Warri _Pikin:

Bros,
Permit me to ask o, So why is yoruba in particular always interested in advising Ibo? When it is obvious to living or dead Nigerians they intensely hate and wish them death?

From my analysis, it not hate but rather a frustration with the lack of political astuteness and "sophistication"
displayed by the Igbos. In simpler words, they've largely lost political respect for the Igbos.
If you've been around military settings, you'll observe the Yorubas are largely condescending to the patronizing
attitudes of the Hausa/Fulani. They are literally in awe of the Northerners and with good reason.
The Northerners have put the fear of the Most High in them. By their style of leadership and lifestyle,
the way they play their own brand of politics, the Northerners have won a major ideological war against the SW...
which is "we don't really need you dudes...culturally, religiously, military-wise, economic-wise we can achieve
what we want with or without input from you guys.We can and will use you to further our own ends. No apologies".
Not to mention the military engagements from the fulani Jihads that have both reshaped Yoruba land
and established a "Hausa/Fulani phenomenon" (Islam) as a fixture in Yoruba land.
That was no mean feat to the worshippers of Irunmoles, Orishas and deified kings.
Hence the fear and respect the Yorubas have for the Hausa/Fulani.
I wont bother to mention the profound respect the SW thought leaders have for the political class from the North.

The Igbos on the other hand showed great promise and were poised to play the "friendly rival" game with the
Yorubas...then the "cross-carpeting" happened,then Jan 1966 happened.
Then Biafra, then invasion of Benin, Ore and with Lagos in sight...the greeting had truly gone beyond the elbow.
You know the rest.
Both sides emerged with mutual scorn and disdain that has lingered till today,

Also, the Yorubas have noted the lack of traditional leadership structures in Igbo land and the attendant societal/cultural confusion
it has caused the Igbos. The Igbos even seem not to perceive it as a problem. The monarchies and hierarchical chieftaincy titles
are replicated as a standard feature across Yoruba land. And if you are conversant with the SW, you'll agree they are effective.
On the other hand, extreme diversity is the norm in Igbo land.
This is a major "improvement" over what was obtained in the majority of the Igbo clustered clans
and villages when the Europeans arrived our shores. They have seen the breakdown of traditional structures, respect for elders,
sanctity of tradition and whole sale embrace of Christianity. This is while abandoning language, culture and tradition for
Western "book smarts". Surprise, surprise...a typical Anambra state man cannot hold
a 10 minute conversation in a mutually intelligible dialect with another Igbo man from outside Anambra..without
resorting to "Engligbo". Same goes for other states. I stand to be corrected.

The Yorubas want to deal with the Igbos as Africans, but they meet with a people who are not "really" Africans
in the traditional sense of it...and also not even Westernized "Africans" in the conventional sense of it.
Yorubas are not impressed with how the Igbos have conducted themselves both in their SE region and all over Nigeria.
People worship success and power. Moreso success and power that were gained without external input.
The Igbos have not demonstrated that...and I myself I'm not too pleased with that even.
They are still trying to figure out what the "omo nna" is up to after all.
Cos after all the agitating, the Igbos still troop down to the SW...numbers and physical presence don't lie.
And then, they notice with dismay the lack of group effort on the part of the Igbos to develop their region.
Its an ideological war and the Igbos seem to have lost the plot since 1966.

So, the above is why I think the Yorubas seem to "advise" the Igbos.
I stand to be corrected on my analysis though.

Abagworo:

Aba has more multiationals than any other city/State apart from Lagos and Ogun.

The largest malting plant in the world owned by Heineken is in Aba.

The 1st private power generatin Company is in Aba

The largest brewery in Africa is in Onitsha while there is a move to expand the Nigerian brewery in Aba to march that. Of Onitsha.

The only private car assembly is in Nnewi

The largest. Aluminium can manufacturing company in Africa is in the pipeline at Aba as well

Glassforce which is the most advanced bottle manufacturing plant in Nigeria is also located in Aba.

Most Okada parts used in Nigeria originates from Nnewi

Abagworo:
The list of success in the Southeast is endless but I am one of the people that believe that all we need is beautification of roads and layouts, good drainage system, provision of good refuse disposal system and pipeborne water and the SE especially Aba and Onitsha will step up to be like 1st world cities. Unfortunately only Imo and Enugu that have little economy have focused on beautification. I have written earlier that it is regrettable that the capital of Anambra and Abia were fixed in Awka and Umuahia.

Are you serious? beautification of roads and layouts?
On what economic basis? Which clan or group of clans will pay for that?
And which clan will agree to let other clans have their "roads and lands" beautified first?
Cmon...you are still trying to look for validation from other Nigerians.
You need a unifying economic, cultural, and political framework to actualize any development goal.
Then a narrow focus on strategic industrialization driven by public sector participation by ALL NIGERIANS
and the world.
IMO, that is what you Igbos need to focus on. Else any attempt made by anyone to even try the above
will degenerate into an Ngwa vs Ndoki , Obosi vs Onitsha,Mbaise vs Owerri etc...superiority tussle.
And that is assuming you have the resources to embark on such "beautification" exercises.

PabloAfricanus:

I got to the thread late I guess.
But then, I'd opened a similar thread last month..here....https://www.nairaland.com/1464589/way-forward-ndi-igbo-nigeria
Had to battle the tribal warriors to prevent the thread from degenerating into a free for all tribal bashing scene.
I inquired as to what could be done to start & sustain meaningful economic development in the east.
Funny thing was, the so-called Igbos themselves on the thread were the greatest antagonists.
Crazy...weird...left me stupefied actually.
These are dudes who probably spend less than 3 weeks in their ancestral region in a year.
Lots of obtuse deductions and counter arguments ranging from the silly to the outright laughable.
Some dudes even lauded a well know Igbo group for holding its meeting in Lagos!

As a concerned Nigerian who has interests in the SE, I wish Ndigbo will really sit down and tell themselves the facts.
Let me paraphrase some for ya:

1) The civil war is over...we know gory memories remain and all that...but then even Hiroshima and Nagasaki has moved on
...last time I checked, Japan was among the top 5 global economies.

2)Nobody really gives a f*** what you think or feel. If you are not putting food on someone's table and paying their bills...
you are squarely on your own with your opinions. That means you need to stop EXPECTING OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS TO
CONCEDE SOME SUPERIORITY SHIT to Igbos or JUST SHIFT AND LET IGBOS TAKE OVER. No questions asked, no debate,
no resistance..you know...cos Igbos deserve it and are the best breed of aliens from Mars or something.
Rather than play the foolish whining game...PLAY POLITICS! Form alliances, bribe, compromise, win-over,woo your perceived
enemies/friends to a MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL relationship.


3)Its not bravery or a sign of great accomplishment to rent and plant on another man's land while living as a tenant on his land.
Rent expires, you are on leased time and will continue to add more value to the landlord's region.
Not advocating for Igbos to stop investing in real estate outside outside SE...not possible even if they tried, but NOT TO
THE DETRIMENT OF THE SE!
No matter how hard you want to defend the Igbo owning large swathes of real estate in Lagos, Abuja, Kano etc, fact still remains
there is this thing called "region" in Nigeria. And we know people from other regions are not feeling romantic about real estate in the SE.
So what gives? Start developing your homeland my brothers. Thats it.


4) The dynamics of today's global economy favours the smart hustlers not necessarily the hardworking ones. Igbos need to be smart.
THINK ABOUT YOURSELF FIRST! Forget about what other groups are doing. Do your own thing. Attend to your own affairs.
That is the smart thing to do. Stop trolling the Westerners and the Northerners.
The SW dudes are attracting FDI and manufacturing concerns to Ogun state away from Lagos...due to the relative congestion
and high premium on land. That is smart thinking. Smart positioning.
While Igbos are known to be hardworking and indomitable traders and business men, its a shame that the SE with all the raw
talent available is still languishing at this level of development.
While commendable stuff is happening at Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi and Aba...you can't seriously expect a world-class investor to deal with the lack of motorable roads,thuggery, kidnappings, inept and non-functional leadership prevalent in those areas.
If the FG and co refuse to develop infrastructure in the SE, what are your governors and entrepreneurs doing about it?
Port Harcourt and Calabar are there literally being under-utilized. There is this thing called PP,BOT etc
Nuff said.

5)Have asked it before and will ask it again...what's wrong with other groups trooping to the SE to buy land, build and live?

In Lagos the land belongs to the present Governor and EVERYONE is leasing it for 99 years. I don't know why the rules are strict about buying in Nnewi but they can sign 100 years leases just like in Lagos! I have been a big advocate in real life and on Nairaland that Igbos must build up the east hence my moniker. Investing in Lagos nothing is wrong, a property in Lagos that was $2,500 bought in 2001 sells now for $68,000.00 grand that is a huge investment. The next thing is to use it building up the east. Trust me when they start fighting about Lagos I get insulted by my people for telling them that they sound crazy boosting of building up Abuja and Lagos. But once again those that invested back in the day did so wisely now it is time to yield the returns and put it back in Igboland. Trust me in 4 years time you are going to see some major changes in Nnewi.

PabloAfricanus:

Dude stop trying hard to sound witty and dancing around the issue.
All these diversionary tactics soon degenerate in to a pity me party.
No one is responsible for you. If your leaders love Igbo land, they will attend to & develop it.
FG or no FG.

Most of the major economic breakthroughs over the last decade were accomplished through foreign companies.
Pascal Dozie and co laid the groundwork for MTN to operate. The funding for that was not sourced within but from
foreign investors not just SA.
The same can be replicated across various industry sectors. Soludo does not even need to be a governor.
Neither does the FG have to be directly involved in all cases.
Nestle, Cadbury, Unilever etc are all foreign owned companies operating Nigerian subsidiaries.
Nothing stops various indigenes from the SE states from forming BOT partnerships with foreign investors
to attend to infrastructure development, industrialization,health care etc
The SE,SS have the manpower, market and consuming power to attract such levels of investment.

I think the Igbos need to focus on political consciousness and accountability from public officials.
Cos while other states might be forgiven if they sit on their bottoms and wait for the FG to bring the goodies some time in
the future, the Igbos are too independent and republican to wait for handouts(my biased opinion anyway ).
Have not stopped wondering why they keep waiting for FG to solve all their problems.

Yesooooo if the people don't hold the leaders responsible then we are the irresponsible ones. Responsible leaders can not lead irresponsible people! Investors are ready to partner with us, this is a fact. This is true talk. We can not wait for the government they did not help our grandfathers build what is in Igboland now!

PabloAfricanus:

From my analysis, it not hate but rather a frustration with the lack of political astuteness and "sophistication"
displayed by the Igbos. In simpler words, they've largely lost political respect for the Igbos.
If you've been around military settings, you'll observe the Yorubas are largely condescending to the patronizing
attitudes of the Hausa/Fulani. They are literally in awe of the Northerners and with good reason.
The Northerners have put the fear of the Most High in them. By their style of leadership and lifestyle,
the way they play their own brand of politics, the Northerners have won a major ideological war against the SW...
which is "we don't really need you dudes...culturally, religiously, military-wise, economic-wise we can achieve
what we want with or without input from you guys.We can and will use you to further our own ends. No apologies".
Not to mention the military engagements from the fulani Jihads that have both reshaped Yoruba land
and established a "Hausa/Fulani phenomenon" (Islam) as a fixture in Yoruba land.
That was no mean feat to the worshippers of Irunmoles, Orishas and deified kings.
Hence the fear and respect the Yorubas have for the Hausa/Fulani.
I wont bother to mention the profound respect the SW thought leaders have for the political class from the North.

The Igbos on the other hand showed great promise and were poised to play the "friendly rival" game with the
Yorubas...then the "cross-carpeting" happened,then Jan 1966 happened.
Then Biafra, then invasion of Benin, Ore and with Lagos in sight...the greeting had truly gone beyond the elbow.
You know the rest.
Both sides emerged with mutual scorn and disdain that has lingered till today,

Also, the Yorubas have noted the lack of traditional leadership structures in Igbo land and the attendant societal/cultural confusion
it has caused the Igbos. The Igbos even seem not to perceive it as a problem. The monarchies and hierarchical chieftaincy titles
are replicated as a standard feature across Yoruba land. And if you are conversant with the SW, you'll agree they are effective.
On the other hand, extreme diversity is the norm in Igbo land.
This is a major "improvement" over what was obtained in the majority of the Igbo clustered clans
and villages when the Europeans arrived our shores. They have seen the breakdown of traditional structures, respect for elders,
sanctity of tradition and whole sale embrace of Christianity. This is while abandoning language, culture and tradition for
Western "book smarts". Surprise, surprise...a typical Anambra state man cannot hold
a 10 minute conversation in a mutually intelligible dialect with another Igbo man from outside Anambra..without
resorting to "Engligbo". Same goes for other states. I stand to be corrected.

The Yorubas want to deal with the Igbos as Africans, but they meet with a people who are not "really" Africans
in the traditional sense of it...and also not even Westernized "Africans" in the conventional sense of it.
Yorubas are not impressed with how the Igbos have conducted themselves both in their SE region and all over Nigeria.
People worship success and power. Moreso success and power that were gained without external input.
The Igbos have not demonstrated that...and I myself I'm not too pleased with that even.
They are still trying to figure out what the "omo nna" is up to after all.
Cos after all the agitating, the Igbos still troop down to the SW...numbers and physical presence don't lie.
And then, they notice with dismay the lack of group effort on the part of the Igbos to develop their region.
Its an ideological war and the Igbos seem to have lost the plot since 1966.

So, the above is why I think the Yorubas seem to "advise" the Igbos.
I stand to be corrected on my analysis though.

After the war my people, according to my grandfather built Igboland up without any government help. Enugu was Anambras state capital and it was built by men that built industries in the 70 s and the 80s. In the mid 80s something terrible started to happen, where brothers were no longer each other's keepers but competitors. From personal experience the men that built the cites from scratch and built great industries died and educated sons came in and things were never the same. You are making a lot of sense in parts of your post. I don't know where you originate from but I suppose your not Igbo yet and still some of the points you made hit the nail on the head, pertaining to the loss of our culture and embracing an ideology of a foreign culture. Please those with eyes read and let us find out how we can unite to finish what are grandfathers started. Put all emotions aside this is real talk from an intelligent observant person. Until we face our reality head on we will continue to make the same mistakes. Building up other regions does not favor Igbos.

PabloAfricanus:

From my analysis, it not hate but rather a frustration with the lack of political astuteness and "sophistication"
displayed by the Igbos. In simpler words, they've largely lost political respect for the Igbos.
If you've been around military settings, you'll observe the Yorubas are largely condescending to the patronizing
attitudes of the Hausa/Fulani. They are literally in awe of the Northerners and with good reason.
The Northerners have put the fear of the Most High in them. By their style of leadership and lifestyle,
the way they play their own brand of politics, the Northerners have won a major ideological war against the SW...
which is "we don't really need you dudes...culturally, religiously, military-wise, economic-wise we can achieve
what we want with or without input from you guys.We can and will use you to further our own ends. No apologies".
Not to mention the military engagements from the fulani Jihads that have both reshaped Yoruba land
and established a "Hausa/Fulani phenomenon" (Islam) as a fixture in Yoruba land.
That was no mean feat to the worshippers of Irunmoles, Orishas and deified kings.
Hence the fear and respect the Yorubas have for the Hausa/Fulani.
I wont bother to mention the profound respect the SW thought leaders have for the political class from the North.

The Igbos on the other hand showed great promise and were poised to play the "friendly rival" game with the
Yorubas...then the "cross-carpeting" happened,then Jan 1966 happened.
Then Biafra, then invasion of Benin, Ore and with Lagos in sight...the greeting had truly gone beyond the elbow.
You know the rest.
Both sides emerged with mutual scorn and disdain that has lingered till today,

Also, the Yorubas have noted the lack of traditional leadership structures in Igbo land and the attendant societal/cultural confusion
it has caused the Igbos. The Igbos even seem not to perceive it as a problem. The monarchies and hierarchical chieftaincy titles
are replicated as a standard feature across Yoruba land. And if you are conversant with the SW, you'll agree they are effective.
On the other hand, extreme diversity is the norm in Igbo land.
This is a major "improvement" over what was obtained in the majority of the Igbo clustered clans
and villages when the Europeans arrived our shores. They have seen the breakdown of traditional structures, respect for elders,
sanctity of tradition and whole sale embrace of Christianity. This is while abandoning language, culture and tradition for
Western "book smarts". Surprise, surprise...a typical Anambra state man cannot hold
a 10 minute conversation in a mutually intelligible dialect with another Igbo man from outside Anambra..without
resorting to "Engligbo". Same goes for other states. I stand to be corrected.

The Yorubas want to deal with the Igbos as Africans, but they meet with a people who are not "really" Africans
in the traditional sense of it...and also not even Westernized "Africans" in the conventional sense of it.
Yorubas are not impressed with how the Igbos have conducted themselves both in their SE region and all over Nigeria.
People worship success and power. Moreso success and power that were gained without external input.
The Igbos have not demonstrated that...and I myself I'm not too pleased with that even.
They are still trying to figure out what the "omo nna" is up to after all.
Cos after all the agitating, the Igbos still troop down to the SW...numbers and physical presence don't lie.
And then, they notice with dismay the lack of group effort on the part of the Igbos to develop their region.
Its an ideological war and the Igbos seem to have lost the plot since 1966.

So, the above is why I think the Yorubas seem to "advise" the Igbos.
I stand to be corrected on my analysis though.

Sir,
With due respect, I will reply your analysis candidly without the usual NL personal insults. Maybe through our candid discussion,we can unravel the fault lines in the Igbo -Yoruba tough love.
I will rate your analysis as a heap of cow dung by a chauvinistic yoruba man that has truly deluded himself into believing the alleged "shophisticated" mantra. Indeed, medical people will say you have severe narcissistic delusion to believe yoruba somehow has fared better than Igbo because yoruba has some sophisticated nature.

Indeed, if lagos had not been the federal capital, the entire yorubaland would look like sagamu and Badagry. Indeed, the only part of the SW more developed than the SE is Lagos. This is in-spite of the genocidal civil war,seizure of Igbo wealth and criminal payment of 20 pounds for all their wealth,seizure of all their property, deliberate and systematic federal structure engineered largely by yorubas to enslave the Igbo in Nigeria.

I can tell you that the yoruba angst and frustration today with Igbo is that all their evil plots to keep the race down have simply fallen apart.You dishonestly mentioned yoruba wanted Igbo as a friendly rival. The truth is that yoruba fear Igbo and view them as bitter rivals that must be fought incognito in Nigeria using the "federal government" as decoy to achieve their evil agenda. Yoruba knows that without cheating,they have no chance whatsoever of competing with Igbo and they are wise enough to know that fact. That is why they usually hide behind "Federal Government policies" to implement their ethnic agenda designed to give yoruba undue advantage.That is precisely the reason why Igbo have contempt for yoruba as weak, lazy, cheaters.I am yet to see any Igbo that truly believe yoruba will beat them in any sphere of human endevour if the constraints of Nigeria were removed. The truth is that wise yoruba men know that without those constraints imposed by everyone being inside the Nigerian state, yoruba have no chance whatsoever of becoming a prosperous land.Their usual pastime now is to cook up fairytale stories and post at odd websites to massage their ego that yoruba isn't a parasite on the Nigerian set up. But everyone knows the truth,so their crap is often ignored.

On the other hand, Igbo have respect for the north because they have demonstrated over the years that they are indeed decent people in comparison to yoruba or even Igbo for that matter.Their style of politics is also not winner takes all, so they have managed to avoid major conflicts with other regions because they aren't so greedy. For instance, if a northerner is the MD of NNPC or a NPC, they often make sure other Nigerians are represented albeit in a smaller number.If a Yoruba is the MD, even the gatemen to that ministry must all be yoruba,as if other Nigerians do not exist and do not matter!The big issue with the yoruba is that they are very immoral in their double standard of being very clannish and tribalistic to exclude other Nigerians wherever they hold sway,but will be the most vocal to condemn the same thing when the same favor is returned by others.The recent Anambra election is another clear example. The yoruba have always referred to APGA as "Igbo" party but are up in arms when Igbo refer to ACN or APC as a yoruba party! Infact, if the yoruba factor of constant manipulation and deceit were removed, Nigeria could have been a prosperous peaceful nation with the north and the other parts of the south co-existing in mutual respect. What the north fears, is precisely what every other region NC, SE and SS fear- DOMINATION! Which could be worked out by appropriate constitutional measures.

During the western region crisis,Chief Ladoke Akintola said yoruba does not fear chaos and indeed thrive under such circumstances and he is right! The yoruba love the constant manipulation and accentuation of the fears of the various ethnic nationalities of Nigeria, and use rumors spread by their media groups to provoke ethnic disaffection, chaos and thus benefit from everyone's misery in the confusion.A real life example is that the best period in yoruba history was during the Nigerian civil war and its immediate aftermath when the north was focused on keeping Nigeria united, yoruba seized the opportunity of the confusion and uncertainty to implement measures designed to give them a key advantage in Nigerian economy! That is also precisely why yoruba hates the Igbo bitterly, because Igbo is also mindful of what yoruba is doing in midst of the confusion regardless of their well thought out excuses for doing what they do. Therefore, because Igbo is perceived as a bulwark obstacle against any such yoruba agenda for Nigeria, they must be hated and demonized.

PabloAfricanus:
[s]
Hahaha...atleast read with comprehension.
Now if you will read slowly...its a long post.

I'm sure you are aware the oil producing states have been doing some long term thinking.
And they have come to the same interesting conclusions the Northerners came to decades ago.
The two prizes in the Nigerian state today are the Presidency and the petrodollars.
Control that and you can leave the rest for any agitator.
The Igbos are still confused about the whole Presidency thing and seem not to be able to articulate
a common and coherent political agenda to actualizing anything in the Nigerian state.
You must know that the SS minorities treat the SE like a "big brother"...sure they'll rant and deny it
but that's the status quo. Cos they know the SE have bigger numbers and a bigger representation
at the Federal level.
My point, if the SE does not lead the Eastern Nigeria and the "artificial (yes it is)" SS who will?
Who will realize political gains for the SE and by proxy the SS?
The Yorubas or the Fulanis?
Who will fight for and win political victories that COUNT & MATTER for the general development
of the SE region?
That does not mean the SS can't fight for themselves on their own, but you and I know how
grateful GEJ is for Igbo support.
Having said that, the SS have largely lost faith in the leadership from the Igbos and are quite vocal about it.
So with the Igbos not providing political leadership for the region, the derivative gains and pains are actually
felt round the region. Imagine the SS states without oil. There is literally little or no other
industrial activity going on over there.

Why I posited the Igbos are "an obstacle" to Nigeria's development is this:

The northerners have held the helm for like 3 decades plus...results...abysmal.
The SW under OBJ atleast made some efforts.
But then it has been noted corruption and graft has metamorphosed into something
worse than what was obtained under military leadership.
Only the SE have not produced a tenant in Aso Rock and this IS A MAJOR BARGAINING CHIP
which sadly the Igbos are not using well.
Now the SS have tasted the food cooked by Aso Rock chefs
and seem to like it very much.
From what you and I already know, it will be highly probabilistic for the Igbos to expect
the Ijaws to hand over the presidency to them come 2015 or beyond.
That is assuming the SW and Middle Belt are not in the picture.
So if the Igbos do not gain the presidency, that amounts to NO MEANINGFUL ALLOCATION
FOR FEDERAL PROJECTS IN THE SE, NO SUBSTANTIAL FEDERAL PRESENCE IN THE SE beyond what is
there now. And the cycle of NO-DEVELOPMENT just continues.
I could be wrong, but the top Federal unit in the SE to me is the 82nd division.
So the Igbos are likely to be gamed out of the power calculations...again.
I sincerely hope you don't believe big political appointments are the answer to your regions problems tho.

The solution?
The Igbos need to sit down and REACH A WORKING COMPROMISE with the Yorubas and Northerners.
They need to play the middle man and call the SW and Hausa/Fulani back to the drawing board.
Why do I reason so?
1) The Yorubas are Nigeria's best ethnic players bar none. They know it themselves.
They will rather wait for some one else to make the move, then they "analyse and oppose".
If it falls out it favours them, they will fall in line. If not, they'll sabotage it openly and discreetly.
If you bug them to offer solutions, they'll either ridicule you or create chaos and anarchy to make a point.
Any solution they come up with can only be implemented in their region...not that bad though,
but all in all not good for the Nigerian state.

2) The Northerners are contented with Islam, what their imams tell them and whatever crumbs their leaders
throw at them. Really VERY FEW of them are worried. Why should they? They have the biggest land mass,
(not completely sure) the best arable land, the majority of the meat consumed in the South comes from the North.
Also, they have seen and become convinced that they are more politically savvy than the South.
Not to mention the population to boot.
So the Northerners only care about a Muslim from the North sitting in Aso Rock and protecting the interests
of the Sultan and his minions. That is while maintaining the South as a chattel appendage.

3)The Igbos have fallen in love with Nigeria, alas, can't say the reverse is also the case.
The Biafra ranting not withstanding, you know most Igbos have come to realize the huge potential of the Nigerian
state and can't wait for Nigeria to fully accept them for who they are.
They are the top ethnic group bar none who dare go to places where others fear to tread.
They are both willing and ready to live anywhere and mingle with little reservations with the local communities.
The state of development in most NE,NW,SW states is directly comparable to the SE states.
But few if any Yoruba,Gwari, Hausa or Fulani man will be caught buying land and moving with his entire family and extended family relations
to Obioma-Ngwa,Okigwe,Ohafia or Ogidi. That means working and living there at the same time.
At an aggregate level, the Igbos seem to know and understand the other ethnic groups better than they do the Igbos.
So, IMO, the Igbos seem to be the major ethnic group that has yet to contribute to national leadership.
Zik and Ironsi were inhouse observers in my opinion and didn't really make much impact.
In closing, the ONUS falls on the Igbos to PLAY PROPER POLITICS AS THE EQUILIBRATING FACTOR(which I think they are)
in the Nigerian major ethnic group equation...and WORK OUT AN AGREEMENT TO SET THE COUNTRY ON A MUTUALLY
BENEFICIAL COURSE.
If they fail to do so, they should calmly stop agitating, take whatever is dished them by those who fight for and win
the prizes that matter in the Nigerian state...and take it in good faith when their own brothers start denying their ancestry.
My 2 cents.[/s]

Pure crap! So because the Igbos haven't had their fair share of Nigerian leadership it means they are the ones holding the country back? Once they are left behind like you suggested, the north and south west will suddenly start producing credible leaders that will take the country forward? How does that work?

Two things that plagued the east.

1. Rubbish leadership

2. Extreme negligence by the FG of the east between 1967 and 1999 in providing basic infrastructure. It has made development a "from scratch" issue. Anybody who ever travelled the onitsha-okigwe road a few years ago will agree that it was (maybe still is) the worst road on earth (no kidding)

The Prseidency stuff is not our problem, we should first of all get the governors to work with the little they have, our private investors should begin to invest more in Igbo land creating jobs in the process, then we can collectively campaign for more federal government presence in the South East.
@Pabloanus the reason why the Gwaris, Yorubas and Hausa aren't building houses in Igbo land is the same reason why they aren't building in other parts of Nigeria outside their region. A yoruba man working in the oil industry in Port Harcourt or Eket and earning millions will rather live in a self-contained with his family there while building houses in his state / region, same goes for Hausas. But the Igbos freely build houses in any part of Nigeria they find themselves as long as they have made enough money to do so. Many of the Igbo top earners in the oil industry in Port Harcourt have houses of thier own, while the Yorubas live in rented houses, even an Igbo trader who has made enough money in the north, feels free to build a house there. So if you are wondering why the Yorubas and Hausas aren't building in Igbo land, you should first of all wonder why they aren't building in other parts of the country outside their region. Look closer home for your answers, it isn't an Igbo thing.

sCun: The Prseidency stuff is not our problem, we should first of all get the governors to work with the little they have, our private investors should begin to invest more in Igbo land creating jobs in the process, then we can collectively campaign for more federal government presence in the South East.
@Pabloanus the reason why the Gwaris, Yorubas and Hausa aren't building houses in Igbo land is the same reason why they aren't building in other parts of Nigeria outside their region. A yoruba man working in the oil industry in Port Harcourt or Eket and earning millions will rather live in a self-contained with his family there will building houses in his state / region, same goes for Hausas. But the Igbos freely build houses in any part of Nigeria they find themselves as long as they have made enough money to do so. Many of the Igbo top earners in the oil industry in Port Harcourt have houses of thier own, while the Yorubas live in rented houses, even an Igbo trader who has made enough money in the north, feels free to build a house there. So if you are wondering why the Yorubas and Hausas aren't building in Igbo land, you should first of all wonder why they aren't building in other parts of the country outside their region. Look closer home for your answers, it isn't an Igbo thing.

@ the bolded, Excellent! Excellent!!!

Igbo should focus on using their bulk votes wisely in helping their allies to become President for agreed favors they must return to the Igbo upon becoming President, this strategy will also enable Igbo build alliances they can fall back on later.

In so doing, Igbo will not be held hostage to fall into the trap of some people who have planned to use "IGBO PRESIDENCY" as a decoy to balkanise and consequently neutralize the Igbo voting power in Nigeria. Igbo should focus on building vital alliances first and thus wading off the hawks who have been pondering on how to neutralize them politically by luring them into making a false move at Igbo Presidency too early without solid alliances, so that they can pitch Igbo votes against everyone else and win by turning Igbo into the opposition.

Chima_Agbalajob:

The big issue with the yoruba is that they very immoral in their double standard of being very clannish and tribalistic to exclude other Nigerians wherever they hold sway,but will be the most vocal to condemn the same thing when the same favor is returned by others.The recent Anambra election is another clear example. The yoruba have always referred to APGA as "Igbo" party but are up in arms when Igbo refer to ACN or APC as a yoruba party!.

Words on marble bruh! I've noticed that when they all queue to vote APC or AC.N they boast and beat their chests on their political sophistication and sagacity but when igbos in anambra chose APGA they cried "igbos are tribalists!" LMAO!!!

See how they have been cursing Arthur Eze and Peter Obi for giving back a 0.05% reciprocation in kind. I wonder what will happen if igbo leaders start brewing the type of malicious rhetoric that they manufacture about igbos at every turn or if igbo writers start writing trash about yorubas the way they do about igbos.

PabloAfricanus, carry your Yoruba self out of ndigbo matter.
I have told u before, that the Yoruba case cannot even be solved on the Internet.
The only solution for yorubaland is to demolish all their states and start afresh plus re-creation of genes to produce better personalities and characters.
Don't advise us, we are not begging other ethnics to come and do real estates in SE, if many other igbos come to site more of their industries in igboland, am home and dry

russellino: Two things that plagued the east.

1. Rubbish leadership

2. Extreme negligence by the FG of the east between 1967 and 1999 in providing basic infrastructure. It has made development a "from scratch" issue. Anybody who ever travelled the onitsha-okigwe road a few years ago will agree that it was (maybe still is) the worst road on earth (no kidding)

Pls, is Onitsha okigwe road diff from Onitsha owerri road?

sCun: Pure crap! So because the Igbos haven't had their fair share of Nigerian leadership it means they are the ones holding the country back? Once they are left behind like you suggested, the north and south west will suddenly start producing credible leaders that will take the country forward? How does that work?

LOL!!!
It's either you did not read the post with comprehension or you have a comprehension problem.

sCun:
Once they are left behind like you suggested, the north and south west will suddenly start producing credible leaders that will take the country forward? How does that work?

I never advocated for the Igbos to be left behind.
I literally shied away from calling the Igbos leaders political prostitutes and never bothered to
advise them to make their votes count - for themselves and for Igbo land.
I also gave pointers as to how there seems to be a deadlock in the Nigerian political chess board
due to one leg of the tripod not living up to its true potential. I want to believe you sufficiently
fluent in English literature to understand what I posted.
Simply put, since 1966 the Igbos have lost the standing they once had at the national level.
They were the great equilibriating factor in Nigerian politics, they could make the vote swing just
by aligning with any of the 2 major ethnic groups. Are you familiar with the NCNC alignment saga
with NPC back in the days? How the SW/AG were literally forced to be the "opposition" party?
You need to do a lil research on the brand of politics played by the NCNC back then.
The Igbos were at the forefront and were a force to be reckoned with.
The SE,SW and the North to score a major win had to negotiate it directly with one of each other.
Sadly the same is not obtainable now. The majority of Igbo political leaders are jobbers
and cheap errand boys.
The SS minorities then shared a common political identity with the Igbos.
You know how the cookie has crumbled since the end of the war.

All in all, if you read between the lines, I am literally urging you dudes to get up and
fill in the political shoes of your former leaders like Okpara, Zik, Mbonu Ojike etc
Getting paranoid and finger pointing will not help you...today, tomorrow or at any other time.
You have to play the game you were once known for.
If the SE refuses to take up the mantle of leadership...well I have my opinions
and I have tabled some of them. Care to counter any of them intelligently?

Chima_Agbalajob:

Sir,
With due respect, I will reply your analysis candidly without the usual NL personal insults. Maybe through our candid discussion,we can unravel the fault lines in the Igbo -Yoruba tough love.
I will rate your analysis as a heap of cow dung by a chauvinistic yoruba man that has truly deluded himself into believing the alleged "shophisticated" mantra. Indeed, medical people will say you have severe narcissistic delusion to believe yoruba somehow has fared better than Igbo because yoruba has some sophisticated nature.

Indeed, if lagos had not been the federal capital, the entire yorubaland would look like sagamu and Badagry. Indeed, the only part of the SW more developed than the SE is Lagos. This is in-spite of the genocidal civil war,seizure of Igbo wealth and criminal payment of 20 pounds for all their wealth,seizure of all their property, deliberate and systematic federal structure engineered largely by yorubas to enslave the Igbo in Nigeria.

I can tell you that the yoruba angst and frustration today with Igbo is that all their evil plots to keep the race down have simply fallen apart.You dishonestly mentioned yoruba wanted Igbo as a friendly rival. The truth is that yoruba fear Igbo and view them as bitter rivals that must be fought incognito in Nigeria using the "federal government" as decoy to achieve their evil agenda. Yoruba knows that without cheating,they have no chance whatsoever of competing with Igbo and they are wise enough to know that fact. That is why they usually hide behind "Federal Government policies" to implement their ethnic agenda designed to give yoruba undue advantage.That is precisely the reason why Igbo have contempt for yoruba as weak, lazy, cheaters.I am yet to see any Igbo that truly believe yoruba will beat them in any sphere of human endevour if the constraints of Nigeria were removed. The truth is that wise yoruba men know that without those constraints imposed by everyone being inside the Nigerian state, yoruba have no chance whatsoever of becoming a prosperous land.Their usual pastime now is to cook up fairytale stories and post at odd websites to massage their ego that yoruba isn't a parasite on the Nigerian set up. But everyone knows the truth,so their crap is often ignored.

On the other hand, Igbo have respect for the north because they have demonstrated over the years that they are indeed decent people in comparison to yoruba or even Igbo for that matter.Their style of politics is also not winner takes all, so they have managed to avoid major conflicts with other regions because they aren't so greedy. For instance, if a northerner is the MD of NNPC or a NPC, they often make sure other Nigerians are represented albeit in a smaller number.If a Yoruba is the MD, even the gatemen to that ministry must all be yoruba,as if other Nigerians do not exist and do not matter!The big issue with the yoruba is that they are very immoral in their double standard of being very clannish and tribalistic to exclude other Nigerians wherever they hold sway,but will be the most vocal to condemn the same thing when the same favor is returned by others.The recent Anambra election is another clear example. The yoruba have always referred to APGA as "Igbo" party but are up in arms when Igbo refer to ACN or APC as a yoruba party! Infact, if the yoruba factor of constant manipulation and deceit were removed, Nigeria could have been a prosperous peaceful nation with the north and the other parts of the south co-existing in mutual respect. What the north fears, is precisely what every other region NC, SE and SS fear- DOMINATION! Which could be worked out by appropriate constitutional measures.

During the western region crisis,Chief Ladoke Akintola said yoruba does not fear chaos and indeed thrive under such circumstances and he is right! The yoruba love the constant manipulation and accentuation of the fears of the various ethnic nationalities of Nigeria, and use rumors spread by their media groups to provoke ethnic disaffection, chaos and thus benefit from everyone's misery in the confusion.A real life example is that the best period in yoruba history was during the Nigerian civil war and its immediate aftermath when the north was focused on keeping Nigeria united, yoruba seized the opportunity of the confusion and uncertainty to implement measures designed to give them a key advantage in Nigerian economy! That is also precisely why yoruba hates the Igbo bitterly, because Igbo is also mindful of what yoruba is doing in midst of the confusion regardless of their well thought out excuses for doing what they do. Therefore, because Igbo is perceived as a bulwark obstacle against any such yoruba agenda for Nigeria, they must be hated and demonized.

Aren't you getting rather paranoid?
Two things stand out in the history of the Igbos in Nigeria so far.
1)Political unity is non-existent
2)Lack of a common cultural and economic agenda

The above are what I feel you dudes need to address, as I maintain the Igbos
while playing regional clannish politics are sort of "slowing" the game down.

In the other thread I opened, I mentioned that the excision of the so-called "South South" states
left Igbo land without allies and strictly on her own. The SS have been led to build their own
identity apart from the common identity they forged with the NCNC back in the days.
Sadly Igbo leadership seems not to have taken steps to counter the subterfuge and
build bridges with their eastern brothers. You should know a lot of them paid dearly for the
whole Biafra thing...even though it had nothing to do with them.
Till today, they refuse to identity with you. Why?

It was to the advantage of the Yorubas to score political, economic and financial points
by capitalizing on the misfortune of the Igbos at the end of the war.
I mean its human nature and you don't honestly expect them to greet you with roses and hugs.
Akintola's fears seemed to have been confirmed and the Westerners simply took action
and closed the gap. You should thank the Federal constitution for making Lagos accessible to the
Igbos after the war. Why am I pointing out the above?
Just to let you know this is a game of politics and there is a thing called "home advantage"
and regional superiority. If you do not understand, accept my apologies.

The Northerners have been consistently using the Igbos as politcal jobbers.
And no they are not afraid of Igbo "domination".
I think they understand Igbos perfectly and
know where to punch or massage as the need may be.
Not that they're smarter really, but they have a high level of political unity around shared values
that makes it possible for them to agree to a common agenda. You and I know the clannishness
of the typical Igbo politician has always gotten in the way of them working together.
Take it or leave it, your liberation came with OBJ.
Left to the late Okadigbo, Evans Enwerem and co...the Igbos will have opened a shop for
selling votes at the NA quarters.
If it were not for the stroke of fate that had OBJ sidelining his Yoruba kinsmen cos of the lack of
support they gave him...and elevating the Igbos to high political appointments, I think we both know
how the Igbos would have fared.

@domination if you ask me I'll say its not fear of domination but fear of the brand of clannishness
the Igbos are wont to unleash when given the chance. Not to mention revulsion at the
"superiority" game you guys play so effortlessly.
You need to understand why other groups play their own
brand of politics and either adjust your game to counter or join the fray.
Failure to do that, you will
be relegated to just being an agitator - lots of words but no substance.
And believe you me, you just started agitating and when you're done...you'll probably
move back to where ever you are living outside Igbo land.

ngozievergreen: PabloAfricanus, carry your Yoruba self out of ndigbo matter.
I have told u before, that the Yoruba case cannot even be solved on the Internet.
The only solution for yorubaland is to demolish all their states and start afresh plus re-creation of genes to produce better personalities and characters.
Don't advise us, we are not begging other ethnics to come and do real estates in SE, if many other igbos come to site more of their industries in igboland, am home and dry

Teheeehee!
Getting all emotional and sentimental aren't we?
You must be young I see.

Of what importance is it if I'm Yoruba? What if I'm a Cameroonian?
Get over yourself and quit being paranoid.
The facts on ground is that the rate of migration outside Igbo land to the SW and the North
is high...and needs to be contained.
Let me test you a lil bit.
Assuming the coins were flipped...and the Yorubas were the casualties in a civil war,
and say Onitsha happened to be the Federal capital instead of Lagos..what will be your
reaction to the millions of Yorubas who have bought up and are still buying land in
Onitsha, Awka, Ogidi, Ihialla and environs.
Will you hug them when they challenge your claims to being an "indigene" and all that in Onitsha?
When you meet the millions of Yoruba youths who grew up in Onitsha and can't even speak their language?
Or the fact that the majority of Yoruba leaders live and work in Onitsha.
How will you react to the millions of Yorubas who have forgotten Ibadan, Oshogo, Sagamu,
Akure and Ijebu.Same could be applied to Kano and Kaduna.

What would your reaction be?
Let your imagination run wild.

iterator25: no, till they stop treating the region like villages

I'm a proud nwafor and I must confess we actually treat the east as our villages!! Serious meditation needs to be done on this cos I'm also guilty!! Thanks

Chima_Agbalajob:

@ the bolded, Excellent! Excellent!!!

Igbo should focus on using their bulk votes wisely in helping their allies to become President for agreed favors they must return to the Igbo upon becoming President, this strategy will also enable Igbo build alliances they can fall back on later.

In so doing, Igbo will not be held hostage to fall into the trap of some people who have planned to use "IGBO PRESIDENCY" as a decoy to balkanise and consequently neutralize the Igbo voting power in Nigeria. Igbo should focus on building vital alliances first and thus wading off the hawks who have been pondering on how to neutralize them politically by luring them into making a false move at Igbo Presidency too early without solid alliances, so that they can pitch Igbo votes against everyone else and win by turning Igbo into the opposition.

Here is one intelligent Igbo man.
While you are at it...consider the full ramifications of having a President come from your region or is sympathetic to
your cause.

1)You will be factored in when political appointments that matter will are being shared.
Pual Dike and Ihejirika will never have made it to where they are had OBJ not BS'ed
his kinsmen and dared the North to do their worst.

2) You need the raw power of presidential fiat to make certain "Federal decisions".
Like say personally overseeing the construction of a new Niger bridge.
Like say personally overseeing the dredging of the Niger and construction of a port
at Onitsha.
Or even extending the same privileges given to the Dangotes.

If you get the drift...you should not be too far away from the Presidency.
Alliances are not that difficult to build. They can be bought. You make it sound
like its something that will take sooo many years to build up. Why not start now?

Politicians can always be
compromised or bribed to cut a deal. Did you know the Northerners have a dossier
courtesy of IBB, Gusau and co on all the top Yoruba and Igbo leaders?
Tinubu and Ajimobi for instance are clearly compromised. They will play to the Northern
tune directly or indirectly. At the least they will negotiate.
That's the way the game is played...

@pabloafrican you raised some salients points while some others deserve the trashcan(sorry )....
...Igbos needs to invest more in our region fine!,especially now that the country's future is getting more uncertain by the day...
...however,i dont think other regions are much better than the @Eastern region to be honest apart from Lagos and Abuja and we all know why!!!!...the entire country is one huge slum and needs some sort of marshal plan when compared to countrries like say SouthAfrica...
...so all these feel-good and condescending epistles from you is comical to say the least cos your own region has not gotten it right as well...goodmorning.

PabloAfricanus:



Are you serious? beautification of roads and layouts?
On what economic basis? Which clan or group of clans will pay for that?
And which clan will agree to let other clans have their "roads and lands" beautified first?
Cmon...you are still trying to look for validation from other Nigerians.
You need a unifying economic, cultural, and political framework to actualize any development goal.
Then a narrow focus on strategic industrialization driven by public sector participation by ALL NIGERIANS
and the world.
IMO, that is what you Igbos need to focus on. Else any attempt made by anyone to even try the above
will degenerate into an Ngwa vs Ndoki , Obosi vs Onitsha,Mbaise vs Owerri etc...superiority tussle.
And that is assuming you have the resources to embark on such "beautification" exercises.

That's how u ppl inspired divide and rule in the east, now, u think beautification will cause division again.
Ndi mmawu.

PabloAfricanus (NegroNtns?) is certainly not having it easy today. LOL

There is no dearth of development in the Southeast in every way. We might have suffered from Federal Government neglect and underfunding of our States but Southeast is definitely above Nigerian average in development. Southeast receives the least funds from federal allocation and we are anti-tax people. I still believe that our Governments can only function well when the IGR is raised via taxation. But that will be very difficult though.

Psychedelia: PabloAfricanus (NegroNtns?) is certainly not having it easy today. LOL

Ask him where he kept his advice when igbos were having a hard time in Nigeria, hard times created by them.
All of a sudden, he was masquerading himself to be Igbo in the name of giving advice, when his region is in rot.
Onye oku na agba be ya o na achu oke.

Abagworo: There is no dearth of development in the Southeast in every way. We might have suffered from Federal Government neglect and underfunding of our States but Southeast is definitely above Nigerian average in development. Southeast receives the least funds from federal allocation and we are anti-tax people. I still believe that our Governments can only function well when the IGR is raised via taxation. But that will be very difficult though.

U have a point

Abagworo: There is no dearth of development in the Southeast in every way. We might have suffered from Federal Government neglect and underfunding of our States but Southeast is definitely above Nigerian average in development. Southeast receives the least funds from federal allocation and we are anti-tax people. I still believe that our Governments can only function well when the IGR is raised via taxation. But that will be very difficult though.

I'm a little worried about the disposition of our people towards paying tax. That mentality has to be gotten rid of because these states need to raise their IGR to better the lot of the states.

Afam4eva:
I'm a little worried about the disposition of our people towards paying tax. That mentality has to be gotten rid of because these states need to raise their IGR to better the lot of the states.

Our history of never paying tributes to any empire made us believe that paying tax is a sign of weakness. Remember the Aba women's riot was against taxation and that was nearly 90years ago. I'm surprised that Igbos do pay 10% tax in Churches but refuse to pay even 5% to Government.

Abagworo:

Still boils down to Federal Government neglecting the SE even though we get the least funds.

.abagworo u are still part of the problem the east is facing with these kind of assertion.a society get the type of leaders they deserve.east deserve the kind of infrastructural nd bad goverance we have becos the society is suffering from sectionalism,nepotism,favouritism and otimkpuism are ills begeting the east.where the place the leader is from, is more important than wat he can offer.we celebrate ignorance,corruption more than merit and hardwork. Unless we have a vibrant pressure groups with valour,vigour and vision packed blueprint to develop the east.we can not grow with these same system an integrated east state wit vibrant automonous city,town nd urban center.u fight for wat u want.

ngozievergreen:

Pls, is Onitsha okigwe road diff from Onitsha owerri road?

Yep! The onitsha-okigwe road veers off left at oba through nnewi, ideato on to okigwe while the onitsha-owerri road continues straight to ihiala, mgbidi on to owerri

PabloAfricanus:

Teheeehee!
Getting all emotional and sentimental aren't we?
You must be young I see.

Of what importance is it if I'm Yoruba? What if I'm a Cameroonian?
Get over yourself and quit being paranoid.
The facts on ground is that the rate of migration outside Igbo land to the SW and the North
is high...and needs to be contained.
Let me test you a lil bit.
Assuming the coins were flipped...and the Yorubas were the casualties in a civil war,
and say Onitsha happened to be the Federal capital instead of Lagos..what will be your
reaction to the millions of Yorubas who have bought up and are still buying land in
Onitsha, Awka, Ogidi, Ihialla and environs.
Will you hug them when they challenge your claims to being an "indigene" and all that in Onitsha?
When you meet the millions of Yoruba youths who grew up in Onitsha and can't even speak their language?
Or the fact that the majority of Yoruba leaders live and work in Onitsha.
How will you react to the millions of Yorubas who have forgotten Ibadan, Oshogo, Sagamu,
Akure and Ijebu.Same could be applied to Kano and Kaduna.

What would your reaction be?
Let your imagination run wild.

I agree wih this, I would be spooked make I no lie. But the truth is that the civil war that succesfully brought the igbos back to nigeria and the FG's unofficial policy of starvin the east of development from 1967-1970 naturally led the igbos to move to where the oil money was developing to take advantage of opportunities

rafindo: .abagworo u are still part of the problem the east is facing with these kind of assertion.a society get the type of leaders they deserve.east deserve the kind of infrastructural nd bad goverance we have becos the society is suffering from sectionalism,nepotism,favouritism and otimkpuism are ills begeting the east.where the place the leader is from, is more important than wat he can offer.we celebrate ignorance,corruption more than merit and hardwork. Unless we have a vibrant pressure groups with valour,vigour and vision packed blueprint to develop the east.we can not grow with these same system an integrated east state wit vibrant automonous city,town nd urban center.u fight for wat u want.

What you've written down is more applicable to Nigeria than the Southeast. Southeast Governments get the least funds and hence Governments in the region will have to manage what they get. We need to grow our IGR before we can embark on serious infrastructural development without fear of lack of funds.

I don't have a say in what's on ground but Anambra missing the Chance to elect Soludo as their Governor was an opportunity missed. It would have been a big step. I.M.O.

ba7man: I don't have a say in what's on ground but Anambra missing the Chance to elect Soludo as their Governor was an opportunity missed. It would have been a big step. I.M.O.

Of course u have a say. You are a Nigerian and you are not an igbo hater.

Soludo's loyalty to Atiku is what messed his chances up. GEJ must have pulled his PA (peter obi's) ear to make sure he didn't get the APGA ticket.