FreeIgbos:
Banana republic with timid government. Nigerian government can't even retaliate against ordinary Indonesia for treating its diplomat like a slave, shame!
Meanwhile, Yoruba culture has been exposed here 
Igbos and Yorubas are unarguably two of Nigeria's most globally recognized ethnic groups. They've excelled in many areas of human endeavors and locally, they tend to have divergent opinion in their worldviews which has been variously misinterpreted. However, this thread will lay bare the structural differences which many either do not know, sugar coat or outrightly deny for sundry reasons.
1. Igbos are natural democrats with a liberal worldview while Yorubas are heirachial and abhor democratic tendencies: This is one of the reasons why the two groups often clash rhetorically and accuse each other for being hateful and antagonistic. Yorubas have a culture stymied in "bambiala" reverence to fellow man while Igbos on the other hand believe that all men were born equal and one can become whatever they want if they work hard. This is at the core of what makes a character like Tinubu to thrive and assume a god status among Yorubas. But similar characters in Igboland will be derided. People like Rochas and Orji Uzor Kalu would have succeeded just like Tinubu if they were Yorubas in assuming a god status and similarly Tinubu wouldn't have succeeded in pocketing Lagos since 1999 if Lagos was an Igbo state. Igbos would have sent him packing after his statutory 8 years as governor!
Before Tinubu, we also had other Yorubas who were elevated to god status such as Awolowo and Abiola. During their lifetime, these same people were literally worshipped by Yorubas and it's not neccesarily because they sacrificed or did wonders for their people rather it was the bambiala culture that caused it. Igbos also had great leaders that sacrificed or did exceptionally well for them such as Michael Okpara, Ojukwu and Sam Mbakwe but they were only respected and never worshipped. Even when Ojukwu returned from exile to contest for elective positions in governance, he wasn't voted for out of principle! Sam Mbakwe, Ojukwu and Michael Okpara all retired to live out their old ages in peace but if they were in the West, just like Awolowo did, the bambiala culture will not only enable him to primitively accumulate wealth but will also make it easy for him to continue to call the shots till they die.
Igbos don't hate Tinubu as Yorubas wrongly believe rather they hate what he represents! Igbos have attacked Rochas and Orji Uzor Kalu more than they have attacked Tinubu. It amounts to idiotic reasoning to want Igbos not to criticize Tinubu when they form a significant percentage of the population in Lagos and pays tax yet same Tinubu is kneeling on the necks of everyone in Lagos by institutionalizing corruption in that state.
2. Igbos have a more principled worldview while Yorubas are fairweather in nature: Igbos are ready to swim and sink with whoever they align with but Yorubas will jump ship the moment they see you're sinking and I will give you examples. Ojukwu, GEJ, Nnamdi Kanu will suffice here. During the war, Igbos stood with Ojukwu even when they were blockaded and were being starved or bombed to death! Igbos stood with GEJ even when he came under scathing criticisms till the day he stepped down! Igbos have massively supported Nnamdi Kanu through thick and thin! The Igbos are reliable allies who stand by their word but Yorubas will change course when things get out of hand, and that's what they term "sophistication". Awolowo was quoted as saying, if Igbos should leave Nigeria, Yorubas will leave too. Earlier, same Awolowo called Nigeria a mere geographical expression. In essence, he never believed in the country. However, when Ojukwu took the initiative and presented an opportunity for Awolowo to have his dream Oduduwa republic, he chickened out and decided to stay neutral and watch which side will have the upper hand so he can team up with them. If Biafra had an upper hand, Awolowo would have teamed up with Ojukwu!
3. Igbos Hate Injustice/Oppression And They Always Voice Out But Yorubas Will Rather Suffer In Silence Just To Be Politically Correct: when you oppress Igbos, either as an Igbo man or outsider, they will wail, complain, vilify, criticize and do whatever they can to show their displeasure. In essence, they don't suffer fools gladly. Igbos don't hate Fulanis more than Yorubas or others in Nigeria but while others are willing to be closet haters just to avoid antagonising them, Igbos don't mind saying it with a microphone. Igbos never hated or verbally attacked Umaru Musa Yaradua (a core Fulani man) when he was president simply because they believed he was a good man. Now that's a food for thought!
4. Igbos Don't Mind Washing Their Dirty Linens In Public If That Would Bring Change But Yorubas Will Rather Allow Keep Mum To Avoid Embarrassment: When the Orji's allowed Aba to rot, with bad roads and filth everywhere. Igbos didn't try to hide it to avoid embarrassment instead they began a campaign of exposing the rot in Aba. In Facebook, nairaland, Twitter etc, we were assaulted with disgusting pictures of terrible looking roads which others didn't waste to start mocking us with. However, the onslaught against the state government started paying dividends now go to those roads now, particularly Ngwa/School road, P.H road, Eziukwu etc that used to be an eyesore and you won't believe how neat they are now. The governor must had sleepless nights with all those attacks he faced! Now, let's draw a parallel again. Aba is to Abia State what Sango/Ota is to Ogun State. Today, Sango/Ota has some of the worst roads you can think of in Nigeria, if not the world but Yorubas will rather keep calm, suffer silently and even attack anyone that tries to expose the rot in that town. Even within the almighty Lagos too, there are lots of terrible roads and disgusting environment but anyone trying to expose it will come under attack by Yorubas who either don't want to be embarrassed or because they feel no one should question their leader.
Should Nigeria divide today, I can bet you that Oduduwa will have sit tight rulers that will make the likes of Paul Biya and Mugabe green envy while Igbos will practice a very vibrant democracy with no room for sit tight rulers. Just two points, OP Igbos are plutocrats. Yoruba traditional culture supports an amalgam of monarchy & democracy, never feudalism It was Ojukwu's war from start to finish and never yours, you Igbos did not stand by him, you had no choice but to endure the war because the lot of you were massacred/expelled anywhere you dared show your flat faces outside the southeast. Ojukwu eventually Biafrans to their fate, so much for the legendary fealty of the Igbo people. |
