I
t is amazing that the kind of education or
information that were handed to us by our
teachers in school or even the mass media
in Nigeria regarding who we are, or are not,
is often short of the living facts or reality on the ground. What we were taught, not in
science or arts, but in sociology and
anthropology, do not stand as facts that can
be verified and certified as truth, and
nothing but the truth. Methinks, we know,
that the mission of education is to seek truth and propagate same undiluted,
unembellished, and convincingly proven at
all times. If it is a fact, then there is no "ifs"
or "buts." Nobody can truly claim to be
educated who doctors the truth, or
manipulates facts in order to suit his or her whims and caprices. Fact is not like history
said to be largely subjective, that can be
doctored or manipulated. When you have
arrived as a truly intellectually liberated
person, is when you call facts and figures as
you see them, no matter who it may concern. Besides, truth is very exhilarating
and bubbles like champagne wine. If you
try to stand it on its head, it quickly reverts
to its natural form - truth. And if you try to
force it into your mind, it tastes sour. Truth
is easier to manage, falsehood shifts like quicksand. See?
For many of us, it took coming to America,
and devoting significant time, aside from
our normal engagements, to dispassionately
study our own native societies and where
we fit in the larger world in which we all inhabit. And, didn't we know that it took
coming to America for people like Mbonu
Ojike, Zik, Nkrumah and others, to educate
themselves that Africa was a great
continent, that Europe had no right to
colonize Africa, that the black man was part of the great civilizations of the world
contrary to the bleak picture painted of the
place of the black person in the sun.
Consider how much you knew about the
slave trade when you were in Nigeria. Very
little, I must say, at least for me. What did you know of Egypt, the pyramids, African
civilizations, and the fact that man started
his journey on earth from Africa? Who ever
knew that there are more pyramids in
Sudan than in Egypt? We were taught
British Empire History, European History, History of the World, and American War of
Independence. We were never taught the
making of our society, the ancient and
modern accomplishments of our people. We
were not taught our culture, our spirituality,
our trade and commerce. In this piece, I intend to focus on the Igbo
as a people. The Igbo, their culture,
civilization, and their contributions to world
greatness, are, perhaps, among the most
little understood, taught, publicized and
recognized of all human knowledge. What is sometimes upsetting is the little the Igbo
themselves, including their educated sons
and daughters know about themselves. Or,
more bafflingly, how the educated Igbo
parrot, and hold fast, without taking a
second look at the false information about the Igbo, which they heard or read from
scantily informed or biased sources,
foreigners and natives, and, of course, the
ever busy Igbo detractors.
I decided to write this article after the now
familiar surprise look I get from many an educated Igbo when I begin to discuss Igbo
factoids and misrepresentations. What
embarrasses most of them is that certain
incontrovertible, and some would say,
elementary facts about the Igbo, which
were always self evident, now suddenly hits them like a thunderbolt and it becomes
crystal clear to them that their previous
beliefs which they parroted were false. Here
are a few facts in question and answers:

Question: Is Southeast and Igboland the
same thing?
Answer: Not at all. Southeast is only about
3/5th of Igboland. Igboland covers the
whole of Southeast, parts of Rivers, Delta,
Benue, and Akwa Ibom states. Question: Why were we taught in school
that Igbo people are easterners?
Answer: It is both an unfortunate parroting
by teachers and careless adoption by Igbo
educated class. Igbo people come from
Southern Nigeria and not Eastern Nigeria. It may be correct to say that the Igbo are
found predominantly in eastern Nigeria.
However, by saying that the Igbo are
easterners, the implication is that the Igbo
in western Nigeria, numbering about 2.5
million (Agbor, Ogwashi Ukwu, Ibuzo, Okpanam, Asaba, Orimili, Ndokwa, Anioma,
etc) are not Igbos. The best known Igbo
anthropologist Professor Mike
Onwuejeogwu is from the western part of
Nigeria, Chukwuma Nzeogwu, Dennis
Osadebe, Okonkwo Adibe (the famous musician), Sony Odogwu, etc. are all from
the western part of Nigeria. They are no less
Igbo than those who live in the eastern part
of Nigeria. The correct answer to your
question is "the Igbo come from Southern
Nigeria." Question: Why do some Igbo refer to
themselves as "core Igbo?"
Answer: That is clearly arrant nonsense.
Nobody is core and others peripheral. All
Igbo are the same. It is both arrogant,
thoughtless and insensitive for anybody to regard others as marginal.
Question: Is Igboland landlocked?
Answer: Not at all. Igboland stretches from
Igwe Ocha (Port Harcourt) to Agbor. The
Atlantic ocean washes the shores of
Igboland. Africa's second largest river - River Niger, traverses Igboland with one
part of Igboland in the east and another
part in the west of Nigeria. Uguta Lake has
the potential of accommodating large ships
and could be made a navigable port. If
Igboland is landlocked, then all Nigeria is landlocked.

Question: Is there oil in Igboland?
Answer: Yes, indeed. There is a lot of oil in
Imo State, Abia, Ebonyi, Rivers State and
Delta States Igbo areas, and now in
Anambra. Besides, Igboland has many other
natural resources, including coal, limestone, etc.
Question: Are the Igbo a nation or a tribe?
Answer: The Igbo are a nation, and a very
large one. There are many tribes in Igbo
nation, just like you have many tribes
within Israel. Question: Why do some Ikwerre people say
they are not Igbo?
Answer: First, it is not up to them to say
what they are and what they are not. When
God created them, He did not ask them who
they wanted to be. He just created them Igbo. The only way you'll know who
belongs to what ethnic group in Nigeria is
the name and what language the name
comes from. Anybody whose name is
Amadi or Onyeri, or Eke, or Odili, Wanodi
(Nwanodi) does not need to tell you who he is. He is Igbo, his politics notwithstanding.
Question: But they claim that their language
is Ikwerre, not Igbo.
Answer: That is politics. Ikwerre is a dialect
of Igbo language. Just like an Ngwa man
speaks Ngwa Igbo, Arochukwu speaks Arochukwu Igbo, etc.
Question: Some people say that Igbo
language is not complete, is it true?
Answer: No language is complete. All
languages borrow from each other. Igbo
language is very rich. It has inexhaustible and rich linguistic features like idioms,
proverbs, aphorisms, sayings, anecdotes,
riddles, folklores, etc. Igbo language is one
of the major languages of the world, being
spoken by millions of people.
Question: How many are the Igbo? Answer: The Igbo are very numerous.
There is educated guess that if Nigeria's
census is properly enumerated, the Igbo
could easily be the largest ethnic group in
the country. They may number up to 40
million. Everything right now, is speculation. Nobody knows the true stratification or
ethnic populations in Nigeria. The Igbo are
the only ethnic group found in large
numbers everywhere in Nigeria, and
foreign countries more than any other
ethnic group in Africa. Question: Do the Igbo have a culture of
their own?
Answer: Yes, indeed. Igbo culture is
perhaps, one of the richest and all-
encompassing cultures in this world. Igbo
culture always observes the temporal and the spiritual aspects of cosmology. The
study of Igbo culture reveals that it is
extremely deep and original.

Question: Why do the Igbo wear Yoruba
Agbada and Hausa babban riga but the
Yoruba and the Hausa do not ever wear
Igbo national dress?
Answer: Unfortunately this is the case. The
Igbo have very attractive and resplendent national dresses. And they come in
assortments that are extremely dignifying.
The Igbo take up foreign cultures more
readily than other Nigerians, and they seem
not to care that nobody reciprocates their
carefree attitude to life. Most ethnics promote their cultures and show off what
makes them unique. Actually, it is still the
same so-called educated Igbo class who
behave in such disgraceful and the devil-
may-care attitude.
Question: Why do the Igbo call themselves Biafrans?
Answer: Great question. Some people have
the idea that Biafra originates from the
Bight of Biafra. But that is wrong. There was
the Kingdom of Biafra that ruled most of the
ancient world about 50,000 years ago. Unfortunately, nobody talks about it, for
whatever reason, I do not know. But, it is in
the ancient maps of the world. If you wish
I'll make a copy and send to you.
Question: Were the Igbo also taken into
slavery during the slave trade? Answer: Yes. The Igbo slaves themselves
gave account of their travails in slavery.
Olauda Ekwuano an Igbo ex-slave who
bought his freedom in Britain was the first
slave to write about his experience in
slavery. His book has become a classic. You ought to find it and read it. Also, other Igbos
who were brought to America revolted and
some walked back on water and were said
to have returned to Africa. Several books
have been written about them. One of such
books is "Ibo Landing." It is available in bookstores like Barnes & Noble. In Haiti, the
Igbo settled there and refused to be
colonized by anybody. There are many
places where the Igbo left their mark or
their signature.
Question: How did the Igbo know days and years?
Answer: The Igbo invented an accurate, if
not the most accurate calendar called
"Iguafo Igbo (Igbo Calendar)." In Igbo
calendar, there are four market days - Eke,
Afor, Nkwo, Orie that make one week. Four days make one week, seven weeks make
one month, and thirteen months make one
year. There are 28 days for each month,
with the last month having 29 days. Each
month starts the same day as the previous.
Igbo calendar forms the perfect astronomical alignment with the cosmos,
and regulates the seasons, agriculture,
navigation, astrology, geography,
mathematics, travel, etc.
Question: Did the Igbo have their own
alphabets? Answer: Yes, indeed. It is called "Nsibidi."
Question: How about mathematics; did the
Igbo know mathematics?
Answer: Yes, indeed. There are such
inventions as "Okwe" and "Mkpisi" which
the Igbo used to resolve figures. Question: Did the Igbo know anything
about banking?
Answer: Yes. Igbo banking was more in the
nature of Savings and Loans. The authentic
Igbo savings and loans invention called
"Isusu' in which contributions are pooled each week and one person, who has the
need, collects, is still in practice. Igbo slaves
took this invention to the Caribbean Islands
where they still practise it and call it "Sue
Sue."

Question: Some people say that Igboland is
too small for the Igbo, that they have no
alternative than to live as Nigerians: is this
true?
Answer: False. Igboland is a large country.
Do every Igbo need to stay and work in Igboland? No. Everywhere in the world,
some will stay home while others venture
abroad in search of opportunities. Igboland
is large enough for the Igbo. And it is a very
rich and hospitable part of the world. It has
rich soil for agriculture, abundant rainfall, good sunshine, and table land in many
parts. Its land space and population are
more than that of over half of the present
countries in the world.
Question: Where did the Igbo come from?
Answer: That question is still being asked. There are very intriguing theories or
histories now being studied. You may have
heard of the Jewish angle, the Egypt angle,
and the Origin of man angle. This twenty-
first century, hopefully, will resolve the
mystery. Question: Why do people say that the Igbo
are not united?
Answer: Those who say so, do so out of
ignorance. The Igbo are famous for their
unity. In the colonial period and the First
Republic of Nigeria, the Igbo were always envied for their unity. Under Igbo Union,
they accomplished many things. They were
feared by others for this. Since after the
war, the Igbo are gradually recovering and
getting rid of the individualism they
developed brought about by their war experience which enabled them to survive
as a disinherited people. Now, there are
vigorous efforts to reunite them and return
them to their old glory which served them
well in the past.
Question: Some people say that the Igbo are susceptible to being bought by some
other Nigerians, and that they "sell" the Igbo
in the bargain; is this true?
Answer: The same parroting and recycling
of unfounded talk. When you hear such a
talk, challenge the one who is mouthing it to give you evidence, or to cite an example of
such an Igbo person. He is likely to say
"what of Jim Nwobodo?" Tell him that the
Igbo number about 40 million, if it would be
fair for the action of one person to
represent the integrity of the other 3.99.9 million. The truth is that an Igbo is like any
other human being, when he sees where he
can take advantage of a situation, he goes
for it. It has nothing to do with "selling."
Were we not told that fish clusters where
the river was deepest or that the dog follows he who has crumbs? Not long ago
in the history of Nigeria, other Nigerians
were also running after the Igbo for crumbs
because the Igbo were in position to call the
shots. Things will not remain as they are
today. In fact, things are changing fast. Question: Why are other Nigerians always
persecuting the Igbo?
Answer: I have always tried to know
myself. I am one of those who believe that
the Igbo are among the most peaceful
people on earth. But, because of the fact that they are very hardworking, ambitious,
and not afraid to live anywhere, or take up
any task, they tend to be resented by their
less ambitious and successful neighbors or
hosts. When you confront a non-Igbo to say
what specific offense the Igbo have committed against them, oftentimes they
draw blank, or engage in fabrications,
which they insist must stand for a fact. The
Igbo believe in live-and-let-live. It is virtually
impossible for any Igbo to rise against their
guests or hosts. It has never happened in Nigeria, or elsewhere. It is an abomination
in Igboland for a host to cause his guest
harm. Instead, a guest is considered
metaphysically and physically under the
protection of the host. All Igbo deities forbid
doing harm to a guest. The Igbo are accused of "loving money." I suppose the
charge is based on the fact that they work
hard and acquire money in the bargain. One
would like to believe that the outcome of
hardwork is good harvest and hopefully
prosperity. If anybody takes offense at the prosperity of a hardworking person, then
the Igbo or for that matter any other
person or persons, have no apologies to
render.

Question: Do the Igbo have their own
system of jurisprudence before the arrival
of the white man?
Answer: Yes. The Igbo had a system of
resolving conflicts. The elders were
presented with cases that could not be satisfactorily settled within the family or
kindred. Matters where veracity must be
ascertained, the Igbo resort to spirituality.
Oath-taking is a matter left to the spirits to
settle. Those who swear falsely were
expected to be killed by the spirits within a given period. After the period, he is
acquitted and he could celebrate with public
merry-making. The Igbo did not have any
prisons, but they could ostracise a culprit,
exile him, or send him into slavery or to
serve to a deity. Question: Why don't the Igbo teach these
things you are telling me to their children?
Answer: In the pursuit of what they taught
was the "new way" either from Europeans
or o Christianity, the Igbo began to distance
themselves from their heritage, and in the process became lost in the wilderness of a
world they hardly understand. They have
learned their lesson the hard way. The
twenty-first century will lead them back
home.

Op why are you guys flooding nairaland with igbo threads as if igboland was just discovered today.how many yoruba,hausa threads do you find in this section?honestly it's getting boring already.I don't know what motivate you guys in you guys in posting igbo related thread every now and then more over this very topic is as old as nairaland.

to educate our brothers and if u are not confortable with that,overlook it and stop ranting