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| Okechukwu Paulo Ogunjiofor |
With the 20 pounds I mentioned in my write up last week, the Igbo fearlessly dispersed to all the parts of the world depending solely on God, with a single mindset of survival that is governed by a few Igbo philosophies, namely: EZIOKWU BU NDU, ONYE AHGALA NWANNE YA, IGWE BU IKE, OME IHE JIDE OFO MAKA OJI OFO GA ALA, EGBE BERE UGO BERE NKE SI IBE YA EBELA NKU KWAA YA, NDU MMIRI NDU AZU-MMIRI ATALA MA AZU ANWULA, IGBO AMA EZE, AKU RUE ULO etc.Somehow, the young Igbo born after the civil war who may not understand these tenets yet pretending to fight the “Biafran” cause situates his fight wrongly while other ethnic nationalities who do not understand our philosophy see the Igbo as aggressive, arrogant and domineering.Today, I would like to touch briefly on four of these principles, tenets or philosophies to see what they stand for.
1. EZIOKWU BU NDU (ENG Translation: Truth is Life)
John 8:32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
The Igbo is arguably the most predictable people anywhere you find them. They don’t pretend, they hardly deceive and so cannot be sycophants. What you see is what you get. This is the basis of “truth is life” as a philosophy, which speaks of integrity and honesty as instructed by God. You know where an Igbo stands in every situation. Their major flaw is that they have no tact or cunning when applying “truth is life” as a philosophy and this makes them appear blunt, arrogant, bold, aggressive, courageous and fearless to others. Whatever they believe in, whether good or bad, they pursue it with all their might, soul and spirit. This trait, coupled with inexhaustible resilience and energy paints a picture of superiority complex to their neighbors who responds with fear of domination, resentment and outright hatred. There is a need to apply this principle with a high dose of diplomacy.
2. ONYE AHGALA NWANNE YA (ENG Translation: A person must not abandon his relations.)
Joshua 1:13-15 “…You are to help your brothers until the Lord gives them rest as He has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving them…”
The Igbo is a traveler, a community person who values the well-being of every member of his community. And so, no matter where he goes and what he does he believes that his success should be the success of all his relations. He struggles not for himself alone and once he finds success he reaches out to other members of his family or community to train and establish till they become affluent as he is. This is what gave rise to the Igbo apprentice and mentor-ship (Igba-boy) program seen as the largest Venture capital scheme practiced anywhere in the world, currently being studied in major Ivy League institutions around the world. And this is why you don’t find many beggars of Igbo extraction on the streets.
3. IGWE BU IKE (ENG Translation: Unity or Number is strength)
Ecclesiastes 4:9 “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work.”
Perhaps, no other tribe in Nigeria has benefited from the population of this nation more that the Igbo. The Igbo is a serial entrepreneur always on the lookout for bigger markets. Entrepreneurship in itself is a game of numbers which derives its impetus and profit from market share based on population.
According to Ikechukwu Anthony Kanu, Mbiti (1970) classically proverbializes unity or the Igwebuike relationship thus: “I am because we are and since we are, therefore I am” (p. 108). To paraphrase this, I would then say: “Nigeria is because of the diversity of the component parts, and since Nigeria is, therefore we are. In other words, the diverse component parts are, because Nigeria is, and since Nigeria is, therefore the component parts are.
The Igbo understanding of Igwebuike as a philosophy is that it strongly demonstrates that the whole is greater than the corresponding parts, and that Together, Each component unit Achieves More (TEAM). In other words, considering that the Igbo is a creative, a businessperson, a serial entrepreneur, I think he has prospered mainly outside Biafra and more in Nigeria and therefore is better off in Nigeria than she is in Biafra. Those who champion the Biafran cause must not forget that it is foolhardy to jump out of a ship of a 200million market share in the Nigerian state into a canoe of 50million market share in a Biafran state.
4. OME IHE JIDE OFO MAKA OJI OFO GA ALA, (ENG Translation: Whatever you do, do with clear conscience for he that has a clear conscience would ultimately prevail).
1John 3:21 “Whenever our conscience condemns us, we know that
God is greater than our conscience and knows everything. Dear Friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him.”
“Clear conscience they say, fears no accusation.” This Igbo philosophy eschews lies, craftiness, deceit and every form of evil. It derives from the golden rule which says we should do unto others as we would want others do unto us. And any counter to this produces guilty conscience that leads to dire consequences.
Next week, I will continue with the rest of these principles, tenets or philosophies to see what they stand for. Thanks for reading.
Okechukwu Paulo Ogunjiofor
