For other tribes who are claiming Igbo don't love themselves...........bla, bla, bla,......
Now, Listen carefully....
I will disagree with you and it's called by grammarians "Divergent views". Don't use this opportunity to show your hatred on Igbo nation by saying they don't love themselves. They are this and that..... I can understand most of you lack Nigeria political history and that is the only reason l will take my time to explain the action of less than 1% of our people that are against Peter Obi.
Every tribe have these kind of political business men among them ....
* OBJ worked against Awolowo presidency and even MKO.
* The North worked against Atiku choice as VP, they wanted Abubakar Rimi and OBJ refused.
* Jim Nwobodo worked against Ekwueme as VP candidate.
* SS had preferred Ibori n not GEJ as Musa Yaraduwa's VP, Ibori was their poster boy then.
* The north worked against Namadi Sambo, there reason was that it will make a Christain. Become a governor. GEJ refuse to listen to them and we all know how the Christain man was murdered.
*Tinibu worked against Tunde Bakere as Buhari running mate, Osibanjo was forced on Buhari by Tinubu. Afenifere was never consulted by Buhari. Tinubu picked Osibanjo alone.
Biko nu, these are our political history. These political business men are in every tribe. Enough of making it sound like Igbo against Igbo!
Igbo nation can never be against their finest. Igbo nation don't, will never reinforce Failure. Feudalism is never part of Igbo culture, and will never be.
Igbo enwegh Eze --- means Igbo culture welcomes and honors divergent views.
Our culture made it possible for every man to have his opinion respected in any issue, even by his king.
................
Mr. Ekweremmadu, Mr.Chidoka, Dr. Umahi and Chris Uba are not Igbo nation mouth piece. They can never be..
Mr. Chidoka is a man in the likes of Fela Durotoye....fine gentleman, with pseudo English presence that have "breath of air"---- he don't have any political weight among his kinsmen ma ya fo kwa Igbo nation. I heard he did reasonably well as a minister. That is where it ends "Abuja Connection" e don finish. Just like the way he is tagging along Atiku now....go figure.
Mr Ekweremmadu and Chidoka are same. That one cannot even convince Ogbete market women to vote for him fa!
Na Abuja connection ogwu kwa! Same like Chidoka. He parade himself as DSP.... If Buhari think that he can influence votes in Igbo land - don't you think he would've been consulted before proscribing IPOB as a terrorist group?. Let Buhari Proscribe any Kwara group as a terrorist group without battling with impeachment. The fear of Saraki is not same with Ekweremmadu! He is just there ---- that is it.
Same with Chidoka - the duo can only boast of Abuja connections, but cannot even influence votes from smallest market women in any Igbo nation cities - who know them?.
David Umahi - you know what they say about small men....hia! When you defeat them, they will still stay on ground na agba anika.
Umahi is the only SE governor, Buhari hs visited n tried to use to penetrate SE with his cattle colony....
We remembered how Bishop Chukwuma openly called him evil among us. Ohaneze came after him, and his people chase him back to Aso Rock to dump the colony nonesense in Abuja. He was made to retract that in his campaign before PDP delegates. Umahi is not our mouthpiece piece. He is in the likes of Orji Uzo kalu! Everywhere power goes, their legs will be positioned at that direction.
Eselu na Uga! Mr Chris Uba, he is a failed "Adedibu" of Igbo land .... He is the man that kidnapped Ngige while he was a sitting Governor. He is the same man that unlawfully removed Peter Obi in the office. These are men Chinua Achebe of blessed memory called evil in his State.
Achebe called OBJ to even take them to Abuja with so that Anambra will have peace. Because of his likes in Anambra State and how OBJ allowed them to use FG security apparatus to carry out their nyama-nyama, the great Achebe refuse to accept national honor from OBJ regime.
Anyone calling them Igbo nation mouthpiece is insulting Igbo nation.
Ok, I am from Igbo generation that Ohaneze forced themselves on us.... Why not let them speak first?, if you think Igbo nation are against their finest.
Una carry these efulefu matter for head dey insult Igbo nation anyhow, kam nu ihe biko.
A population of over 60 million people scattered all over the world fa!
There is no crack in Igbo nation about Atiku - Peter Obi ticket...
Except that Peter Obi is Viewed as "stingy and uncompromising".... These his kinsmen that are thieves and against him will not see any fraud called "contract" from Aso Rock, if Peter is there. He will lift the lid for the world to see their foolishness. The thieves know, we the Igbo nation know and Amadioha knows!
Igbo nation is behind Peter Obi except the 1% who are thugs n thieves.
IF THE BIBLE WERE TO BE WRITTEN IN OUR TIME, THE STORY OF ATIKU COULD HAVE BEEN THUS*
AN ACCOUNT OF THE TRIALS OF ATIKU THE SON OF ABUBAKAR
1. In the seventh year that king Obasanjo reigned over the kingdom, a great trouble broke out in the land. For when his time was come nigh that he may descend from the throne that he called unto himself noble men in the land.
2. And he declared unto them saying: "Now that my days on the throne are few, allow me therefore to rule over thee for another four years".
3. And he gathered together of them that maketh laws in the Red Chamber in the city of the king, and even unto they in the Green Chamber, that they may amend the books of the law to favour him.
4. But this thing grieved Atiku the son of Abubakar who was the king's deputy. And he said unto his master, "howbeit seekest thou to rule over the people for another term? sweareth not thou by the name of thy god to set me upon the throne after thee?
5. Practice thou not this great evil against me and against the kingdom for it is written in the books of the law that a king may not reign but for two terms which equal eight years''. But these words changeth not the heart of the king.
6. And Atiku conspired with the Governors of the provinces and of the men who maketh laws in the city of the great king and they rejected king Obasanjo that he may continually reign over the kingdom.
7. And the king was wrought with grave anger and he declared according to these words to Atiku the son of Abubakar saying, "because thou hath done this great evil unto me, thou shall no longer sit upon the throne of this kingdom even unto thy death".
8. When the son of Abubakar saw that the king favoureth him not, that he departed from the camp of the king by the name PDP, and pitched his tent in the camp of the king's adversaries by the name ACN that he may contend the throne of the kingdom.
9. And it came to pass that Governor Yaradua who ruleth over the province of Katsina found favour in the sight of king Obasanjo. And when the time was come for the appointment of the king that he defeated Atiku and was appointed and anointed king over the kingdom. And king Yaradua ruleth the kingdom with the fear of God. But his days as king was full of affliction.
10. And when king Yaradua gave up the ghost that Goodluck the son of Jonathan who siteth by his side as the deputy reigned after him. But when the time was come nigh that the son of Jonathan be appointed again that Atiku departed from the camp of the king's adversaries and entered into the king's camp that he may be appointed.
11 . But the son of Jonathan defeated Atiku again for he spake according to these words unto the people, "I feel thy pains brethren for I was once like thee. I wore no sandals on the soul of my feet in the years of my youth when seeketh I knowledge, for my parents were of little means". And the people loved him and appointed him.
12. And the host of the other camps were vexed with a great vexation. For sixteen years they made battle against the king's camp and hath not prevailed against it.
13. And a certain noble man by the name Audu the son of Ogbe declared unto the leaders of the camps that contended the throne with the king's camp saying: "howbeit thinkest thou in thy heart to prevail against the king's camp if comest thou not together as one?
14. Harken to my voice this day, come let us reason together that we may enlarge our coast and verily, verily I say unto thee, the throne of the kingdom shall be delivered into our hands.
15. Of the camps that came together that day to form the APC were ACN from the west, ANPP from the North and a part of APGA from the East of the kingdom. Even the unhappy in the camp of PDP crossed over into the camp too.
16. And Atiku the son of Abubakar departed again from the king's camp by the name PDP and entered into the camp of the king's adversaries that he may contend the throne.
17. But Mohammed the son of Buhari was favoured among them that seeketh the throne from the camp of the APC for he swore unto the leaders of the camp saying, "Behold brethren, I am full of age and my eyes are becoming dim, suffer me to ascend unto the throne for I shall only reign for four years". And Buhari was anointed king over the kingdom.
18. And it troubled the son of Abubakar in his heart that he was rejected as king again. But he saith in his heart, I shall be of long suffering and remain in this camp for I shall ascend unto the throne after the fourth year of king Buhari.
19. But it came to pass that as the end of the fourth year of king Buhari's reign was at hand that the advisers in the king's court said unto him, be of good courage, gird thy loins and present thyself to be appointed again to reign over the kingdom for another four years.
20. And when Atiku heard of these words that he was vexed with anger and he repenteth that he joined the APC.
21. And he said, "I shall arise and go back to PDP which is the camp of my youth. And I shall declare unto them, “I have sinned against thee and against God. Accept me this day that I may once again contend the throne in thy bosom”.
22. And on the twenty fourth day of the eleventh month of the year before a new king is appointed that Atiku the son of Abubakar departed from the camp of APC and joined the camp of his youth.
23. And there was great jubilation in the camp of PDP that day for they said, “Verily, the prodigal son returneth.
24. But they forgot that Aremu, the son of Obasanjo, who still sees himself as the King maker, will not approve of it.
I am happy to God I was born in a culture where no man stands up to order who is to be voted for and everyone votes him,then the children of the voted will rise tomorrow to order my children to vote for another Character of this choice;
God forbid!
I am happy I was born without a mortal king on any throne over me and was thought that God almighty,the Creator is the only King I should obey without Questions;
I am happy,I was born free and my freedom of thought and being are misunderstood and frightens people to point of soffocating every breath.
I am happy I was born and thought to be free and when denied to continue fighting for freedom until all 'dom-ains' of my life are free.
I am happy my father (MBC) told be the fight won't be easy and to fight on because those born under kings don't know what it means to be free and are afraid of your freedom and to help them to taste freedom.
I am happy freedom will come also to those who don't know what it means.
Nigeria is one(automatic and natural) when the mind set of the Northern Governors goes towards buying government approved Made in Aba and Awka Keke-tricycle, Innoson vehicles etc instead of inviting Indians and other Asians at extra costs to come and teach young northerners how to ride imported Indian keke and change oil/tyres. Sponsor foreign competition against local producers just because of their geopolitical location and origin. For your information The IPOB with those flags in the streets is even less aggrieved than the IPOB not in the street.By the time the two ideologies will comprehend each other and 're-strategize' ,the 'Nigerian game' will naturally and peacefully be over unfortunately. Unfortunately because we are supposed to be greater together.
Our selfish, parochial and 'tribalistic' rulers who predominantly occupied the seats since independence are holding Nigerian unity. The majority of the Northern youths are suffering more;but do they know? Stop keeping them low with lies and HATE/FAKE information about other groups. The jealousy and hate originates from the higher/ruling class of all sides and the poor masses are fed with it as instrument of self-destruction, and perpetual enslavement/subjugation. Be wise and don't hate your neighbour. by: charlie.mbc@gmail.com
What Igbos Need to Know About Isiagu Symbol(by Anozie Awambu)
In this essay, I use “akwa isiagụ” as metaphor to illustrate that Igbos have not done exactly well to preserve their language and culture. I posit they have abandoned their unique cultural symbol. That they are now parading a symbol of foreign popular culture as their foremost emblem. But I also present perspectives that might ignite a quest for self-rediscovery.
Akwa Isiagụ
Akwa isiagụ is the clothing fabric patterned with motifs showing fierce-looking lion’s head and mane. Some designs show a less stern lion’s head, with two or three cow horns besides it.
Since the last 50 to 60 years Igbos have managed to portray this fabric design as their classic cultural emblem. In fact, as something of a totem. Igbo chiefs and nze and ọzọ titleholders use it to make their ceremonial gears. At native marriage ceremonies and similar cultural events, isiagụ garments of different colours and styles grace the day. Igbo people feel a certain sense of pride when they dress in isiagụ attire. Even non-Igbos regard isiagụ as being to Igbos what the tartan is to Scots. Or the yarmulke is to Jews. Such is the impression, that when they are identifying with or participating at an Igbo traditional practice (eg taking an Igbo chieftaincy), they dress in isiagụ gear. Recent examples include President Buhari, Fayose, Zuma.
But this is an imported foreign popular culture. Neither the lion nor the lion icon has any significance in Igbo cultural foundations. Indeed, using the descriptor ‘isiagụ’ to refer to a lion’s head motif is wrong use of the word “agụ”.
Incorrect Language
Agụ is not lion in Igbo. Agụ is leopard. Folks have written about this before, and I’ve discussed in other forums on the subject. It is pitiful that it remains a source of confusion to many adult Igbos. There is just little understanding of Igbo origins and names of the feline (cat species) animals. You hear all manner of names that contradict biogeography. Like, “agụ is lion, and ọdụm is tiger”. Or, “agụ is lion, and leopard is edi abalị”.
But let’s clear this.
Just as jaguars and cougars are found only in the Americas, tigers inhabit only in Eurasia. They do not belong to the fauna (native animals) of sub-Saharan Africa. Ancient Igbos did not see nor know about tiger, so did not have an indigenous name for it.
Edi or edi abalị is the African civet. One of the 38 viverridae species, it is slightly smaller than the leopard. A carnivore, no doubt, but it is timider, less agile and far less specialised in opportunistic hunting. It has a broadly cat-like general appearance, but its muzzle is more pointed than that of a typical feline. Leopard has distinctive camouflage spots that help it to use forest canopies for cover, enhancing its abilities for surprise hunting, But the African civet typically has black and white spots.
A nocturnal creature that sleeps for about 20 hours a day, the ancient Igbos knew the edi abalị very well. Which is why I[[gbos still use “edi” as metaphor to refer to a person who sleeps a lot. The leopard is bold, agile, versatile, and highly admired in Igbo cultural foundations. But edi is loathed and associated with negativity, because it smells and relies more on con and coy to lure its preys. That’s also why in Igbo language “edi aghụghọ” is a metaphor that references a deceptive person.
Knowledge of the Igbo language structure will indicate agụ is not lion. Many Igbo words were created from metaphorical use of existing words. To form names for creatures or objects, Igbos often devised a two-word metaphor comparing what is sought to be named to an another named object or creature. For example, ụlọ is house, and school is “ụlọ-akwụkwọ” (house for books), while hospital is “ụlọ ọgwụ” (house for medication).
Leopard – agụ – preys on mammals and has spots on its furs. That is why the wall gecko, that preys on insects and has spots, is called agụ ụlọ (ie house leopard). And the crocodile, that preys on water creatures and has patches that resemble the leopard’s spots, is called agụ iyi (leopard of the waters). Similarly, the palm genet, a small mammal that resembles the squirrel but unlike the squirrel has spots on its furs, is called “agụ nkwụ”. In contrast.] the lion has no spots on its furs. The lion’s fur is generally plane brown.
The leopard is Igbo animal totem
Leopard
Being about 3 times the size of a leopard, the lion is stronger and sometimes even preys on the leopard. The Igbo say “ọdụm na-egbu agụ”. Despite this, the lion has no special recognition in Igbo cultural systems. Ancient Igbos likely did not even have any or much contact with lion as a species. For whereas leopards inhabit in rainforests (although they are very adaptable and thrive in other vegetations), lions inhabit mainly in savannah or grasslands. Savannah vegetation do not exist (and likely never existed) in Igboland. Igboid areas sit generally on lowland rainforest.
A lion can occasionally stray into a rainforest or can refuge there if persecuted in its usual habitat. It must have been in such circumstances that Igbos came to know about the lion. Yet that was not enough to diminish their fascination for the leopard, a beast with which they had contended for thousands and thousands of years.
It should be noted that whilst leopards operate solitarily, lions are the most social of the cat species. Lions operate in close-knit social groups called “pride”. Ethologists (scholars of animal behaviours) have observed that this sociality makes the lion a better communicator than other big cats. But it means lions roar frequently and easily broadcast their presence and emotions. Conversely, a leopard’s solitary lifestyle makes it less detectable, and more perceptive and reactive to intrusion. For this reason, its senses of vision and hearing are sharper than those of a lion. Ancient Igbos witnessed this first-hand. They saw how a leopard, hiding stealthily amongst forest canopies, would detect the slightest animal or human movement, and chase and pounced savagely.
In forest environment, a lion has little chance to fight down the more agile leopard. A lion’s size and weight render it less agile to climb high. But a leopard can climb to the top an iroko tree in less than 10 seconds. Leopard is probably the only big mammal that can descend a tree head first. It uses its long tail to maintain perfect aerodynamic balance.
With top average speed of about 80 km per hour, lion is faster than leopard. But it can only run for very short bursts and needs to be close to its prey before starting an attack. But the leopard can run for far longer stretches, at average top speed of about 58 km per hour. A leopard can make a single leap of over 6m (20 ft) horizontally and can jump up to 3 m (9.8 ft) vertically. And it is a powerful swimmer. Although its vision is sharpest in the dark, it can equally be eagle-eyed in the day.
Incredibly versatile, leopard hunts on land, up on the trees and in water. On the trees it can out-manoeuvre specialised climbers and jumpers, including monkeys and baboons. Leopards have been observed leaping and snatching a monkey with a bite mid-air and regaining grip of tree branches. That is, it successfully launches mid-air strike from a treetop and lands back on the tree. It goes into rivers and streams where it overpowers creatures like alligators, and hauls them off the water, all the way up a tree.
A silent predator, when discreteness will give it advantage, it can be elusive. It has a pad of tissue in the flat of its claws that act as silencers when it walks. It can literally hide in plain sight. When it tucks itself in between the fork of tree branches, it just blends with the tree trunk. It can create optical illusion to deceive its prey, including humans. A Leopard will coil its head and tail into its body and crouch flat on the ground appearing like dry wood lying about. Very patient. If its target are animals in a troop, it can hold its cool and then attack the last of the troop from behind.
When persecuted by humans a leopard is more likely to fight back than is a lion. And it does not target one out of a group. It will attack one person after another. Reason the Igbo say “ofu agụ na-achụ mba” (a single leopard can sack a town).
For thousands of years the Maasai people of Kenya have practiced the art of emerging from hiding to scare lions away from their kill and take it home for meet. But a leopard will drag its kill in its mouth and climb a tree. It climbs a tree carrying in its mouth a carcass far heavier than its own size. Animals like bull, giraffe, antelope. In those days, it would attack someone’s goat or sheep and drag it in its mouth deep into the forest and up on a tree.
Leopard climbing a tree with an impala in its mouth
The lion lacks these amazing abilities. In terms of general efficiency and productivity as jungle hunters, the leopard beats the lion, by many miles! Indeed, scientists have determined that, pound for pound (ie adjusted for differences in size and weight) the leopard is the strongest of all the big cat species.
It was for these reasons that the ancient Igbo revered the leopard as their totemic animal for strength, agility, boldness, and courage. And that is also why Igbo language is littered with similes, metaphors, adages and proverbs that use agụ to illustrate positive energy and abilities. Like “omekagụ”, “agụ nwa”, etcetera. And it is why many Igbo families and communities proudly took their names and sobriquets after agụ. Like “Umuagụ, Amagụ Dimagụ, Eziagụ, Duruagụ etc.
Today, as urban dwellers we can look down on the leopard. But to the Igbos of those jungle days, a snarling leopard on the loose was literally nature’s force unleashed. Every hamlet had a chant or cry that was used to alarm the community when a leopard was sighted. In my own area the chant was “ ọ wụ agụo!”. ( it is a leopard o!). Social codes dictated that a person who heard the cry also repeated it, till the entire community was alerted. And until the leopard was killed or confirmed to have returned to the deep forests, usual daily activities were suspended. Children and women would not go the streams to fetch water. No one went to the farms nor led their sheep out to graze. Able bodied men were then organised, in groups, to track down the leopard. And think of it. Those men did not have guns. They went with spears, bows and sticks. Combating the leopard in these situations was an act of extraordinary bravery and patriotism – risking one’s life for the safety of the community. That explains why the person who eventually killed the leopard instantly became a hero and given the honorific “Ogbu Agụ”.
And eating a leopard meat was a once-in-a-generation-experience. Till today Igbos use the metaphor “ọbụ anụ agụ?” (is it a leopard meat?) to question the value of a highly priced or scarce commodity. Of course, the leopard skin was dried and kept by the leopard killer. He and his descendant would display it with pride for hundreds of years afterwards. And legend has it that reputable native doctors harvested the leopard’s bile/gall and used it to prepare the most potent charms or medicines, that warriors drank to boost their bravery and ferocity during intertribal wars.
Very perplexing was this elusive and powerful animal to ancient Igbos, that they even considered it a mysterious creature. A reason many Igbo dialects added the suffix “mystery” or “invisible” (“owo”, “owu”, “owuru” or “awolo”) to its name. Many areas call it agụ owuru – ie, leopard of mystery, mysterious leopard, or leopard that suddenly appears and disappears. Igbo metaphysics believed that some men acquired powers to transform to leopard. To assume the nature and characteristics of a leopard, even for a short period, was considered an attainment of a transcendental and superior state of being.
Indeed, ancient Igbo cosmology explained the entire universe as being some mystical leopard persona.The weather system and visible changes in the skies were said to be a leopard, the sky leopard. The thick clouds that formed in the sky before rainfall were its shimmering eyes just waking from sleep. The movement of tick clouds was the movement of the leopard in its marauding character. The sparks of lightening that came before a thunder were the leopard’s flashing eyes. The thunder was its voice snarling in anger and ready to pounce. The heavy rains were its urine gushing with a force typical of its strength. And bright day was the sky leopard fully awake, with eyes wide open.
The Lion symbol is not originally Igbo
This portrayal of the lion as symbolic cultural icon of the Igbos is only recent. It is driven by the influence of modern media and foreign popular culture. We watch a lot of animal documentaries these days and read a lot of books that continue to inform us the lion is the king of the beasts. True! But they don’t tell us about the king of our forests.
Today in global popular culture (eg children cartoons, films, etc) we are taught to be like the lion. Because throughout histories and in many parts of the world the lion image has been used in stories, artworks, coats of arms, logos and advertisements to depict strength, ferocity, power, confidence and success. The bible and other major religious texts also contain the lion symbolism. And so, the Igbos yielded – completely! We abandoned our equivalent animal totem, and even had to distort our language as a result.
Yet Igbo folklore is filled with stories that reference “agụ” as the king of animals. First generation Igbo intellectuals had no misunderstanding that agụ was leopard. And they were acutely aware of its significance in the Igbo culture and worldview.
In Onuora Nzekwu’s classic novel Eze Goes to School (published 1963), the ravaging beast which held the people of Ohia hostage, which Eze’s father killed but later died from the wound it inflicted on him, was a leopard, not a lion. Anezi Okoro’s 1966 novel ‘The Village School’ featured an intriguing student. Ismael was popular amongst his mates because his father was a reputed hunter who killed a leopard and took the title “The Leopard Killer”.
In 1950 Cyprian Ekwensi published a novel entitled ‘The Leopard’s Claw’. Chinua Achebe later published a short story with the title “How the Leopard Got Its Claws”. He narrated an Igbo folktale featuring leopard as the king of the animals. Achebe’s other book ‘Anthills of The Savanah’ narrates the incident when the leopard, the king of the forest, was to kill the tortoise and how the tortoise scattered sand and grass. And in of ‘Arrow of God’ he masterfully devised an English translation of a popular Igbo proverb ‘Agụ aghaghị ịmu ihe yiri agụ” as “what the leopard sires cannot be different from the leopard”.
These men did not talk about the lion.
Chukwumeka Ike’s novel “The Bottled Leopard” explores Igbo metaphysics in the context of interpersonal strife during primal times. It tells the story of how men acquired metaphysical powers and transformed to leopards to terrify their neighbours or attack their animals.
Wago the protagonist of ‘The Great Ponds’ (the second novel of Elechi Amadi’s trilogy) was revered in the community because he killed a leopard. He was even hailed by the honorific “The Leopard Killer”. What surprised the members of the community was that the brave Leopard Killer later committed suicide, something they deemed an act of cowardice.
Gabriel Okara, an Ijaw man, was educated at Government Collage Umuahia and worked in Enugu for many years. He wrote the famous poem ‘The Drum and the Piano’. Romanticising primal African life, he used the imagery of a “leopard snarling about to leap and the hunters crouch with spears poised”.
If you’ve read the works of late great poet Christopher Okigbo, you will see repeated references to the leopard. In a manuscript drafting the poem ‘Land of Our Birth’ which he intended to be Biafra’s anthem, Okigbo wrote of Eastern Region’s (mostly Igbos) resolve to found its own republic: “This leopard is now unchained”.
Defunct Biafran Armed Forces published and circulated a periodic newsletter/bulletin to engage the masses. It was not for nothing that the brand name of that bulletin/newsletter was “The Leopard”. Indeed, the coat of arms of that republic, which was the same used by Eastern Region, proudly featured a charging leopard.
Stay true to who you are
Leopard skin (“akpụkpọ agụ”) was the totemic body-covering material in Igbo cultural foundations. In this modern era, if any fabric should be an emblem of Igbo culture, it is leopard skin fabrics. This lion symbol expresses nothing unique about the Igbo.
Leopard skin: akpụkpọ agụ
Totemic symbols embody and express the spirit, history, character and worldview of a people: what they have been through on their road to civilisation. How they see themselves in the world. The standards and qualities they aspire to, collectively and as individuals.
It is not difficult to see parallels between the leopard’s characteristics and core Igbo character: There is the leopard’s individualism – that Igbo man’s tendency to take his own destiny in his hands. The leopard is vigilant and opportunistic. The Igbo are wired to identify and take advantage of changing dynamics. Think of the spirit of enterprise and consider the leopard’s ability to perform feats that are out of proportion to its size. What about the leopard’s versatility? The Igbo excel in any enterprise they truly apply their energy to. And then adaptability. The Igbo have not only survived different challenging conditions and thrived in different regions and environments. They have tuned adversities to opportunities and made huge successes out of nothing.
No imperial influence has forced the Scots to abandon the tartan. Nor has centuries of persecution swayed Jews to discard the yarmulke. The leopard was also the animal totem of the Zulu. That proud people of South Africa remain proud of it. Why then did the Igbo falter?
By Professor Sola Adeyeye
Chief Whip
Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
I stand before you today fully cognizant, as are many of you in this audience, that these days are not the best for Nigeria. At the risk of being called prophets of doom, we really have no choice than to admit that our country, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, lies in the paths of sundry tornadoes, hurricanes, cyclones, storms, superstorms, whirlwinds, and typhoons all of which are rushing towards our Republic with deadly speeds and their concomitant devastating momentum.
We all know that humans cannot perfectly predict what the future holds. But they can examine, assess and calibrate past and present events so as to reasonably forecast events of the future, thereby preparing against and averting preventable disasters and crisis. In particular, patriots are duty-bound to seek and say the truth about their country even if doing so results in being perceived, rightly or wrongly, either as the apostles of hope or as the harbingers of doom.
Fortunately as well as unfortunately for Nigerians, we no longer need to predict the approach of any gales for our republic. The gales of doom have not only approached our doors, they gustily and ferociously bang on them!
In any case, were we to be totally oblivious to these gales, we got good help over twelve years ago, when American Intelligence apparatchiks predicted that Nigeria would disintegrate before or not too long after 2015. Within Nigeria, the responses to that prediction were largely knee-jerk reactions as if Nigeria was about to become the first country in the world to disintegrate along ethnic and sectarian fissures. Never mind that in the two decades preceding that prediction by the CIA, numerous countries of the world had failed, crumbled and disintegrated under the crushing weight of their own internal contradictions!
Croatia which just gave a superlative performance at the 2018 World Cup in Russia did not participate in the 1994 World Cup hosted in the USA where Nigeria dazzled the world and came extremely close to beating Argentina and the mesmerizing Diego Maradona. Croatia could not have been at the 1994 World Cup or the preceding one-1990 in Italy simply because the Republic of Croatia was not in existence until 1991 when it emerged from Yugoslavia. Other countries that were formed from the breakup of Yugoslavia include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Slovenia. Likewise, Russia, the home team at this year’s World Cup, appeared in the World Cup for the first time in 1994 because the Russia we know today emerged after Russia, Belarus and Ukraine broke away from the Soviet Union after the Belavezha Accords of December 1991.
Decades earlier, in 1937 to be precise, Burma (now called Myanmar) was separated from British India. Eleven years later (1948), Ceylon now called Sri Lanka became independent of British India. Of course, Pakistan was separated from India in 1947, while Eastern Pakistan broke away from Pakistan in 1971 to give rise to Bangladesh. In other words, during the lifetime of the oldest members of this audience, a sequential breakup of India had occurred yielding five sovereign countries all of which have taken their rightful seats as chartered members of the United Nations, namely: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
Much earlier in Western Europe, the Sweden-Norway union broke in 1814 from the long-lasting (for 293 years from 1523 to 1814) Kalmar Union in Scandinavia that included Denmark. Ninety-one years later, the Sweden-Norway Union separated in 1905 into Sweden and Norway.
In briefly reminding us about the breakup of what were four countries (Yugoslavia, the USSR, India and the Scandinavian Kalmar Union) into what are 26 sovereign countries of our contemporary world, my point is not to glamorize the disintegration of sovereign countries as if disintegration is a never-failing solution to the conflicts that are all too common in the political enterprises of multi-ethnic and multi-national countries.
Rather, I have refreshed our minds with empirical case notes that robustly countermand and debunk the fallacy that the disintegration of countries, is intrinsically pernicious and innately injurious. On the contrary, for example, rather than remaining together in a commonwealth of internecine conflicts and obligate mutual destruction, India and Pakistan have been far better off by parting ways into separate republics, each choosing its own substantially different courses of national actualization and development. Let us do a cursory comparison of the paths that India and Pakistan took.
First, Pakistan was the first country in modern era to be formed on the basis of religion. No wonder, that at its Independence, the official name of Pakistan was constitutionally proclaimed as Islamic Republic of Pakistan. India, despite its overwhelmingly Hindu population remained a secular state.
Second, two years after Independence, India announced a fifteen year transition in its official language from English to Hindi. Because Hindi is not the mother tongue in the southern states of India, the attempt to impose it as the only official language was fiercely resisted in the southern states. Consequently, amendments were made in favor of continuing English as the official language.
By contrast, English remained the official language of Pakistan but in 1973 Pakistan adopted Urdu as its national language. It is noteworthy that whereas 46% of Pakistanis speak Punjab as its first language, only 8% of Pakistanis speak Urdu as their first language.
Third, one very substantial difference in the post-independence history of India versus Pakistan is the fact that beginning from 1958, Pakistan has had several coup d’etat resulting in decades of military rule. By contrast, India has always been ruled by democratically elected Governments. This is not to say that democratic rule in India has always been smooth and peaceful. Political assassinations were relatively common experience in India. Examples of assassinated Indian leaders include Mahatma Ghandi, Indira Ghandi, Rajiv Ghandi, and Phoolan Devi. Even their women were not exempted from being assassinated. But unlike what have occurred in many parts of the world, the assassination of political leaders in India has never resulted in military rule.
Despite the divergent paths taken by India and Pakistan, they are today very powerful countries; both are nuclear powers. India tested its first nuclear explosion in 1974 by which time Ali Bhutto, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, announced that Pakistan would be a nuclear power in 1976. You might recall that on May 27, 1998, India tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile. But guess what? While the world was still musing and rumbling about the global significance of India as a nuclear power, Pakistan tested its own intercontinental ballistic missile the very next day after the Indian test!
Furthermore, the stupendous leaps in progress by India and Pakistan have not been limited to military technology and hardware; both countries have made tremendous progress in other spheres such as education, agriculture, transportation and health care delivery. It is an irony of history that although this lecture is being delivered on the campus of what was once ranked as the fourth best hospital in the British Commonwealth, Nigerians now embark on regular medical trips to India. Despite its stepwise dismemberment into many smaller countries, what remains as contemporary India has marched forward. By contrast, our so-called “united” Nigeria steadily marches in relative retrogression. Our own republic is like the proverbial chicken that precariously dangles on a rope; neither the chicken nor the rope is at rest!
History has shown that whether the disintegration of a country results in beneficial or harmful outcomes depends largely on the process and mechanisms that lead to disintegration. For example, whereas the disintegration that yielded Denmark, Sweden and Norway was largely peaceful and mutually negotiated, the world is replete with tragic examples of how the disintegration of a country led to prolonged wars with the attendant calamities. Think of Sudan and South Sudan. Also think of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
For example, splitting Vietnam in 1954 into North Vietnam and South Vietnam, each backed by external foreign interests engendered a harrowing vortex of hostilities, war and widespread destruction that lasted 21 years. The tragic consequences of the Vietnam war extended far beyond the boundaries of that southeastern Asian country. Likewise, the split of Korea into North Korea and South Korea, degenerated into proxy wars between the two superpowers of the time (the USA and the USSR), with China also intervening at some point.
We all are living witnesses that more than 60 years after the split of Korea and the ensuing war, the Korea peninsula has remained a flashpoint of the world where scepters of war perennially dangle as eerie reminders of possible nuclear holocaust. We need not inundate you with the list of numerous separatist wars in parts of China, Burma, Iraq, Sudan and Ethiopia all of which yielded enormous casualties. Some of these wars continue as we speak having already lasted more than five decades.
As for Nigeria, if the truth be told, our republic creaks and moans from the battering gales that precariously dangle us on the precipice of disintegration. The American prediction has not come true. But we would be suffering from delusion-induced astigmatism, cataracts, myopia, glaucoma and macula degeneration if we fail to see that it is not too late for the prediction to be fulfilled.
Problems are not solved by denying that they exist. Even so, what is most important is not our recognition that Nigeria is buffeted by ferocious problems. Rather, it is our willingness to stem and avert these gales and their centrifugal forces that perennially jolt and weaken the threads holding the seams of Nigeria.
For a start, perhaps we should first convince ourselves that keeping Nigeria from disintegration is a worthwhile goal.
Look at our contemporary world. The continent of North America comprises twenty three countries plus nine dependent territories none of which is land locked. The continent of South America comprises 14 countries, of which only two (Bolivia and Paraguay) are land locked. In fact, Bolivia became landlocked only after losing its eastern border to Chile during the Pacific war of 1879-1883. The continent of Asia comprises 44 countries of which only 12 (27%) are land locked. The continent of Europe has 50 countries out of which 17 (34%) are land locked. Four of the landlocked European countries (i.e., Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Switzerland) participate in the European Common Market thus minimizing the disadvantages of being landlocked. In effect, only 13 European countries (26%) suffer the consequences of their lack of access to the sea. The smallest continent, Oceania, comprises 14 countries none of which is landlocked. The continent of Africa has 54 countries, of which 16 (30%) are landlocked. Because the two Island countries in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius and Seychelles) plus the (five) North African countries are not landlocked, it means that all the landlocked countries of Africa are in Sub-Sahara Africa. This means that 34% of Sub-Saharan Africa is landlocked. Why should we care?
It turns out that the cost of transportation in any country is directly correlated with whether the country is landlocked or not. Specifically, transportation costs in landlocked countries are 50% higher than in countries that are not landlocked. As such, being landlocked retards international trades because of the time spent at the ports of their maritime neighbors plus having to transport goods through their territories. Sundry tariffs and bribes are paid during trans-border freighting of goods to and from landlocked countries.
It is noteworthy that some of the states that constitute the USA are economically so strong that they can exist very comfortably as sovereign countries were they to separate from the union of the American Republic. If the State of California were an independent country, it would be the 6th largest economy of the world. Likewise, if Texas were an independent country, it would be the 8th richest economy of the world. Mississippi with a GDP per capita of over $32,000 is the poorest state in the USA. However, Mississippi is significantly richer than Chile and Brazil that have GDP per capital of $15,000 and $11,000 respectively. I chose to compare Mississippi with these two countries because one of them (Brazil) is the largest in South America while the other (Chile) is the richest on the basis of GDP per capital.
If we were to consider territorial size, only Niger, Mali and Nigeria are geographically bigger than Texas among the fifteen nations that constitute ECOWAS. Matter of fact, Texas is geographically more than double the size of each of the remaining 12 members of ECOWAS. As if its technological, economic and geographical advantages were not enough, the USA went to great lengths to ensure NAFTA- the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico with the clear purpose of fostering a trade bloc with advantages similar to those that are enjoyed by the industrial giants of the European Union and its unified market.
Alas, unlike North America, Africa is fragmented into disparate geopolitical entities that are buffeted by the vagaries of nature and the environment. Because of the abundance of its natural resources, Nigeria is one country that should have long emerged as the true giant of Africa. If only it were prudently administered! The Republic of Nigeria should have been so prosperous that every country from Cameroon to Senegal pleads to be amalgamated with it. Yes, the potential of Nigeria is so enormous that everything should be done to avert the disintegration of Nigeria. However, if Nigerians are not willing to do all that ought to be done to prevent disintegration, then we should summon the honesty, commonsense and enlightened self-interest to meet around a well-furnished mahogany table to negotiate the conditions and terms for the peaceful dissolution of Nigeria. Rather than keep transmuting the promises of Nigeria into nightmares and horrors, let a Boris Yeltsin arise and break up our “burdensome” Republic into as many as are peacefully negotiated.
Although I am an incorrigible believer in the unity of Nigeria, I have taken extensive time to discuss the pros and cons of Nigerian unity so as to debunk the oft-repeated fallacy that Nigerian Unity is non-negotiable. Those who tout this arrant superstition do so because of their mistaken ideology that the greatest purpose of nationhood is unity.
The truth, of course, is that whenever being “united” becomes inimical to the peace and progress of a country, its citizens should summon the wisdom and courage to peacefully disunite. The Unity of any country must never be an end unto itself. Rather, it should be a tool for strength through dynamic synergism, peace through necessary accommodations and progress through voluntary cooperation. In a multi-national enterprise such as the Nigerian Republic, unity must not be canonized as an end unto itself. Rather, it is a means to an end.
Therefore, for us to properly contemplate and solve Nigeria’s seemingly intractable problems, we must first overcome the Gale of False Assumptions about National Unity.
In this regard, let us consider one immutable and inexorable principle that unifies life. I am referring here to the very strict relationship between structure and function such that function is dependent on and dictated by structure. At all levels of biological existence, from the sub-cellular levels of macromolecules and their atomic components through increasing complexities of cells, tissues, organs, organ-systems, individual organisms, populations, communities and ultimately ecosystems, a deviation from proper structure results in the perturbations and defects of function. http://www.tribuneonlineng.com/amp/156779/
The complicity of our silence over the New Phenomenon of Healers and founders of the so-called Prayer Ministry and their "Adoration Centers, - including those of the powerful "priests-healers" in our Catholic Church in Eastern Nigeria (Old Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province), and other parts of Nigeria, is too dangerous for the future of Christianity in our land: There is no gain-saying the fact that one of the greatest dangers facing the church in Nigeria today, especially in the Old Eastern Region, are the activities of the so-called healers or founders of the "prayer healing ministry" and their distorted "Adoration Centers". Just in the last few days alone, the social media is awash with video clips and all sorts of posts detailing the embarrassing activities of some of the self-acclaimed priest-healers as well as the emerging women-foundresses of prayer healing centers in our land. 1. For instance, just last weekend, we were all shocked by the posts of one Chika Uzim, a mother of three who runs what she calls a "Divine Mercy Ministry" in Obosi, Anambra State. She claims to be both a Bishop and Priest in her ministry, and yet, a Catholic? The most curious thing about this lady is that she uses and blesses members of her congregation, majority of whom are young women, with the Monstrance for the Blessed Sacrament. This is the most embarrassing and bizzarre aspect of this comic lady and her so-called "Divine Mercy ministry". Nothing is yet clear about this lady, her intention and what exactly her Divine Mercy ministry is all about. But the fact is that she has a lot of followers already, especially among the women folks. The ecclesiastical authorities of the local church where this lady and her ministry operate is yet to issue a public statement on the issue. One would suggest that a Public statement from the constituted church authorities is very important in a matter of this kind so as to help protect the fragile faith of our poor and distressed local Christians, who are often the easy victims of these charlatan pastors and founders of healing ministry prayer/Adoration Centers. 2. Also within the last weekend, we were also greeted in the social media by the advert-post of one lady called Sr. Favour M.E, advertising her crusade at her "God's Favour Prayer Family", Nkwelle. She dotted her invitation card to the purported June Crusade with beautiful photos of three young Catholic Priests, who unfortunately, are also engaged in the same type of prayer ministry and healing crusades. Although the three young priests have denied any link with this lady's ministry and purported crusade invitation card, and a kind of recant apology of the lady's God's Favour ministry is circulating online since last Sunday, yet public statement of the ecclesiastical authorities is necessary to clear the air and protect the faith of the local faithful. Because associating Catholic priests with a prayer ministry of a lay lady of this kind who has no ecclesiastical approval is very dangerous for the perception people may develop about our local church. Already, there is confusion on the air since that invitation advert with photos of three young Catholic Priests surfaced online in the social media. 3. In all however, the most painful aspect of the whole scenario are the activities of the so-called priest-healers or miracle workers. A) We are already tired with the utterances of the young man at Enugu who became a lord unto himself, that he abuses both his Bishop and state governors and presidents. Till date, no public statement worthy of note has been issued to dissociate the local church from the menace of this young priest and his so-called "Adoration Center." B) The most comic of all is the video post trending online now about another young powerful priest-healer at Uke, Anambra State, who in the video clip is seeing in his clerical vestments, leading members of his Congregation - "Holy Ghost Fire Adoration Center", in an acrobatic "Mkponkiti" type of dance. After seeing such a thing, one begins to wonder whether this a Catholic Church ministry/function or not? And if this young man is still a Catholic Priest? This is a prayer ministry center that many people had died in a stampede few years ago. Looking at the stupidity that led to that unfortunate stampede, one would have thought that the authorities concerned could have issued a serious warning to these powerful priest-healer, Marchall out stringent regulations about his unorthodox activities and these acrobatic shows during liturgical celebrations, especially, as concerned the regular abuse of benediction with the Blessed Sacrament done in his healing prayer center. C) Not long ago, the world was greeted with the news of that young priest from Uyo Diocese who announced himself that he had resigned from the Catholic priesthood because he wanted freedom to dedicate full time to his healing ministry. The young priest runs a tele-evangelical kind of healing ministry in Calabar. However, not long after he made his announcement of resignation from the Catholic priesthood did we see him wedding with a young lady in a Pentecostal Church. The rest is now history. D) Lastly, but not the least is the news of how one Fr. Chilaka in an hospital in Owerri, framed a story of how he raised somebody in the mortuary from dead. The priest in question was even seeing testifying and telling the crowd who gathered at his healing center how he performed the miracle. Howeve, it was not long when the hospital personnel began to deny that such a thing happened in their hospital, and that it was also framed up by that priest and those working for him. Considering all these, it is clear that healing ministry, especially the unorthodox activities of these priest-healers and other founders of prayer-healing centers, pose the greatest danger to Christianity in Nigeria today, especially in Eastern region, that is regarded as the most Christian zone of the country. It is therefore, a great challenge to the local church. All this means that: Attention must be given to the type of formation candidates for the priesthood receive nowadays in our local church. This is because, looking at some of those young priests engaged in Prayer-healing ministry, it is interesting to note that they share almost the same age-bracket of years of their seminary training. Most of these priests are those who studied in the Seminary from between early 1900s and 2000 onwards. Although, one is sorry to say it, the truth is that by early 90s, and especially, by mid-1990s, most of those model seminary professors, well-experienced and educated for seminary formation and teaching, and who took over the mantle of seminary formation leadership in our region immediately after the horrors of the Nigeria-Biafra War, have started to be reassigned to areas or post outside seminary.
For instance, by early 1990s such great professors my generation met and who taught us philosophy at Ikot-Ekpene and Theology at Enugu, have started to leave the Seminary: Frs.T. Okere, T. Ihejiofor, P. Iyang-Etoh, B. Eboh, Ndigbu, among others at Ikot-Ekpene. At the Bigard theology faculty at Enugu, by 1990, Fr. P.D. Akpunonu, one of best and most energetic Rector Bigard had had in recent times, was transferred to CIWA. Again, this was the period some of the lecturers were chosen and consecrated diocesan bishops, e.g. Bishop L. Ugorji, among others. Some who didn't become Bishops returned to their respective dioceses or went for foreign missions. Thus, the problem started with the lost of the cream of those priests who studied in Europe in the 1960s and 1970s and came back to teach in our major seminaries, immediately after the civil war. These cream of priests and Seminary professors gave their entire-self in forming the young people in the Seminary. There is today the feeling that some, not all, however, of those who succeeded these priest-formators from the 1990s were very sympathetic to the then prominent powerful priest-healers in the region.
I remembered how in the early 1990s, Seminarians of Bigard Seminary Enugu complained about one prominent priest-healer their new Rector had invited to conduct their annual retreat that year. In fact, things began to fall apart after this retreat conducted in the Seminary by this powerful priest-healer. It was even alleged that the Rector of the Seminary frequent the healing-center of this man so often to assist in the healing ministry. These are now the role models Seminarians then had started to emulate. The result of which is what we are seeing today. In any case, though the above point needs to be looked into, one question needs to be asked: where are all the studies in Catholic philosophy and Theology as well as the human and spiritual formation these our young priests engaged today in a bizzarre healing-ministry, have spent their years doing in the Seminary? Again, what is it that attracts them into this type of prayer ministry? For experience has chosen that a good number of these young priests who engage in the prayer-healing ministry do so primarily, because of their inordinate lust for money, power and influence! In conclusion: The damage these priests healers do to the authenti Catholic faith and tradition in our land means that all hands must be on deck to check-mate their excesses. Again, our ecclesiastical authorities should review the program for seminary formation in our local church. Attention should be given also to the calibre of priests been approved to teach in our Seminaries. Any priest that exhibit those traits of healing ministry should not be allowed to train our seminarians. Again, seminars and theological conferences should be organized for Parish priests and others in different dioceses for a re-orientation on health-care and healing ministry in the Catholic Church. Our local Catechism should have a section on health care and prayer-for-healing in the church. It is painful that up till now the local Catechism in use in our local church has no sections dealing on some of these situations of our particular concerns in our land: eg. Healing ministry and Christian-Muslim Dialogue as well as inter- ethnic dialogue and co-existence in a pluralistic society such as Nigeria. These are issues the local may need to look into for the future of authentic Catholicism in our land. Written by Fr Oborji, from Archdiocese of Onitsha and a lecturer in Rome
Il massaggio Shiatsu che si effettua tramite la pressione delle dita, dei palmi delle mani e dei piedi e dei gomiti su tutto il corpo, agisce sui punti energetici considerati dall'agopuntura. Stimola la circolazione sanguigna ed il flusso linfatico, agisce sul sistema nervoso allentando la tensione muscolare più profonda, rimuove le tossine dei tessuti, risveglia il sistema ormonale e sollecita la capacità di autoguarigione del corpo.
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