quite frankly, if individualism did not achieve anything in the past, the Ibos wouldn’t have continued to hold on to it. Pre-colonial Ibo society was well known for its merchandize on bronze and brass sculptures, cotton wool, fishery, salt, weapons of war and agriculture.

Their wealthy merchants travelled to distant lands to sell and buy goods. Individualism enabled the creation of a well-ordered and strongly structured form of administration that was founded on the principle of democracy or effective consultations before implementation. Individualism created a mindset that was very conscious of success but frowned at indolence while dreading failure.

Individualism created a ready army of capable men that quickly assembled for action at the sound of the town crier. In wartime, most men answered the call to take up arms against the invading army only because it protected them and their families. Being a leaderless society; one that had no king, there was no formal army nor men of valor but there were vigilantes who took turns to watch the towns at night.

The fact that it was a society where everyone understood that nothing of value was for free, created in itself a people with a mindset of confidence, pride, independence and self-sufficiency. Ikeotuonye is the basis for why the Ibo had no fear of starting a business with a paltry sum because he knows that apart from his sagacity, the next important thing s/he needed was TIME.

But these gains existed for the pre-colonial Ibo society. The post-colonial times demanded for very capable persons who are confident, sagacious and industrious; persons, who can work well within a TEAM. Post-colonial Nigeria are in need of team players and not lone rangers. For team players are hardly endangered but lone rangers are easy prey. This is why only the team playing tribes flourish in Nigeria and loners continue to wail. Catch me on Part III next week.

Comrade Ifeanyichukwu Mmoh writes for DiscourseNigeria.com 08062577718