alj_harem:

Thursday, April 28, the Ndigbo Ethics Revival Forum (NEREF), in collaboration with the Ndigbo Lagos Organisation, played host to their countrymen at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) during the public presentation of an Audio Project on Igbo Character and Value. The ceremony was basically planned to address the moral and ethical values of Ndigbos. Probably with deliberate intention to promote culture, all the speakers that mounted the podium for the first two hours addressed the audience in almost undiluted Igbo language.
In a paper presented by Dr. Zimako O. Zimako of NEREF, he claimed that what took the Igbo to the height of its glory in every sphere of life was because the government of that period encouraged the citizens and the citizens also encouraged one another to explore, release and expand their creative energies to the limits within the labyrinth of core Igbo values. According to him, NEREF was using the forum to establish that the Igbo should henceforth focus its attention on some negative traits that cast the Igbo man in bad light. “Top on the agenda is the negative influence of money in Igbo affairs. Presently, money is elevated over and above integrity and character. This poses a serious challenge to very cherished Igbo ethics and values with the result that the action or inaction of an Igbo person is either defined or said to be dictated by monetary considerations. This certainly is not good for our collective image,” Zimako said.
NEREF also frowned at certain ethics that have made many Igbo stay away from their root. “Many wealthy and progressive Igbo feel safer outside Igbo land. It has never happened in the history of Igbo nation. This is because of the security situation in Igbo land. The traditional wedding of Igbo daughters are today held in Birnin Kebbi, Sabongeri, Ogbomosho and Akowonjo instead of holding same in Igbo land.”
He also addressed the fear of Igbo language going into extinction in another eighty years as predicted by Igbo experts if care is not taken.
Part of the agenda of NEREF, according to Zimako, is to arouse the consciousness of Igbo for the urgent need to reclaim their cherished values and redeem their image.
In his keynote address titled, Thoughts on Igbo Character and Values, Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Pastor Ben Akabueze, said the Igbo have jettisoned its core value over the years, blaming greed, opportunism, falsehood and ostentation as major antics that seem to have increasingly characterised the modern Igbo. “Materialism is cankerworm that is eating away all that is good in the Igbo value system. Traditionally, the Igbo put a premium on knowledge and competence but today the stereotypical Igbo man is a wealthy illiterate. Secondary school enrolment among [size=13pt]Igbo boys continues to fall as they drop out of school in pursuit of money[/size]. Neither the Igbo state governments nor non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Igbo land appear to be seriously advocating and/or enforcing even the mandatory basic education of nine years of schooling (covering primary and middle schools). Today, we worry about the lack of jobs for university graduates in Igbo land but I dread the day in future when there will be jobs but not enough qualified persons to take up the jobs. To some, such a day might seem distant but just ponder for a moment what could happen when Nigeria fixes its electricity power problem and it became possible to resuscitate most of the abandoned factories all over Igbo land. Imagine what could happen if we were suddenly blessed with visionary state governors all over Igbo land, who can understand that kidnapping is a scourge that needs to be vigorously confronted with their so-called ‘security votes’ rather than wait for the federal government to do so; governors who can inspire the people to channel their enormous resources and enterprise into building a virile economy in the south-east.”
The fantastic, eloquent and charismatic presentation of the commissioner, which erupted like a volcano in the scotching afternoon, made virtually all the guests, predominantly Igbo, who had been full of excitements, exchanging brilliant greetings and blowing their traditional dialects, to suddenly calm down to reason together, judging by their countenance.
Akabueze recalled that in traditional Igbo society, people’s source of wealth was questioned and those who acquired wealth by dubious means were ostracised. “But today, whenever a list of Nigerians caught in drug trafficking and ‘419’ (fraud), you can bet that Igbo young men will predominate. This is because the Igbo society no longer questions anyone’s source of wealth. Indeed, even when it is public knowledge that the wealth was dubiously acquired it no longer matters. I will not be surprised if law enforcement agencies have probably begun some kind of racial profiling of Igbo youth. Together, the Igbo nation must rise and fight this degeneracy. Some years ago, the Aka Ikenga initiated a campaign tagged ‘mma nwoke di n’ubulu ya; obughi n’akpa ya’ (a man’s goodness derives from his brain power, not the content of his pocket). Unfortunately, this laudable campaign did not gain sufficient traction,” he said.
Political organisation in traditional Igbo society, according to Akabueze, was based on communities devoid of kings or governing chiefs. He however observed that apart from towns like Onitsha, which had kings called Obis, as well as Nri and Arochukwu, which had priest-kings called Ezes, governance of Igbo villages was generally by an assembly of the common people.
“The attempt by the colonial masters to introduce traditional rulers in Igbo land was finally exacerbated in the 1970s, when the Nigerian government decreed a chieftaincy institution for every community in the country. The effect of this in Igbo land has been generally devastating. In Anambra State, for instance, I cannot think of any community that has not been at some point embroiled in conflict arising from the choice of traditional rulers. Indeed, many communities became so polarised over this mattser that the communal development effort, which characterised the post-civil-war Igbo land could to be sustained. To worsen matters, the Igbo gradually exported the alien practice of traditional rulers to places outside Igbo land with sizable Igbo residents. The result is that today we have Eze Ndigbo (Igbo kings) almost on a street-by-street basis in Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria, and even in countries like the USA. In each of these locations, the choice of these Ndi Ezes spurns endless conflicts,” said Akabueze.
He also claimed that in traditional Igbo society, there were title-holders (Ndi Ozo and Ndi Nze) who in effect enjoyed a higher social status and that their membership was highly exclusive and based on a combination of material accomplishments, gallantry, sanity and integrity. Today, according to him, only material accomplishment seems to count.
“Traditional title-holders were forbidden to lie, cheat, covet a neighbour’s property, commit any crime/abomination and were required to carry selves with dignity (including not climbing a tree). I ask you to take a look at the generality of so-called title-holders today. The Igbo nation must sanitise the subjects of traditional rulership and traditional titles in Igbo land and save itself from further ridicule and confusion. This might also require legislative action.”
In his further assessment of the tradition, Akabueze said traditional Igbo society promoted gender-stereotypes. Boys were groomed to be bold, courageous, audacious and fearless while girls were raised to be soft, subservient and gentle. However, he noticed that patriarchal society male children were considered superior to their female counter-parts.
“Ironically, however, traditional Igbo society was more gender-sensitive than the trend now. There was due cognizance of the females’ natural roles of wifehood and motherhood. Hence, the very physically tasking jobs were reserved for the males. Women were considered Oriakus (enjoyer of the husband’s wealth). It was largely system that recognised gender peculiarities, without necessarily seeking to oppress the women. It is no wonder that the Igbos did not have much difficulty in embracing girl-child education, which remains a challenge in some ethnic groups even till today. As a matter of fact, in some parts of Igbo land there are more girls in secondary school than boys. The Igbo man was groomed to accept his god-assigned responsibility to provide for his wife and children. It is not an accident that the Igbo generally has the most stable marriage among Nigeria’s ethnic groups. It is futile to seek to completely obliterate gender differentiations in the name of modernity.”
Akabueze declared that there is a need for the Igbo to embark on a journey of self-rediscovery; to return to the best of their cultural heritage, while also abandoning the undesirable elements of that heritage.
“[size=13pt]Some of the traditional religious practices make no sense, the shameful practices at the infamous ‘Okija Shrine’ being a case in point.[/size]
One of the outstanding sessions of the programme was the breaking of kolanut. This turned out to be a great feast as the royal fathers, elders and chiefs that were in attendance were thrown into performing traditional rites on the kolanut before the members of the high table and the general audience were offered pieces of kolanut before the commencement of the ceremony. Former Minister of Information, Dr. Walter Ofonagoro, supposed to chair the historical event, was absent.

http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=33409