Tuesday, June 17, 2025
  • About Us
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
The Daily Crucible
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
    FG Gives N60B To Gombe For Agro-Livestock Industrial Zone

    FG Gives N60B To Gombe For Agro-Livestock Industrial Zone

    Pelican Valley CEO, Dabiri-Erewa To Poach Diaspora Investments From UK

    Pelican Valley CEO, Dabiri-Erewa To Poach Diaspora Investments From UK

    Nigeria’s Foreign Trade Hits ₦36,025 Billion In Q1, ’25 As Oil, Non – Oil Exports Rise

    Nigeria’s Foreign Trade Hits ₦36,025 Billion In Q1, ’25 As Oil, Non – Oil Exports Rise

     Let Bayo Ojulari Clean the Rot In NNPCL, Oil Experts Tell Tinubu

     Let Bayo Ojulari Clean the Rot In NNPCL, Oil Experts Tell Tinubu

    FCCPC Unveils Committee To Combat Counterfeit Products

    FCCPC Unveils Committee To Combat Counterfeit Products

    No More Compensation For Developers Who Failed To Observe Building Regulations – Tinubu

    No More Compensation For Developers Who Failed To Observe Building Regulations – Tinubu

    Trending Tags

    • Market Stories
    • Bitcoin
    • Litecoin
    • Harbolnas
    • United Stated
    • Property
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
    ‘Steeze,’ Glamour As Ijebu Celebrates Ojude Oba Cultural Carnival

    ‘Steeze,’ Glamour As Ijebu Celebrates Ojude Oba Cultural Carnival

    Surveyor Haleemat Oluwatoyin Yusuf’s Day Of Double Celebration 

    Surveyor Haleemat Oluwatoyin Yusuf’s Day Of Double Celebration 

    Giant Of African Literature Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o Departs At 87

    Giant Of African Literature Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o Departs At 87

    If Akeredolu Had Listened To Me, I Wouldn’t Be a Widow, Laments Ex – Governor’s Wife, Betty

    If Akeredolu Had Listened To Me, I Wouldn’t Be a Widow, Laments Ex – Governor’s Wife, Betty

    Valentine: 2Baba Proposes To Edo Lawmaker Natasha Osawaru

    Valentine: 2Baba Proposes To Edo Lawmaker Natasha Osawaru

    Relationship Expert’s Marriage Ends 3 Yrs After Advising Women On How To Keep Marriage Intact

    Relationship Expert’s Marriage Ends 3 Yrs After Advising Women On How To Keep Marriage Intact

    Trending Tags

    • Bitcoin
    • Champions League
    • Explore Bali
    • Golden Globes 2018
    • Grammy Awards
    • Harbolnas
  • Entertainment
    ‘Steeze,’ Glamour As Ijebu Celebrates Ojude Oba Cultural Carnival

    ‘Steeze,’ Glamour As Ijebu Celebrates Ojude Oba Cultural Carnival

    Tinubu, Gov Mbah Mourn Nonagenarian Highlife Music Icon Ejeagha

    Tinubu, Gov Mbah Mourn Nonagenarian Highlife Music Icon Ejeagha

    Drug Cartel Members Abdúct, Kíll 5 Musicians On Way To Concert Venue

    Drug Cartel Members Abdúct, Kíll 5 Musicians On Way To Concert Venue

    I’m Still Saving My Virginity – Actress Olayode

    I’m Still Saving My Virginity – Actress Olayode

    My Ultimate Vision Is To Elevate African Sounds On the Global Stage – Ebonny Musik

    My Ultimate Vision Is To Elevate African Sounds On the Global Stage – Ebonny Musik

    I’ll Name 7 Celebrities I’ve Dated In Nigeria – Bobrisky

    I’ll Name 7 Celebrities I’ve Dated In Nigeria – Bobrisky

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes 2018
    • Grammy Awards
    • Explore Bali
    • Champions League
    • Harbolnas
  • Sports
    NSF Tragedy: Abiodun Mourns, Sends Delegation To Kano, Supports Victims’ Families With N31m

    NSF Tragedy: Abiodun Mourns, Sends Delegation To Kano, Supports Victims’ Families With N31m

    Gateway Games: Protesting Ogun Athletes Lift Siege At Games Village

    Gateway Games: Protesting Ogun Athletes Lift Siege At Games Village

    Gateway Games Activities Grounded As Ogun Athletes Protest Over Unpaid Allowance

    Gateway Games Activities Grounded As Ogun Athletes Protest Over Unpaid Allowance

    Odogbolu Leads As First Local Govt To Adopt eSports

    Odogbolu Leads As First Local Govt To Adopt eSports

    Gateway Games: Athletes, Spectators Flee As Gas Explosion Rocks Alake Sports Complex

    Gateway Games: Athletes, Spectators Flee As Gas Explosion Rocks Alake Sports Complex

    Gateway Games: NSC Disqualifies 6 Athletes Over Alleged Doping Issues

    Gateway Games: NSC Disqualifies 6 Athletes Over Alleged Doping Issues

    Trending Tags

    • Champions League
    • Explore Bali
    • Harbolnas
    • United Stated
    • Market Stories
    • Litecoin
No Result
View All Result
The Daily Crucible
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
    FG Gives N60B To Gombe For Agro-Livestock Industrial Zone

    FG Gives N60B To Gombe For Agro-Livestock Industrial Zone

    Pelican Valley CEO, Dabiri-Erewa To Poach Diaspora Investments From UK

    Pelican Valley CEO, Dabiri-Erewa To Poach Diaspora Investments From UK

    Nigeria’s Foreign Trade Hits ₦36,025 Billion In Q1, ’25 As Oil, Non – Oil Exports Rise

    Nigeria’s Foreign Trade Hits ₦36,025 Billion In Q1, ’25 As Oil, Non – Oil Exports Rise

     Let Bayo Ojulari Clean the Rot In NNPCL, Oil Experts Tell Tinubu

     Let Bayo Ojulari Clean the Rot In NNPCL, Oil Experts Tell Tinubu

    FCCPC Unveils Committee To Combat Counterfeit Products

    FCCPC Unveils Committee To Combat Counterfeit Products

    No More Compensation For Developers Who Failed To Observe Building Regulations – Tinubu

    No More Compensation For Developers Who Failed To Observe Building Regulations – Tinubu

    Trending Tags

    • Market Stories
    • Bitcoin
    • Litecoin
    • Harbolnas
    • United Stated
    • Property
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
    ‘Steeze,’ Glamour As Ijebu Celebrates Ojude Oba Cultural Carnival

    ‘Steeze,’ Glamour As Ijebu Celebrates Ojude Oba Cultural Carnival

    Surveyor Haleemat Oluwatoyin Yusuf’s Day Of Double Celebration 

    Surveyor Haleemat Oluwatoyin Yusuf’s Day Of Double Celebration 

    Giant Of African Literature Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o Departs At 87

    Giant Of African Literature Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o Departs At 87

    If Akeredolu Had Listened To Me, I Wouldn’t Be a Widow, Laments Ex – Governor’s Wife, Betty

    If Akeredolu Had Listened To Me, I Wouldn’t Be a Widow, Laments Ex – Governor’s Wife, Betty

    Valentine: 2Baba Proposes To Edo Lawmaker Natasha Osawaru

    Valentine: 2Baba Proposes To Edo Lawmaker Natasha Osawaru

    Relationship Expert’s Marriage Ends 3 Yrs After Advising Women On How To Keep Marriage Intact

    Relationship Expert’s Marriage Ends 3 Yrs After Advising Women On How To Keep Marriage Intact

    Trending Tags

    • Bitcoin
    • Champions League
    • Explore Bali
    • Golden Globes 2018
    • Grammy Awards
    • Harbolnas
  • Entertainment
    ‘Steeze,’ Glamour As Ijebu Celebrates Ojude Oba Cultural Carnival

    ‘Steeze,’ Glamour As Ijebu Celebrates Ojude Oba Cultural Carnival

    Tinubu, Gov Mbah Mourn Nonagenarian Highlife Music Icon Ejeagha

    Tinubu, Gov Mbah Mourn Nonagenarian Highlife Music Icon Ejeagha

    Drug Cartel Members Abdúct, Kíll 5 Musicians On Way To Concert Venue

    Drug Cartel Members Abdúct, Kíll 5 Musicians On Way To Concert Venue

    I’m Still Saving My Virginity – Actress Olayode

    I’m Still Saving My Virginity – Actress Olayode

    My Ultimate Vision Is To Elevate African Sounds On the Global Stage – Ebonny Musik

    My Ultimate Vision Is To Elevate African Sounds On the Global Stage – Ebonny Musik

    I’ll Name 7 Celebrities I’ve Dated In Nigeria – Bobrisky

    I’ll Name 7 Celebrities I’ve Dated In Nigeria – Bobrisky

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes 2018
    • Grammy Awards
    • Explore Bali
    • Champions League
    • Harbolnas
  • Sports
    NSF Tragedy: Abiodun Mourns, Sends Delegation To Kano, Supports Victims’ Families With N31m

    NSF Tragedy: Abiodun Mourns, Sends Delegation To Kano, Supports Victims’ Families With N31m

    Gateway Games: Protesting Ogun Athletes Lift Siege At Games Village

    Gateway Games: Protesting Ogun Athletes Lift Siege At Games Village

    Gateway Games Activities Grounded As Ogun Athletes Protest Over Unpaid Allowance

    Gateway Games Activities Grounded As Ogun Athletes Protest Over Unpaid Allowance

    Odogbolu Leads As First Local Govt To Adopt eSports

    Odogbolu Leads As First Local Govt To Adopt eSports

    Gateway Games: Athletes, Spectators Flee As Gas Explosion Rocks Alake Sports Complex

    Gateway Games: Athletes, Spectators Flee As Gas Explosion Rocks Alake Sports Complex

    Gateway Games: NSC Disqualifies 6 Athletes Over Alleged Doping Issues

    Gateway Games: NSC Disqualifies 6 Athletes Over Alleged Doping Issues

    Trending Tags

    • Champions League
    • Explore Bali
    • Harbolnas
    • United Stated
    • Market Stories
    • Litecoin
No Result
View All Result
The Daily Crucible
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

The Current Igbo Are ‘Inferior Igbo’

The Daily Crucible by The Daily Crucible
February 9, 2025
in Opinion
0
The Current Igbo Are ‘Inferior Igbo’

You might also like

Kudos To Iran For Showing Compelling Courage

Nigeria At a Crossroads: The Erosion Of Democracy And The Politics Of Self Over Societal Good

June 12 wounds And Nigeria’s Search For Closure

The North or West did not say we should not build an efficient trans-regional transport metro system, by jointly developing the old Oriental lines, that would create a network of contacts all over the East and ease the strategic movement of people, or take advantage and rebuild, and expand the Rail system that connects Port-Harcourt, Aba, Umuahia, Okigwe, Ovim, Afikpo, Enugu, to Eha-Amufu. Even if the rail system is a federal project, there has never been a consortium of the Igbo states and consortium of investors that have mounted pressure to force the Feds to hands off the Eastern Rail system, to be run as a regional Terminus. We have never made the argument.
By Obi Nwakanma
Many years ago, the General, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu spoke about the “Biafra of the mind.”
Only a few, I think, understood him. Well, they say, only the deep speak to the deep.
But let me attempt here to tease out Dim Ojukwu’s prescription: the greatest proof of Igbo survival and aspiration must be to model, wherever Onye-Igbo stands, the ethos of innovation, excellence, ingenuity, and ability that marked the Igbo endeavor in Biafra. We must also use Biafra as the stepping stone to a higher vision of the Igbo place in the world.
There is no single proof or evidence today that the Igbo of this generation are capable of transforming any nation to which they lay claim. I have looked; I have studied the Igbo situation, and I have listened to my Igbo kinsmen, and I think something is fundamentally wrong: the Igbo are trapped in a deadening hate, self-pity and nostalgia. It is the kind of nostalgia that is both defeatist and deadly because it continues to romanticize the past while the future speeds away.
The Igbo cannot wait until they achieve Biafra or a separate nation in order to build and secure Igbo land. Soon after the end of the war, Igbo survivors of the war, girded their loins and embarked on the work of restoration. With singular grit, they revived the economy of the East, and by 1979, just nine years after the end of the war, were ready to take on the rest of the nation again. We their children are a disgrace to the spirit of those men and women.
The Igbo are today a beggarly nation of impotent, lachrymal people now weeping about “marginalization” and waiting for Nigeria to collapse or let them go, so that they will go and make something of themselves. This is an over-indulged generation. The last of the Igbo are old and dying; the current Igbo are “inferior Igbo.” They are just waiting for Godot.
Now, you say, the only time the Igbo will work is if power remains in the South. I think this is too simple. Take a look around you, where are
those Igbo men and women? Which Igbo today have the sagacity of Zik, or the courage of Okpara, Mbakwe, or Ojukwu, the capacity of Ojike or Okigbo, the fierce pride and stabilizing force of the old Igbo women, the organizational acumen of an RBK Okafor, the selfless pride of those Igbo of the last generation, who always rose to the occasion when the Igbo summoned them to great causes, including giving their widows mite without question, for as long as “they Igbo have said…”
Now, what I’m trying to say, people, before I lose you, is that the Igbo have left the land, and the land has left the Igbo. There is incoherence. And an Incoherent people cannot run an independent nation, simple.
Bring proof to me that the Igbo have turned Igbo land into an oasis of prosperity different from elsewhere in Nigeria, and I shall agree that the current Igbo know exactly what they are saying. There is no Igbo state with a budget that is not bigger than the budget of the Republic of Ghana. Indeed, put together, the budget of all the states in Igbo land is bigger than the national budget of ten West African states. What have we done with it in terms of rebuilding public services? Creating liveable cities? Developing new infrastructure? Developing the Igbo world.
The North or the West has never run down our schools.
They did not dismantle the Government Colleges at Umuahia, Owerri, Afikpo, and the Queens School at Enugu.
They did not destroy our hospitals or primary schools.
They did not stop us from building our cultural infrastructure – Community centers; recreational centers, or building up our libraries; or public parks, or city centers, or trunk B & C feeder roads.
They did not destroy our civil service. They did not stymie the growth of our cities.
They did not forbid the Igbo from creating strategic means of employing their greatest resource – their highly trained manpower- and using them to create a powerful regional economy that would continue to startle West Africa.
The North or West did not say we should not build an efficient trans-regional transport metro system, by jointly developing the old Oriental lines, that would create a network of contacts all over the East and ease the strategic movement of people, or take advantage and rebuild, and expand the Rail system that connects Port-Harcourt, Aba, Umuahia, Okigwe, Ovim, Afikpo, Enugu, to Eha-Amufu. Even if the rail system is a federal project, there has never been a consortium of the Igbo states and consortium of investors that have mounted pressure to force the Feds to hands off the Eastern Rail system, to be run as a regional Terminus. We have never made the argument.
Mbakwe threatened in 1981 that if the FGN did not build an airport in Owerri, he would mobilize and build one. He did it. He threatened that if they did not build the Petrochemical plant in Izombe, he would build one by 1984. The land for the construction of the Imo Petrochemical Plant was already cleared when the soldiers struck on the last day of 1983.
When Mbakwe arrived government house Owerri in 1979, the three major cities in old Igbo – Owerri, Aba, Umuahia still had houses operating “bucket latrines” and the cities still employed nightsoil men (ndi Oburu nsi) and ran waste landfills. The first statewide public safety and hygiene law passed under the Mbakwe administration gave every landlord and household in these cities 4 months and a tax rebate to change the infrastructure from the bucket system to the water system, failure of which the houses would be marked as public health hazard zones. This was fully accomplished in three months.
By 1982, there was a marked upsurge and population shift as more Igbo began to leave Lagos and other places to return to Owerri and invest and settle. Nobody told them to return, the conditions were simply made amenable. By 1984, Igbo business men, particularly in the North, were moving their money and opening accounts with the Imo state Progress Bank, and the capital was growing for both accessible credit and for capital borrowing for infrastructural development in the East.
I point this to simply suggest that there is nothing the Igbo wish to accomplish in Nigeria that anyone can stop, if the Igbo hold down their lines. But we’ve deceived ourselves for too long – we have now made Nigeria into the convenient excuse for our own failures and self-indulgence. Now, there is a man called Onwuka Kalu. He gave the first N100, 000 as donation towards the Imo state Airport Appeals Fund in Owerri in 1981/2. There is not a single plaque to honour this man’s gesture at that airport. It will not be the Federal government that will do it; it will be the initiative of those who put value to memory in Igbo land.
But in the Imo/Abia/Ebonyi/Anambra/Enugu divisions that now pervade the Igbo mind, no one will remember. This is no recipe for a people moving towards transformation. Let me now, tell this whole truth: onweghi onye ji Ndi Igbo, Ndi Igbo ji Onwe ha (no one is to blame for the Igbo predicament but Ndigbo). Those who wrestle with Ala, the Earth goddess, often forget that no one has ever lifted the earth. Ala-Igbo is the earth, Anaghi Apa ala Apa! (No one can lift the earth). Period.
The Igbo of this generation are wrestling with the earth left to them by their ancestors. And they are busy blaming everyone else for their condition. We who have done, “Ihe Nzere” should tell the truth, or may our tongues cleave to our gums.
•Obi Nwakanma is a Professor, Nigerian Poet, Literary Critic, Journalist And Academic At University Of Central Florida.
•Opinions, positions or thoughts expressed here are personal and strictly of the writer/author and not The Daily
Crucible.
•The piece was first published in 2019.
ADVERTISEMENT
Tags: Professor Obi Nwakanma
Previous Post

Bisi Akande, Poverty And Ige’s Death 

Next Post

CSOs Partner EFCC On Budget Monitoring In Fresh Move Against Corruption

The Daily Crucible

The Daily Crucible

The Daily Crucible Newspaper is an authoritative and independent online news medium established to deliver professional journalism for the purpose of fostering Nigeria's unity, peace, progress and greatness, given the heterogeneity of her citizens. We shall vigorously pursue this vision and anchor it on tripod of truth, justice and fairness. We shall feed the general public with robust information they need to make informed decision on issues and matters that affect them, promote human - capital development, freedom and free market enterprise. And our loyalty shall be to Nigeria and public interest, and shall respect ethnic, religious and political diversity without being partisan and sectional.

Related Posts

Kudos To Iran For Showing Compelling Courage
Opinion

Kudos To Iran For Showing Compelling Courage

by The Daily Crucible
June 16, 2025
Nigeria At a Crossroads: The Erosion Of Democracy And The Politics Of Self Over Societal Good
Opinion

Nigeria At a Crossroads: The Erosion Of Democracy And The Politics Of Self Over Societal Good

by The Daily Crucible
June 15, 2025
June 12 wounds And Nigeria’s Search For Closure
Opinion

June 12 wounds And Nigeria’s Search For Closure

by The Daily Crucible
June 15, 2025
Maryam Abacha’s Curious Reinvention of Abacha Loot
Opinion

Maryam Abacha’s Curious Reinvention of Abacha Loot

by The Daily Crucible
June 14, 2025
Dapo Abiodun, Gbenga Daniel, And Ogun State’s Theatre Of Political Deceit
Opinion

Dapo Abiodun, Gbenga Daniel, And Ogun State’s Theatre Of Political Deceit

by The Daily Crucible
June 14, 2025
Next Post
CSOs Partner EFCC On Budget Monitoring In Fresh Move Against Corruption

CSOs Partner EFCC On Budget Monitoring In Fresh Move Against Corruption

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

Hands Off Petroleum Ministry, Prof Iledare Urges Tinubu

Hands Off Petroleum Ministry, Prof Iledare Urges Tinubu

September 4, 2024
Ogun To Provide Shelter For Victims Of Gender Based Violence – Abiodun

Ogun To Provide Shelter For Victims Of Gender Based Violence – Abiodun

December 6, 2023

Categories

  • Business
  • Column
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Interview
  • Lifestyle
  • Metro
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Property
  • Sports
  • World

Don't miss it

Police Grill Pastor Paul Adefarasin Over Video Of Him Holding Gun – Like Object
News

Police Grill Pastor Paul Adefarasin Over Video Of Him Holding Gun – Like Object

June 17, 2025
2027: Tinubu Shouldn’t Shy Away From Seeking Re-election – APC Youths
News

2027: Tinubu Shouldn’t Shy Away From Seeking Re-election – APC Youths

June 17, 2025
News

June 16, 2025
Benue Kìllíngs Are Politically Motivated – Group
News

Benue Kìllíngs Are Politically Motivated – Group

June 16, 2025
FG Gives N60B To Gombe For Agro-Livestock Industrial Zone
Business

FG Gives N60B To Gombe For Agro-Livestock Industrial Zone

June 16, 2025
Kudos To Iran For Showing Compelling Courage
Opinion

Kudos To Iran For Showing Compelling Courage

June 16, 2025
The Daily Crucible

The Daily Crucible Newspaper is an authoritative and independent online news medium established to deliver professional journalism for the purpose of fostering Nigeria's unity, peace, progress, and greatness, given the heterogeneity of its citizens.

© 2022 The Daily Crucible - Designed by CYBERWARRIOR.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Property
  • Business
  • Education
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • About Us

© 2022 The Daily Crucible - Designed by CYBERWARRIOR.