By Sandra Ijeoma Okoye
It is not hypocritical to say that yours sincerely is proudly Igbo despite the fact that the Igbo race continues to face enormous political and economic challenges since the instigated and imposed civil war. A reflection at the economic and political development in Nigeria may be considered normal in terms of where the Igbo people stand politically, especially economically when compared to other ethnic nationalities. Indeed, a perfunctory look at the poverty level among the ethnic groups would make the Igbo race appear exceptionally successful.
Besides, in as much as I am not in this context perturbed about the undeserved marginalization which the Igbos have been experiencing, particularly under the ongoing political dispensation, I must say that the rate at which hate speeches are being directed at the Igbo race, ostensibly to make them look irrelevant in the scheme of Nigeria’s politics ahead of the 2023 general election, particularly regards the position of the presidency, do not in any way give me a sleepless night as I know that my people are resilient, hardworking and culturally ingrained. To aptly put it, irrespective of how haters of the Igbos want to treat us, I am 100% proudly Igbo.
It is arguable that virtually every Igbo man or woman is entrepreneurially disposed, and has in his or her magnanimity been bringing entrepreneurial prowess to bear towards the speedy commercialization of anywhere they are found to be sojourners. Without sounding exaggerative and arrogant, the collective entrepreneurial spirit of the Igbos makes them unique wherever they ply their trades. Sure, there are crime, poverty and economic challenges which the five states in the South East are facing as a geo-political zone, but the challenges are not peculiar to the zone as other zones are equally faced with the same and similar challenges.
I must reiterate the fact in this context that as an Igbo woman that I am always proud of Alaigbo. When I wake up in the morning these days it is like I want to shout it from the rooftop with the sound that is reminiscent with like a native cockerel. However, while I excitingly share this view with readers of this piece, it is expedient I place a caveat that it is not meant to disrespect people of other ethnic groups, as there are plenty things to admire about them too.
In fact, being resilient and industrious people, the collective spirit and tenacity of virtually every Igbo man and woman remain undaunted and they treasure all the wonderful things about Igboland which they call home. The foregoing cannot be divorced from the attractions that make them travel home more often than not, particularly during festivities to unite with members of extended families at home.
Personally, I am proudly an Igbo person. Just in case you are snooping to know why I am proudly an Igbo person, the following reasons, besides the entrepreneurial skills my people are blessed with and the resilient spirit which they are imbued with, suffice in this context.
First is the irreplaceable culture of Ndigbo, which is also known by the entire Ndigbo as “Omenala ndi Igbo”, and which is made up of the customs, practices and traditions of Ndigbo. It comprises the ancient practices as well as modern ideas integrated into the Igbo culture either by cultural development or by outside influence. These customs and traditions include the Igbo people’s visual art, music and dance forms, as well as their attire, cuisine and language dialects. Because of their various subgroups, the variety of their culture is further heightened.
According to the popular online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, “Igbo music (Egwu nkwa ndi Igbo) is the music of the Igbo people, who are indigenous to the southeastern part of Nigeria. The Igbo traditionally rely heavily on percussion instruments such as the drum and the gong, which are popular because of their innate ability to provide a diverse array of tempo, sound, and pitch. Igbo music is generally lively, upbeat, and spontaneous which creates a variety of sounds that enables the Igbo people to incorporate music into almost all the facets of their daily lives. Some very popular Igbo music styles are Igbo highlife, Igbo bongo and Odumodu.
In fact, the Igbo people have a melodic and symphonic musical style, which they made from metal. Other instruments include opi, a wind instrument similar to the flute, igba, and ichaka.
Not few Ndigbo had in the history of Nigeria’s entertainment exhibited their admirable talents in highlife music, which is a fusion of jazz and traditional music and widely popular in West Africa. The modern Ibo Highlife is seen in the works of Dr. Sir Warrior, Oliver De Coque and Chief Osita Osadebe, who were some of the greatest Igbo highlife musicians of the twentieth century. There are also other notable highlife musicians of igbo extractions, like the Mike Ejeagha, Paulson Kalu, Ali Chukwuma, Ozoemena Nwa Nsugbe and those that now trend in the contemporary world, such as Bright Chimezie, Umu Obiligbo and Flavour who have deeply blend music in its ancient and modern form, and other musicians of Igbo extraction who are no doubt in diaspora can be found in Rivers State, Delta state and even in Edo state.
In a similar vein, when it comes to masquerades, the Igbos are known for various types of masquerades, masks and outfits that symbolize people, animals or in abstract depiction. Igbo art is also known for its bronze castings found in the town of Igbo Ukwu from the 9th century. In Ala Igbo, there are many spectacular festivities and cultural performances.
The most notable are the masquerades and the new Yam festivals. The degree of these performances varies from place to place with Anambra, Enugu and some parts of Imo States leading the others. Arondizogu in Imo State is known popularly for their “Ikeji Festival” where Masquerades of extra-ordinary propensity abound. The Nsukka and Udi people in Enugu State also perform feats in their Masquerade displays. In those good days, many Masquerade performances were exhibited during the Christmas in Enugu and many other towns in the then Eastern Nigeria, now known as South-East and South-South.
In terms of the ownership of small and medium scale in other states by the businessmen of Igbo extraction, which was statistically gathered in 2014, eight years down the line, it cannot in anyway be argued that the Igbos have not contributed enormously to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and in the creation of jobs across the country.
According to the statistics, the value of businesses owned by Igbo people outside 11 states of the south-east and south-south of Nigeria, Lagos alone as reported in the work of Udegbe (2013) and as cited in Orugun and Nafia (2014), the value of their business ventures is estimated not to be less 300 trillion naira, in Abuja, it is about 600 trillion naira, in Kano, the value of their businesses is put at 10 trillion naira, Kaduna is also 10 trillion naira, while in Borno, Adamawa and Plateau states is 5 trillion naira each.
Against the backdrop of the statistics, and given the fact that it was researched and collated since 8 years ago or thereabout, then considering the fact that the Igbos have been waxing strong by each passing day since then without resting on their oars, then simple logic indicates that the statistical figures might have by now doubled or tripled, if not quadrupled.
Given the rich culture and business sagacity that describe an Igboman, who will not be proud to be an Igbo person despite the campaign of calumny which some politicians have recently resorted to? To put aptly put it, I am proudly Igbo.
