"CHI" IN IGBO THOUGHT AND CULTURE

Written by Rev. Fr. Francis Anekwe Oborji, Pontifical Urban University, Vatican City (Rome)
Email: anekwe.oborji@gmail.com

Monday, July 10, 2023

Our concern in this short write-up is to articulate, briefly, the true meaning and significance of the concept, "CHI" among the Igbo in the context of the concept of the "Person" in African thought and culture as articulated in Igbo, African scholarship in recent years.

The Problem:

The pre-theoretical concern about the concept of the person in philosophical and theological discourse challenges us to give a unique and coherent response to the following questions: What is the person? What does it mean for a person to be the same persistent entity through time (or in a moment of time)? How many distinct ontological entities constitute a person? What relationship, if there is, exists between the subjective experiences of an individual first-person and our perspective third-person? What is the influence of our culture and society on our system of thought and interpretation of reality and 'non-regular causation' of things in the universe? What kind of relationship exists between the thinker and his cultural and religious context? What is the influence of this cultural context on our philosophical and theological thoughts?

The African scholars, especially, philosophers and theologians, including the Igbo scholars, take seriously the challenge of giving an adequate response to these questions in the African, Igbo context and perspective. This is why in the African, Igbo context, unlike that of the West, plausible answers to an application, are usually informed by plausible answers to other questions.

Therefore, to appreciate the rich meaning and significance of Igbo concept of "Chi" in the context of the concept of person in African thought and culture, I would like to explore the way in which the Igbo, African theory of the universe and of the ontological reality has provided us with the integrated responses to the question under consideration. And how we must build these answers on it. My approach, partly descriptive and partly imaginative, should be familiar; I adopted it by the tradition of the first African scholars, from their reaction as well as their appreciation of the pioneering work of Placide Tempels, La Philosophie Bantoue, published in 1945.

SHOP AMAZON: Car & Vehicle Electronics

SETTING THE RECORDS STRAIGHT ABOUT FIRST REPUBLIC PURPORTED IGBO DOMINANCE

~Anonymous Author

A scripted deception has been circulating all over social media, including WhatsApp groups, suggesting that Igbos, despite being dominant in Tafawa Balewa's government, went ahead to kill him. Nothing can be farther from the truth. This script has turned history on its head. The narrative is designed to present Igbos as disloyal power grabbers and confuse gullible readers, obfuscate the past and promote national discord.

Let us set the records straight; Igbos played no dominant role in Balewa's cabinet. The outline below will help demonstrate this.

Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, was the Prime Minister of Nigeria from the pre-independence era (1957) until the January 1966 coup, in which he died. During this period, he had three cabinets in total. Balewa established his first cabinet in 1957 after he was appointed Prime Minister by the British Governor-General. The second cabinet was formed after the general elections of December 1959, just before independence, in a coalition government. The third cabinet was formed after the disputed general elections of December 1964 and dissolved after the military coup of 15 January 1966.

Here are the ministers who served in all three cabinets;

SHOP AMAZON: Car & Vehicle Electronics

DANGER OF GRADUATES THAT DON'T THINK BEYOND THEIR CERTIFICATES

- Anonymous Inspirational Writer

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school. It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education”

— Albert Einstein

The greatest form of disability in life is not knowing your ability. Your winning edge in life is not the degree you have acquired or the certificate you possessed, but your ability to solve problems.

Whenever I interview graduates, I am not so keen on their qualifications; I am only keen on their special skills, experiences and their unique approach to problem-solving. Most of them cannot even apply the knowledge they have acquired in school to solving life problems. The 21st Century employer doesn’t necessarily pay you a salary for the certificate you possess, but for the problems you can solve.

The reality of life is that there are more employable graduates than the available jobs, and it is only graduates that can actually think beyond their certificate that would eventually find their own place in life. Mark Twain said: “Don’t let schooling interfere with your education.” The proof of going to school is your certificate, but the proof of your education is in your ability to solve problems through innovation and creativity.

Graduates that cannot solve problems are liabilities. Education is not just about going to school and getting a degree; it is about widening your knowledge, thinking creatively and absorbing the truth about life. We must see our education beyond our certificates. Many people spend their precious years in school only to end up acquiring certificate, not education. Einstein said: “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” Have you ever heard of the creativity term, ‘think outside the box?’.

One of the major reasons why most graduates are poor is because they cannot see and think beyond their certificates. I have seen engineering graduates work as bankers. I have seen medical doctors with great skills in web and graphic designs. I have seen lawyers that are very dexterous with finances. The list is endless!

The basic truth of life is that the skills needed to be much sought after and become more successful in life are not really found within the walls of the classrooms. Your certificate is just proof that you are teachable; it does not suggest what you are totally capable of doing. You are full of possibilities when you think beyond your degrees and certificates.

If you remove your certificate from the picture, what are those things you can do effortlessly so well? You would definitely need the knowledge you have acquired in school, but they must not define your limitations. Don’t allow your certificate to put a limit on what you are capable of doing. Your education goes beyond acquiring certificate; it is your ability to solve problems. While schooling leads to confinement, education is an adventure. While schooling makes us learn through rules and facts, education makes us learn through exposure.

Ah Yoruba people !!!

 Author Unknown (received as 'Forwarded Many Times' via WhatsApp)

Ah! I remember the giddy days and fervor with which the Yoruba's campaigned for Buhari! How their girls would kiss his poster. How they did t-shirt aso-ebi's with Buhari and Osibanjo's picture where they were drinking sachet Milo tea! Ah those heady days! Days where the Yoruba's poured online warriors all over the internet to sell Buhari's candidacy, a man they dressed in borrowed garbs from the East and West but never in Fulani attire!

A man they insanely loved to the point that they hated anyone who said otherwise and called them "thieves" or beneficiaries of PDP "looters." Yoruba imams, pastors and babalawo's praised and prayed consistently for Buhari and earnestly yearned for his leadership because, to them, he would rule with hate for corruption, nepotism, ethnic chauvinism and he would be a President for all. They cursed all in opposition and labelled them with all sorts, such was the hate emanating from the very top of religion/religious leaders. Indeed for all! Yoruba intelligentsia all lined up and outdid themselves with beautiful prose in awe of Buhari!

You were hated in class, in the market, in church, in mosque, on the streets and in friendly gatherings if you dared speak against their messiah - Buhari! Such was the love that friends cut ties, religious institutions blacklisted anyone who did not toe the Buhari line. It was a complete wipeout of opposing voices of reason or call for closer scrutiny of the man they were selling! Even their revered poet body-shamed a fellow human being with the appellation - "shepopotamus." Such was the hate that it didn't matter the victim was a woman!

The myth about "Nkwobi" - Business or Betrayal ?

By Izu Osuigwe

I believe 419 started in Nigeria through the invention of nkwobi, one of the worst awful and deceitful creations, nkwobi is the precursor of Yahoo-Yahoo. No circumstances can change my opinion on this matter!

How can the big wooden bowl promise so much, yet deliver so little?

Constantly, bros constantly! It does not matter how often you change location, street or state, same result would be obtained once you are lured into the respective nkwobi joint.

Its evident, one of the mandatory subjects to be passed before one is certified a master chef in nkwobi preparation is OBT! Obtaining by false pretence!

After a wait of 60 minutes, the waiter carrying the nkwobi, seems to be affected by the weight of the delicacy.

You wash your hand and select one kpomo, another small kpomo, then the betrayals start piling in!

First betrayal? What you took as hunks of meat were actually chunks of huge dry bones moistened with oil and little gristle attached.

Bastardisation of Igbo chieftaincy titles no longer acceptable - Ndigbo

*It is worrisome, we should fashion a general rule to safeguard our cultural values - Ohanaeze

*Monarchs should scrutinize recipients - Eze Nwabeke

*Some monarchs debased titles by advertising them on social media - Ozo Anaekwe

*It is against natural justice to give chieftaincy titles to people of questionable character - Igwe Ukuta

VANGUARD  Wednesday, July 15, 2020

By Anayo Okoli, Chimaobi Nwaiwu, Ugochukwu Alaribe, Chinedu Adonu, Chinonso Alozie & Ikechukwu Odu – Enugu

Ab initio, in Igbo land, chieftaincy titles are conferred only on illustrious men and women who have distinguished themselves in one thing or the other.

Some of them through their philanthropic disposition built roads, schools, churches, industries, markets, instituted scholarships to the people and other commendable and developmental projects/activities. Then, chieftaincy titles had value and respect. They were not common because they were not gotten easily.

But today, the situation has changed for bad. Chieftaincy titles no longer carry weight; they have lost their respect and value as they are purchased from traditional rulers, some at ridiculous prices.

Monarchs now dish titles out to even men of questionable characters, including known fraudsters, just because they have the money to throw around. Today, the once prestigious titles meant for men of good heart and goodwill have been bastardized and almost made worthless.

This, no doubt is giving some Igbo people concern, including the apex Igbo body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo. Some Igbo leaders, traditional rulers inclusive attributed the problem to various issues.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, in particular, regretted that the cultural values of Ndigbo have been badly eroded in every aspect to the extent that chieftaincy titles now go to people with very questionable characters.

According to Prince Uche Achi-Okpaga, the national publicity secretary of the apex Igbo body, the bastardization of chieftaincy titles is part of the entire mess Igbo culture and tradition have gone through.

"The crux of the matter is that our cultural values have been ferociously eroded in all ramifications. The issue of chieftaincy titles does not exist in oblivion. It is part of the entire mess.

“Our young men, in the words of Prof Chinua Achebe, "…whose palm kernels were cracked by benevolent gods…" covet chieftaincy titles as if their lives are tied to it.

IGBO bu ofu!: How can a man from Benin bear Igbo Name?

Yesterday night, a coordinator in a family of IPOB in Spain called Radio Biafra, his name is Mr Isioma from umunnede (Delta state) he said something that prompted my article this morning.

He said how can somebody say I am not Igbo we migrated from Benin and I keep asking them why is our villages, communities and Towns names Igbo? Why is our family names Igbo? Why do we bear Igbo names? I mean Benin is very close to us than the five state Igboland why is it we don't speak Benin how did our forefathers start speaking Igbo? Up till now no one has come up with any answer, there's no history that Igbo ever invaded our land or colonized us rather there are uncountable accounts of war and invasion between us and Benin which caused us to have a pinch of Benin origins among us.

I have tried as much as possible to avoid the debate of where the Igbos in Delta state migrated from but because I don't care! If they like let them come from Zamfara wetin concern me, I mean how can educated person still be deceived in this time and age with the garbage of Benin ancestry. it is very very shameful.

 I have come to the conclusion to believe the story which says that the man ezechima or Ezechime was an Igbo man who migrated to benin for greener pastures and multiplied even married Benin women adding to the ones he already married he prospered to the envy of his host some of his relatives and relations joined him and eventually war started, he relocated back to his land occupying the place very close to benin with his people who later joined him.
 I don't want to quote any book written by the same people who are responsible for distorting the history of our people.

How can a man from Benin bear Igbo Name? Ezechima or Ezechime.
I understand that Benin kingdom through wars installed kings of the people who helped them win their people and those families were made to swear oath of allegiance to the Benin kingdom  forever.
 Your name is Obi of Issele-Uku (Oligbo) His Royal Majesty, Obi Nduka Ezeagwuna (25 years old) and you went to benin shamefully and ignorantly said your people migrated from Benin, what nonsense.
Please tell us how your name instead of Osaro you are Nduka.
 Until then, we can't debate the TRUTH that you are IGBO. Deal with it!
I rest my case!

My name is Aguocha Chinwendum a hardcore Biafran a disciple of Nnamdi Kanu an independent writer for the restoration of
 sovereign State of #Biafra
IGBO bu ofu!

Femi Fani-Kayode: THE TRUTH ABOUT WHY NIGERIA REMAINED ONE NATION

Topics:

• 
  
• Mindset of the enemy.
• Yoruba were in world's best universities when Usman dan fodio was still learning to ride a horse
• The angel of death that stalks the corridors of power by Fani-Kayode
• The Lion of the East - By Femi Fani-Kayode 
• The killer midget and the stunted dwarf -Femi Fani-Kayode
• The Fulani Republic of Nigeria - by Fani-Kayode
• They Love the Blood by Femi Fani-Kayode
• Araba, Biafra and ‘your land or your blood’ (Part 1,2), By Femi Fani-Kayode
• Plane crashes in Nigeria man- made, says Fani-Kayode
• The Road to Kigali, By Femi Fani-Kayode
• 'My word for northern minorities' -Femi Fani-Kayode in Jos

______________________________________

THE TRUTH ABOUT WHY NIGERIA REMAINED ONE NATION
By Femi Fani-Kayode

IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT WHY NIGERIA REMAINED ONE NATION, WHO WAS BEHIND IT AND WHY, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING.

I HAVE DONE MY RESERACH AND I CAN CONFIRM THAT EVERYTHING THAT THE WRITER HAS WRITTEN IS FACTUAL AND HISTORICALLY ACCURATE. PLEASE READ, COPY AND SHARE:

"If you thought oil was discovered in Nigeria in 1959, you could pass your high school economics with that information. It was actually discovered 50 years earlier.

Did you know that Oil from the Territory was sold for almost 50 years before the approach of Independence in 1960 forced the disclosure of Oloibiri by Britain? Even at that, the quantities were concealed from the newly Independent Nigerian Governments, until the Counter Coup of July, 1966, when the North packed their baggage to head back North in the famous ARABA putsch.

The then British High Commissioner to Nigeria, of course on the promptings and direction of his home Government, zoomed in upon Gowon halfway, and prevailed on him to reverse the decision of moving the North out of Nigeria, at a time Gowon already hoisted the Arewa Flag in a temporary Capital, Ilorin.

In the hurry to announce this reversal, the Gowon’s speech that was originally designed to take out the North, was poorly edited, leaving a portion that should have been expunged and so distorting the concluding part from the body of the speech.

That unexpunged portion is the celebrated Gowonian faux pas in which he in one breathe declared that "Everything considered, the basis of Nigeria's Unity was no more", yet going ahead in the next breathe to proclaim that "To keep Nigeria One is a task that must be done".

No leader prepared for power like Awolowo and Azikiwe, says Ray Ekpu

Written by Toluwani Eniola
~Punch Nigeria.Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Chief Obafemi Awolowo

Veteran journalist, Ray Ekpu, says out of Nigeria's top leaders, only the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo
and Nnamdi Azikiwe were fully prepared to lead the country.

Ekpu said all presidents that ruled the country from 1999 till date did not show demonstrable evidence of being fully prepared for leadership, stressing that lack of preparation and "organised cabalism" were the bane of good governance in the country.

He spoke in Lagos on Monday during a public discourse organised by Africa Future.

Nnamdi Azikiwe

Africa Future's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Tosin Ajayi, also spoke on the topic, "The master drive: The only thing that connects you with all with everything" where he addressed the reasons why underdevelopment had been persisting in Nigeria and on the Africa continent.

Ekpu, whose speech was titled, "State of the nation," said the country was wallowing in poverty and underdevelopment because leaders were picked, not on merit, but by certain godfathers desperate for power."

He also bemoaned the falling standard of education in the country and lamented that Nigerian universities were "producing idiots" unlike in the past when they were the pride of Africa.

Ekpu said, "I attribute Nigeria's leadership failure to two main factors - lack of adequate preparation for high office. In the Nigerian case, the pathetic lack of preparation for high office has been most evident. Except for Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chief Obafemi Awolowo, there has hardly been any demonstrable evidence that our past leaders did burn the midnight oil unceasingly.

Nnamdi Kanu and The Cry For Biafra: ‘Nnamdi Kanu most frightening product of our…’

Topics:

• Nnamdi Kanu and the Biafran zoo
• ‘Nnamdi Kanu most frightening product of our…’
• Biafra restoration priority to all and sundry – Nnamdi Kanu
• Court strikes out six charges against IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu
• Kanu, IPOB supporters are fraudsters, says Ralph Uwazuruike, leader and founder of MASSOB
• I'm waiting for Ralph Uwazuruike to disguise himself with mask to testify against me in court today, Nnamdi Kanu Thundered. MUST WATCH
• Kanu: IPOB members protest in Japan, Cote d'Ivoire
• THE ARREST AND DETENTION OF NNAMDI KANU
• Pro-Biafra agitators are miscreants – Obasanjo
• Obasanjo, ‘kettle calling pot black’, says Achuzia
• Nnamdi Kanu, the Biafra course and Vision 2023!
• Nnamdi Kanu has no criminal charge hanging on his neck – lawyer
• Obasanjo warns Nigerians of second Biafra war
• Biafra: FG charges Kanu, 2 others with treasonable felony
• Biafra Agitation Is Dead, Hopeless, Says Obasanjo

_____________________________________

Nnamdi Kanu and the Biafran zoo
~TheGuardian Nigeria. Wednesday, January 17, 2018.

Politics in Nigeria is largely transactional. Nigerians who want to hold political positions look for and invest millions of naira in purchasing the endorsements of godfathers and distributing rice, bread, and cash to fellow citizens to vote for them.

Nnamdi Kanu

The process is extremely expensive and attracts mostly those who see politics as a very good way of dramatically multiplying investments, much like drug smuggling.

Nigerian politics rarely attracts people who have the intention to use political control of state institutions to transform the lives of fellow citizens. Building a base of political power in Nigeria is similar to establishing 100 per cent ownership of a bank.

You acquire control of a political office and convert all levels and institution of government that fall under the control of this office into something like bank branches.

You select all the "managers" of the institutions and agencies - local governments, tax authorities, ministries, broadcasting services, state-owned enterprises, land management bureaux etc. - who deliver a chunk of their budgets to you in addition to using their resources and responsibilities to generate funds and opportunities for you.

The objective of generating funds for the political machinery of the "political lord" becomes the significant if not primary aim and consistently erodes their statutory roles (delivering quality education or healthcare services or durable roads).

First, this intensely anti-democratic process concentrates power permanently in the hands of a very few people. Anyone seeking to enter Nigerian politics must be ready to divert public resources to these political godfathers.

It also weakens the ability of state institutions to deliver services that are essential to fostering investment, creating wealth and lifting people out of poverty - durable infrastructure, high quality public school and health system, etc.

The process locks out Nigerian youths and professionals from politics. In the first 20 years of independence, people between 28 and 40 years of age were governors, federal legislators and ministers, and even President. Now, a 50 year old is considered a very young person in Nigerian politics.

The Nigeria Question? - Viewpoint: FACTUAL NIGERIA MATTERS ARISING -Reality Check!

Topics: 

• FACTUAL NIGERIA MATTERS ARISING
• Is Nigeria a free nation or a conquered vassal state? By Femi Fani-Kayode
• THE ULTIMATE CORRUPT PRACTICES: THIS IS PURE MADNESS
• Kaduna Nzeogwu last African soldier revolutionary; not Igbo
• Your Land Or Your Blood. 
• IF ANY THING HAPPENS TO NIGERIA, HOLD ISLAM RESPONSIBLE!
• EMIR SANUSI BARES HIS MIND ON HAUSA, IGBO AND YORUBA… THE PROBLEM OF NIGERIA.
• A good Nigeria is better than a good Arewa, Oduduwa or Biafra.
• Prof. RACE Achara: Keeping Crime in the Tribal Family
• IGBO SCHOLAR DISGRACES Femi Fani-Kayode, Demolishes claims on Igbo/Yoruba history with facts and figures
• A VOTE AGAINST COUNTRY IN FAVOUR OF TRIBE.
• OHANEZE NDI-IGBO AND FULANI INFILTRATION
• The Fulani Republic of Nigeria - by Fani-Kayode
• NIGERIA UNITY UNDER THREAT! THE FULANI CONSPIRACY - Obiora Ogochukwu Okafo 
• THE WILL OF GOD - DONALD J. TRUMP.

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FACTUAL NIGERIA MATTERS ARISING -Reality Check!
June, 2017.

The Ibos want Biafra
The North wants Ibo's exit
The Yorubas want Ibo's exit
The Ibos are saying "we have investments in your areas and cannot leave them"
And the fight is being cooked.

Amongst all these, the President is in London
Governors are sharing bailout funds
Workers salaries are not paid
Government officials have their children schooling abroad
Ministers and senators are looting

The poor Hausa man is riding Okada
The poor Ibo man is riding Okada
The poor Yoruba man is riding Okada

The poor Hausa man sleeps under the bridge as Alamajiri
The poor Yoruba man sleeps under the bridge as Alaye
The poor Ibo man sleeps under the bridge as agbero

It is pertinent to note that the poor from all ethnic groups in Nigeria have everything in common and so is the rich.

Do not allow the agitation of an Ibo man who lives in UK or USA for Biafra cause the killing of the Ibo man in Adamawa. The rich hate us that much.
Do not allow the Alhaji whose children are living abroad to persuade you to go and start killing on the street of Kaduna.

The problem in the country is not the agitation of any ethnic group but the unity of the elite and the disunity of the masses.

How many times have you taken your agitation to question your local government Chairmen?

Why have you not asked your Governors through agitation how they spent bailout fund?

Igbo have invested more in Nigeria than Hausa, Yoruba – Iwuanyanwu

Written by Chidiebube Okeoma, Owerri
~Punch Nigeria. Thursday, May 25, 2017.

Eminent businessman and politician, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, on Wednesday said that the Igbo do not want to secede from Nigeria.

Speaking as a special guest of honour at a National Unity summit organised by Arewa Ambassadors Congress of Nigeria in partnership with Youth Assembly of Nigeria, Iwuanyanwu said that the people of the South East zone would fight anybody who wanted to secede from Nigeria, including the Arewa and Oduduwa people.

The program which held in Owerri, the Imo State capital, had youths across Geopolitical zones taking part in the conference.

He said that the Igbo were major stakeholders in the country and would not be party to any move to divide it.

According to him, the federal government did wrong to have arrested the leader of the ingenious people of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

He said, “He (Kanu) only expressed his view. No arm was found in his possession. We are Biafrans and we are not ashamed to say it. Igbo have invested more in Nigeria than Arewa and Oduduwa. We want to be one Nigeria in fairness.”

Iwuanyanwu said that the Biafra Republic was somebody’s personal opinion, adding that the Igbo youths were rebelling only against the injustice done to the region.

“Biafra is not about secession. It is a name of a particular people in Nigeria from the South East. Therefore, it is not an offense to say that I am a Biafran. There was no victor, no vanquished after the civil war. I am impressed with Yakubu Gowon because he implemented all the agreements reached at the end of the Civil War. Igbo were not deprived at the end of the civil war, “Iwuanyanwu added.

He, therefore, challenged the Nigerian youths to work for the growth of the country and shun tribal and religious sentiments, adding that the country had the capacity to become one of the best countries in the world in the years to come.

Iwuanyanwu accused the federal government of currently marginalising the Igbo people, simply because the zone voted en masse for the people’s Democratic Party in the last presidential election.

The governor of the state, Rochas Okorocha, told the youths to uphold the Unity of the country where ever they went.

Represented by his special Adviser on Northern affairs, Faisal Lawan, Okorocha identified cultism as one of the vicesworking against the growth of young Nigerians.

The president of AACN, Esinrogunjo Musbaudeen, asserted that the essence of the summit was to stress the importance of National unity and integration, adding that the political class had to give more young people the opportunities to showcase their leadership prowess.

Mimickery: The trial of 2face Innocent Idibia

(At the African Command Headquarters of the Combat Regiment.... Enter the top Brass, officers and men; The G.O.C., GSO, Col. Tongue Cutter, Biko Harum, Major 419 Utueke, Brigadier One Leg Atamuna, the Prince from Igala land.).

Brigadier One Leg Atamuna: I'm Brigadier Atamuna, the Prince from the Royal House of Igala land. In my over fifty years of service and retirement from the force I have never seen such a gathering of different people from different shades of the society. GSO. You must give me the SITREP now!

Col. Tongue Cutter Biko Harum: Sir, we have sad news.

Brigadier One Leg Atamuna: Give it to me! There is nothing like good or bad news in the Army. Good or bad, the boots are on the ground.

Col. Tongue Cutter Biko Harum: The President and Commander-in-Chief is on sick leave, his exact ailment and whereabouts, still unknown. The Armageddon are praying for him and their Overseer believes it is the end time! There is mayhem in the Freedom Square. Tuface's award winning single, "My African Queen" has taken over the waves. Dancing swarms of Area Boys, Coalitions of many colours and clues, including the Coalition of the Niger Delta, Ekpetesi and the Ovie Whisky Pipe Blowing Brigade; Pay the Worker his Wage Union, PWWU, Biafra Airborne Referendum Army, BARA; Bring Back our Girls, BBG; Kaduna Christian Resistance Army, KARA; The Shiite Daggers of God, Zaria, the revamped one-eyed Oduduwa Hunters Battalion, have all mobilised and waiting for Baba Tuface....

Finally swanking in at the head of the gay clad Holy Ghost conjuring, Bishops and Pastors of the Pentecostal Army Division is the aerated man of the moment, Archbishop Zachariah, Nicodemus Suleiman. He is the General Overseer of the Praying Mantis Warriors Church of Armageddon.


The sect denies drug and hospitalisation for their sick. On daily basis, the Praying Mantis Warriors Church fast, pray and direct the Holy Ghost to send His fire to consume all the African dictators, who have stood against their people and beaten them to the ground.

Sir, while we wait for Baba Tuface, you may listen to the Armageddon General Overseer make his opening remarks to the weird Coalition at the Freedom Square.

Prof Wole Soyinka: Soyinka condemns Buhari, El Rufai’s handling of Southern Kaduna killings.

Topics:

• Soyinka condemns Buhari, El Rufai’s handling of Southern Kaduna killings.
• I'm pro-Biafra -Soyinka.

____________________________________

Soyinka condemns Buhari, El Rufai’s handling of Southern Kaduna killings

Written by Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

~Vanguard Nigeria. Sunday, January 8, 2017.

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka has condemned the manner President Muhammadu Buhari and Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el Rufai handled the mass killings in Southern Kaduna.

Indigenes of Southern Kaduna claimed that more than 800 innocent and defenceless people, mostly women, children and the elderly were brutally murdered and whole villages burnt down by suspected Fulani herdsmen without the state and federal governments doing anything concrete to stop them, until much havoc had been done.

He spoke at the launch of the book, Religion and the Making of Nigeria, in Abuja, Thursday.

His words, "Religion in the history of this continent has been a disastrous venture, a disaster in many zones and continues to be even so today. In this very nation in Southern Kaduna, over 800 souls were brutally extinguished suddenly while the issue of grazing lands versus farming is unquestionably part of the conflict, it is equally undeniable that religious differences have played crucial role in the conflict.

"And yet some weeks before the latest outrage, the governor of that state was quoted to have claimed that peace was nigh since he had sent funds to the earlier wave of killers and they had agreed to end their killing spree.

"What astonished me was not the admission by the governor but the astonishment of others at such governmental response to atrocity. There was nothing new about it. Has appeasement to religious forces not become a Nigerian face of justice and equity?

"First lethargy and then appeasement. Wasn't Boko Haram's Muhammed Yusuf not a beneficiary of appeasement in a similar fashion?

Igbo culture and its struggle in US

Twitter.com/achosr.
~The SUN Nigeria. Thursday, December 8, 2016.

Culture, perhaps its maintenance, has been on the mind of many Nigerians, especially Ndi-Igbo in the Diaspora as they constantly think of what would become of their children when they exit this earth. Majority of the Igbo people in the North America make extra effort to instill Igbo culture in their children. Many Igbo families have tried to speak Igbo language at home so that their children will pick up that aspect of Igbo culture.

Others have been telling their kids Igbo stories to leave the mark in their children's mind. Yet, there are some who take their kids to Nigeria every year so that they would grow up to appreciate their heritage. There are other families who have sent their children to Nigeria for their primary and secondary education. Nonetheless, no matter how hard they try, the effort seems to be a losing proposition because of the multicultural dynamism inherent in the environment these children are growing up.

However, with such an adversity, there is equally a greater amount of effort to promote and maintain Igbo culture in the United States by various Igbo communities and individuals. These communities and some individuals are driven in part by the notion that without culture a group loses its identity. They dread the reality of their children losing Igbo identity. Thus, there has been a concerted effort to immerse these children in Igbo culture. Additionally, it is concluded that teaching our children our culture is a means of strengthening the ties between Igbo people with their children in the Diaspora and those in Nigeria.

Examining the following aspects of Igbo culture: Arts, Celebration, Clothing, Communication, Food, Government, Language, Religion, and Social Role; Igbo language is one aspect that is fast decaying both here in America and in Nigeria. Like in America, Igbo children in Lagos and other non-Igbo cities do not knowledge of or modicum of Igbo language. Lack of knowledge of Igbo language among our children is much more obvious here in the United States. This is particularly so because Igbo is not a dominant culture and these children are growing up in a multicultural environment. Consequently, more emphasis has been placed on celebration, clothing and food than other aspects of Igbo culture.

In the United States, particularly in the Dallas Metropolitan area, Igbo communities have been working diligently to promote and maintain Igbo culture every chance they get. Common among various aspects of Igbo culture these communities promote are the traditional breaking of kolanut, which oftentimes causes problems when the libation goes wrong; celebration, clothing, ethnic food, and cultural dances. Unfortunately, little focus has been on the teaching and learning of Igbo language corporately.