How Kidnapping Underdevelops Alaigbo. - Politics - Nairaland
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| How Kidnapping Underdevelops Alaigbo. by WIZGUY69(m): 12:35pm On Oct 21, 2014 |
******* In his book, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Walter Rodney (1974), a firebrand scholar argued that slavery had the cumulative effect of under- developing Africa. He pointed out how kidnapping and taking out of Africa the 18-48 age group led to little or no more economic activities in Africa (that group is essentially the most productive in any economy). Taking out of the continent those who ordinarily would have been the engine of its economic activities obviously retarded economic development in the continent. Chinweizu (1975) reiterated this point. The people taken out of Africa were used to develop the Americas (USA, Central America and South America). Additionally, the economic relationship between Europe and Africa was such that Africa’s raw materials were shipped to European factories where they were processed into manufactured goods and some of the goods brought back to Africa and sold at exorbitant prices, prices that sometimes Africans were unable to afford. Europe was the metropolis and Africa was the periphery, the plantation providing it with raw materials for its industries. Samir Amin (1973) made the point of Africa’s dependency on the West so accurately that one doubts that one can add to what he said. Rodney made cogent arguments that Europe benefited from slavery and subsequent colonial and neocolonial economic relationship between it and Africa. What Rodney said seemed so self-evident that I really did not give it much thinking. In so far that I bothered about the matter at all it was to ask how come Europe was farther ahead of Africa and thus had the military and technological ability to subjugate Africans. I was more interested in modernizing Africa in the present and not worrying about a past when Africa seemed to me helpless and at the mercy of whoever had the power and will to clobber her. Recently, however, I was thinking about the insecurity Aro and Umuahia mercenaries generated in Alaigbo. It dawned on me that given the general atmosphere of insecurity those two criminal groups generated in the land, Igbos spent much of their energies trying to prevent been kidnapped and had no energy left to engage in productive economic activities. The Aro criminal syndicate retarded economic development in Alaigbo. This is in addition to the fact that they sold to Europeans the most productive age group in Alaigbo hence led to loss of economic activity in Alaigbo. As an aside, one often asks: what exactly did slave sellers do with the money they obtained from selling their people? The two criminal gangs actually left no indication of wealth, no luxury mansions, no nothing; like other Igbos they lived in thatched huts! All they got from the clever white man was alcohol to drink their useless lives to early death and pieces of glasses to decorate their bloated bodies with and masquerade around as titled men (ozo title holders). The Ijaw and Efik who physically interacted with white slave buyers actually were worse off. There are certainly no monuments built with whatever money they obtained from selling their fellow Africans. All they got for their troubles was alcohol and wearing fifteenth century Portuguese clothes and bowler hats (they currently call that slave buyers attire their national attire...the Nigerian leader, Goodluck Jonathan parades around in such uniform!). As we all know, recently, there has been a spate of kidnapping in Alaigbo. In Abia state, for example, you can pretty much count on being kidnapped should you as much as have a car in your possession? The kidnapping got to a point that Igbos who have any kind of money stayed away from visiting Alaigbo. If you are Igbo and you dared go to your homeland your people (usually young men in their twenties) kidnapped you, held you hostage until ransom money is paid to them or else they killed you. And like their ancestors, the modern day kidnappers do nothing with the ransom money they are paid; they, too, drink their useless lives to early death (which is nice). DISCUSSION Igbos with money avoid investing it in Alaigbo; instead, [size=24]they invest their money at Lagos, a Yoruba land, or Abuja, in Hausa sphere of influence[/size]Who wants to invest his money in a place where he is likely to be kidnapped by his own people and killed? The result is that Igbos use their money to develop other people’s lands. And given what we know about Africans politics, sooner or later, Igbos would be kicked out by those in whose lands they invest their moneys and they would be left holding empty bags. If I am a non-Igbo and have money and wanted to open a factory would I do so in Alaigbo? Would I invest my money in a part of the country where folks with money are likely to be kidnapped and killed? Of course, not; if I am rational I would invest my money where I feel safe. At this realization, it struck me like thunderbolt that the kidnapping going on in Alaigbo actually is having the effect of driving away investment capital from Alaigbo; and is destroying economic activities in Alaigbo. Very little economic activity is going on in Alaigbo! Oh, Igbo governors go to Abuja and collect their monthly share of the national cake and pocket as much of it as is possible and share the rest with their cronies but beyond that no economic activity is taking place in Alaigbo. In effect, Igbos kidnapping Igbos have killed economic activities in their land; these people have underdeveloped their land. This is a pity, is it not? If kidnapping and other criminal activities kill economic activities in Alaigbo wouldn’t you think that Igbos should resolve and get rid of the kidnappers? Don’t you think that these criminal gangs are known and that the governments could round them up in a week and shoot them to death? If the leaders had the will to get rid of the criminals they would do so. Alas, they do not have such will, for the gangs are often working for them, acting as their thugs with whom they intimidated their opponents. The cumulative effect is that Igbos are once more under-developing their land and, as in the past, pointing accusatory fingers at other people. In the past they blamed white men and colonialism, now they blame other Nigerians for their dreadful fate. Their usual stanza is that if Nigeria had developed their neck of the woods that their youth would not be unemployed and would not have resorted to thievery. Why don’t they develop their world instead of waiting for Hausas and Yorubas to come do it for them? Their excuse is lame! If only Igbos can resolve to do the right thing and give up the belief that criminal activity pays. Igbos have engaged in criminal activity since slave times and ought to know that it does not pay. One hopes that Igbos will eventually learn from their sorry history and resolve to quit criminal activities; they have to do so if they want any kind of economic activity to take place in their benighted world. As things now stand, Igbos have actually retrogressed; they have gone back to being less developed than they were in the 1960s. Aba, a once thriving town is now literally a garbage dump; Onitsha streets are cesspool of refuse! Where is the city council and mayor that hires appropriate professional staff to perform traditional city government functions, such as remove refuse, provide water and electricity and maintain roads? CONCLUSION Economic activities thrive in politically stable human polities; people invest their moneys where they do not expect their lives threatened by hoodlums. Thus, if Igbos really want to modernize their world and generate economic growth in their world, they have to figure out a way to have an environment where folks feel safe and not feel like they would be kidnapped by thugs. The problem is that Igbos have been kidnapping their people for five hundred years. They deny what they do and blame others for doing it; denial does not prevent them from taking the consequences of their anti-social behaviors and paying the price of economic underdevelopment. It is now time for Igbos to take responsibility for their past criminal activities and in the present stop them; they have to arrest and draconically punish criminals. It is now time Igbos rewarded honest work and income earned honestly and stopped making criminals their leaders. All things being equal, other factors contribute to the lack of economic development in Alaigbo; I know that much but choose to stress the factor that just occurred to me. If you think that my thesis is not true refute it without resorting to name calling. Name calling makes those you folks insult want to smack you around. Finally, the thesis of this paper does not have economic data supporting it. It could have buttressed its assertion that economic development has either come to a standstill or retrogressed in Alaigbo if it had statistics to make the point, such as show the rate of economic growth from 1974 to the present. As it is, it is a mere assertion without proof. But where does one go to obtain such data in Nigeria? Do they keep accurate economic data in Nigeria or do they just say to the world whatever they want the world to believe? For example, what is the population of Nigeria? Are you sure you know what it is other than the cooked census that the government tells you? We have no objective data on anything in Nigeria; it would be nice to have such data. In the meantime, I accept the legitimate criticism of my hypothesis but stand by it until it is refuted. PS: I do not ever want to hear from an Igbo person an excuse for his engaging in anti-social behaviors; I do not ever want to hear rationalizations why they do the wrong instead of the right things; I do not want to hear why white men, colonialism, neocolonialism and other Nigerians made Igbos do what they did. If you sold your brothers, or stole you did so because you are a god dammed criminal, not because white men and or Nigerians made you do it. If you are a criminal you ought to be severely punished so that anti-social behavior would never enter your sociopathic mind, again. I am sick and tired of making excuses for black folk’s criminality. ** |
| Re: How Kidnapping Underdevelops Alaigbo. by WIZGUY69(m): 12:38pm On Oct 21, 2014 |
| Re: How Kidnapping Underdevelops Alaigbo. by doublewisdom: 12:49pm On Oct 21, 2014 |
The author must be living in the past. The useless South West is where it all happens now. Kidnapping, ra.pe of domestic birds, armed robbery, witch craft, drugs dealing, assassinations,incest, ritual killings, in fact, every evil and his brother have taken permanent residence there. Wait Cone headed being I dey come for you. 4 Likes |
| Re: How Kidnapping Underdevelops Alaigbo. by bright8(m): 12:56pm On Oct 21, 2014 |
I have never laughed this loud in a long time. So Yoruba man get mind post this rubbish. The world must be coming to an end. 2 Likes |
| Re: How Kidnapping Underdevelops Alaigbo. by Nobody: 1:06pm On Oct 21, 2014 |
truthful my uncle always stay at a hotel leaving his mansion wen ever he comes to east |
| Re: How Kidnapping Underdevelops Alaigbo. by WIZGUY69(m): 1:09pm On Oct 21, 2014 |
bright8:Go and kidnap your IBO brothers that posted it. na una work. posted by : ozodu osoji. |
| Re: How Kidnapping Underdevelops Alaigbo. by WIZGUY69(m): 1:09pm On Oct 21, 2014 |
bright8:Go and kidnap your IBO brothers that posted it. na una work. posted by : ozodu osoji.  |
| Re: How Kidnapping Underdevelops Alaigbo. by WIZGUY69(m): 1:10pm On Oct 21, 2014 |
doublewisdom:After you Don kidnapp your mother abi? |
| Re: How Kidnapping Underdevelops Alaigbo. by zimoni(f): 1:15pm On Oct 21, 2014 |
It's all about kowope. Must Must Complete. It's a pity some people are afraid of going home. Na wah ooooooo. |
| Re: How Kidnapping Underdevelops Alaigbo. by doublewisdom: 1:20pm On Oct 21, 2014 |
WIZGUY69:See this 1diot from an incestuous generation. I would rather be a kidnapper than you who ra.pes his mother every day while your mo.ronic sister bears children with your leperous father. 3 Likes |
| Re: How Kidnapping Underdevelops Alaigbo. by Ngwakwe: 1:27pm On Oct 21, 2014 |
The article may not be entirely true but Kidnapping by Osisikanku and his gang set Abia State twenty years back. Investor ran for their dear lives leaving the cities like ghost towns and helped the re-emergence of the vision-less Governor T. A. Orji for a second term. |
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