Things To Appreciate And Emulate About The Igbo

By Abdu Abdullahi

The Saturday Sun, July 4th, 2015, featured an opinion column with the above caption. It was characterized by the writer’s reflective and expressive capacity for deep lamentation, protest, extolment and optimism about the Igbo State of affairs. A very careful reading of the piece offered me a clear and unbiased understanding of the writer’s primary aim of unveiling the true picture of the Igbo Nation in its giant strive to forge ahead within the league of federating units that have been engulfed into a prolonged crisis of confidence.

*Chinua Achebe Reads And Igbo Poem at 2011 

Achebe Colloquium at Brown University, in Rhode Island

Thus, the writer was able to impressively and emotionally fix significant areas of focus for the readers to digest with a view to constructing sound judgments on the critical issues raised as enshrined in the presentation. The writing was particularly outstanding because of its linguistic strength to communicate effectively with our original mind. Consequently, this impacted tremendously on my psychological make-up, empowering me with the expressive zeal of picking my pen to offer this contribution.

I particularly observed that the choice of the word “appreciate” in the title might have been informed by the writer’s resolve to renew and boost the collective image of the Igbo in the context of ethnic and political supremacy context. In fact, the word appreciate is readily endowed with the lexical power to assume the role of a persuasive agent.

In a way, the word appreciate possesses the driving force of engaging the mind in sober reflections on the Igbo. Mr. Clem Aguiyi’s opening paragraph was skillfully organized to deploy his message to the in-depth of our mind, fostering a strong cohesion from the beginning to the end of the writing.

To drive home his profound feelings and belief about the Igbo, he meticulously dwelt on historical, social, political and philosophical dimensions to carry the readers along the course of evidence based analysis, justification and verification. After scrutinizing the entire work, the central themes captured and refreshed my memory on the period that I really appreciated the beauty of Igbo land. My conviction about the productive attributes of the Igbo was consolidated.

And of course, my heartfelt pity on matters for which they were innocently persecuted was attracted. Indeed, “The beauty of Igbo land is unparallel when you come to discover it”. This statement in the fourth paragraph filled my mind with the “spontaneous recollection in tranquility” of those happy and glorious days when I was a corper serving in Abia State, 1998. It was my first encounter with the land and its beauty was laid bare to me. I found myself in a kind of a world with its own idiosyncrasy and felt that Nigeria’s diversity and plurality were blessing at its fullest.

The Palm Kernel propelled me to develop and nurture the love of the area. The land fertility was so attractive that I could not resist reflecting on it. I was always lively and excited at the sight of nourishing and appetizing fruits. How can I forget that friendly weather which vehemently lifted my comfort to greater heights? Why shouldn’t I celebrate the beauty of the land that accorded me laudable hospitality to transform me from a stranger to a native? Even if no one sees, God is my witness that I can never forget the Nwakamas, Njokus, Omenkas, Onuohas, Mazis to mention but a few. On several occasions, they warmly invited me to their residences for special and well prepared variety of food.

*Odumegwu-Odimegwu  

In fact, they were competing to see me honour their invitation. Oh, I really miss this beautiful land! With a sincere apology to the writer, I honesty don’t need anybody to teach me any lesson on how hardworking, industrious and enterprising the Igbo people are. During my service at the Oboro Secondary School, Ikwuano Local Government Council, I was both a teacher and a student simultaneously. I served as a teacher discharging my primary assignment; I was a student in the Igbo School of hard work, industry and enterprise.

But unknown to them, they taught me great and indelible lessons of quality human and developmental attributes. I saw the real Igbo in deeds and actions. Believe me; the Igbo can never part way with these noble qualities. The fact remains that today the Igbo have risen to lift the banner of economic and commercial dominance in Nigeria courtesy of these features.

They appear resilient against all odds. They survive the toughest challenges. They succeed where others fail. They bear resemblance to the philosophical assertion of the late Martin Luther King that, “the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands at the time of comfort and convenience but where he stands at the time of challenges and controversies”.

Behold, the Igbo people have relegated the infamous class society to the barest minimum. Class society, because of its evil repercussions, breeds class antagonism among others. I did not spend two weeks as a corper when I learnt that class society was at its lowest ebb there because careful observations at my disposal proved to me beyond reasonable doubt that the Igbo had marvelously pegged down the gap between the haves and the have nots. But in the far north, class society was and is still the order of the day.

Come to think of it, their collective effort in installing a Due Development Process that generates hard work, industry and enterprise is no longer news. Their ability to integrate them into their personalities is not a hidden agenda. Their vision is not built on individualism but collectivism.

They begin from the unknown to the known. They gallantly defy conservatism to arrive at positivism. They teach themselves the lesson of history before history teaches them its lesson. The Igbo are famous for their unbreakable community development spirit.

It grows from strength to strength to usher in the dawn of a new era orchestrated by unanimous resolve to see, to come and to conquer. I saw this community development spirit making hay while the sun was shining when I was a corper. A dividend of this was the school that I served. Many similar schools existed then to move the society forward. I learnt in my stay the socio-political relevance of the Igbo rested not on their paper qualification or their socio- political portfolio but rather on the level of their community building efforts. In the far north however, the reverse was and is still the case. It was painful and agonising to see how the Igbo were made a scapegoat in the various ethno-religious crises that had rocked the North in the past.

The perpetuators of their killings and looting of their properties were the undesirable elements of the society. They were social deviants who did not understand the value of human life. They seized that opportunity to unleash mayhem on them because they lacked conscience which would have been there to guide them. Despite that tragedy, the Igbo have unanimously continued to serve as a bridge between the North and the south, between history and its lessons between amalgamated hard work, industry, enterprise, intelligence and development.

Who can contest that the Igbo are not bridge builders? Are they not a force to be reckoned with? Are they not working for the cultivation of the “whole” society? These are some of the things that we should not only appreciate about the Igbo but also emulate for a better living.

•Abdu Abdullahi of the Inspectorate of Education and Monitoring wrote from Dutse , Jigawa State aaringim2012@yahoo.com

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