gidgiddy: The Igbo nation must join hands with all the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria that are tired of over 10 years of APC's disastrous failure, and kick them out in 2027.
Vote out the the irredeemable failure called APC
Vote out the clueless failure called Tinubu
Both have proved they have nothing to offer
Ise!
But Igbo nation love Tinubu now
Are they not the one begging him so tey they give him the highest title in Alaigbo Dike si mba
AMINDA: Okay. Why are you then crying more than the bereaved. You should be happy. Tinubu will be declared president unopposed. Why is he still sending Gbaja and Co to go beg the North? Didn't he check the INEC website?
ibabz: Disclaimer This piece is personal. You’re free to disagree, but I hope you read with an open heart. If your response is petty or vindictive rather than honest and constructive, I won’t stay silent. Be guided.
I remember the joy of growing up in Nigeria when names didn’t matter, when tribes didn’t divide us, and when children laughed without knowing where you “came from.” My friends were from Sokoto, Cross River, Borno, Delta, Lagos, Enugu. We played, ate, and fought like brothers, not strangers.
Back then, whenever anyone asked, “Where are you from?” I’d smile and say, “I’m from Nigeria.” The confusion on their faces used to amuse me. Some expected me to say Lagos. Others guessed Maiduguri or Delta. None ever got it right. I liked it that way. I liked not being boxed in.
But that world? That innocence? It’s fading. And it hurts.
I’ve watched with a heavy heart how the very question of “Where are you from?” now builds walls between us. Walls built on prejudice. On suspicion. On politics. On lies.
In Nigeria, I’ve seen how people cling to the idea of “state of origin” as if it were carved into stone. But it’s not. Our ancestors didn’t drop from the sky. They moved. They wandered. They settled. They left one land for another, again and again, until they found a place to call home. From there another offspring moved and found another land they could call their home.
I remember visiting riverine communities as a USAID M&E officer. The elders told me how their people, fishermen used to spend days near rivers far from their villages. So, they built huts. Then homes. Then brought their wives. Their children were born there. Years passed. Generations passed. And now, those children say, “This is where we are from.” And honestly, they’re right.
So tell me, what is “origin,” really?
If Ile-Ife Was the Start, Where Did Oduduwa Come From? Some say all Yoruba people came from Ile-Ife. Others whisper stories about Oduduwa coming from Arabia. I’ve even heard claims that the Igbos trace their roots to Israel.
And if you believe the Bible, then our first father was Adam and our first address? The Garden of Eden.
So again, I ask: if everyone is from somewhere else, why do we use “where you’re from” to divide, exclude, and judge
I’ve travelled. I’ve lived outside Nigeria. And let me say this clearly: I’ve never seen a place where ancestral origin holds this much power over people’s lives.
In most places, what matters is where you are born, not where your great-grandfather migrated from. A child born in Texas is American. A child born in London is British. A child born in Lagos should be Nigerian-Lagosian even not labeled a “settler.”
And yet in Nigeria, that same child might be told, “You’re not from here.”
Why?
We’ve Institutionalized Division. Look at our school admissions. Some children are denied entry not because they’re not smart, but because their “state of origin” has higher cut-off marks. Others are told they don’t “belong” in civil service jobs. In their own country.
Our Constitution enshrines this. “Federal Character” was meant to give everyone a fair shot. But now? It’s being used to tell people they’re not welcome in places they’ve lived their whole lives.
Even our politics is soaked in tribal identity. Parties pick candidates by zones, not merit. People vote based on language, not leadership. And when violence breaks out? It’s often neighbors turning on neighbors, all in the name of “origin.”
If We Changed One Law, Everything Could Change
Imagine a Nigeria where your identity comes from where you're born or where you grow up. Imagine a Nigeria where…
A Hausa boy born in Lagos is simply Lagosian.
A Yoruba girl raised in Enugu is considered Igbo by identity.
A Tiv child born in Port Harcourt is treated as a Rivers native.
Do you know what that would do? That would unite us. That would heal us. That would build families that reflect the beautiful blend of who we are.
My fear for the Southwest. We used to be admired. Loved. Respected. The bride of the nation. But today, I see other regions slowly pulling back. The warmth is turning cold. The trust is wearing thin.
Worse still, our youth, the ones who should be wiser are becoming tools in political hands. Chanting division. Spreading hate. And I fear: the seeds of tribalism we’re planting now may one day grow into trees too tall to chop down.
A time may come when no region will trust us again. When we’ll cry out about marginalization and wonder how it all slipped away.
I am proud to be Black. But not just because I’m Yoruba.
I am proud to be African. But not just because I’m from Lagos.
I am proud to be Nigerian. Because that name, Nigeria, carries the weight of all our tribes, all our languages, all our dreams.
Let’s Break the Cycle. What if we stopped asking “Where are you from?” and started asking “Where are you going?”
What if we raised our children not to carry the burden of tribal scars, but the hope of a united country?
What if we taught them that “home” is where you build your life, not just where your ancestors once lived?
That is the Nigeria I believe in. That is the Nigeria I still pray for.
You've said it all but we must first abolished umanna land in Igbo first,that culture of not selling that land breed division and segregation.
Finquas: Lagos is a no man land .. period. If sanwa olu likes he can rename Lagos " a Portuguese name to bear iragbiji.. it still won't change anything.. you can't use the resources of Nigeria to develop Lagos as former Capital and then come now to be talking of ownership.. No be juju be dat
The thing pain Osuruike and they can't do anything to change it
ibechris: Last time I travelled to my village,I saw many Yorubas in my village and I just laugh.
U see tribalism...a taylor in my hamlet from Ekiti state has a farm land he is farming on,he said he prays to find a woman to marry here.
He personally told me,his parents were against his decision to settle in the east but he never knew they were all wrong.
He was the one who sewed my dad's clothes during my aunty's burial.
In our community market,I met them plenty...but the way we IGBOS shield strangers,it is against our tradition and culture to endanger a sojourner in our land. That is why u will hear this saying in igbo land as a whole that "Onye ọbịa enweghị onye iro"
We protect strangers,guard them,feed them when necessary and fight our brothers and sisters because of them.
I am not making out words. That is igbos for u any day. We don't think of anyone dominating us,we believe in division of labour.
Those Yoruba you saw in your villages are first class citizen of Nigeria, respect them next time you see them.
Politics › Re: I Am Igbo! by CannibalEast: 1:19pm On Aug 07, 2025
