“You may not even be aware that this narrative you help in spreading is caused by Igbophobia. Most people don’t even know that they engage in Igbophobia unconsciously. “
“Igbos don’t love themselves.”
“Igbos can’t speak with one voice.”
“Igbos are their own enemies.”
“Igbos put their eggs in one basket.”
“Igbos are too emotional.”
Sadly, Igbos have been blackmailed with these expressions since losing the War that many have even accepted them as true.
In 1999 Jim Nwobodo contested the PDP primaries with Ekwueme and got a few votes. It is still being used to taunt Igbos that they work against one another and hate one another. Meanwhile since independence till today other ethnic groups have done worse than that.
In 1983, Tunji Braithwaite contested against Awo, while Aminu Kano and Waziri Ibrahim contested against Shagari. No Igbo man contested against Zik.
In 2007 Buhari contested against Yar’Adua his fellow Fulani from same state. He refused to attend the National Council of State meetings under Yar’Adua. He asked that Yar’Adua be impeached when he was sick. Atiku, another Fulani man, was also in that contest against Yar’Adua. None of them stepped down for the other. It was not an issue.
Buhari, Kwankwaso, and Ribadu all contested against Jonathan in 2011. None of them stepped down for one of them to challenge Jonathan. They all lost consequently.
Please in which ethnic group don’t you see people betray one another or disagree with one another? Who were the biggest opponents of Jonathan? Were they not South south people led by Rotimi Amaechi, John Oyegun, Adams Oshiomhole, etc?
El-Rufai was the fiercest opponent of Yar’Adua. Same Fulani. He had to go on exile until Yar’Adua died. Nuhu Ribadu was haunted by Yar’Adua until he went into exile. He came back under Jonathan.
Bola Ige and Falae contested the AD ticket in 1999. Falae was chosen. Bola Ige got so angry that he virtually left AD and Adenifere and teamed up with Obasanjo. Meanwhile Falae contested against Obasanjo, lost, went to court, lost too, but never forgave Obasanjo for that.
Who were the people who worked most against Abiola’s mandate? From Obasanjo to Shonekan to Alaafin to Arisekola Alao to Oladipo Diya to Abimbola Davies etc?
So where is the truth in this constant attempt to portray Igbos as peculiar in negativity?
You may not even be aware that this narrative you help in spreading is caused by Igbophobia. Most people don’t even know that they engage in Igbophobia unconsciously.
It is the same way Jews were demonized in Europe for centuries until the Holocaust occurred.
The Jews were all over Europe like the Igbos are all over Nigeria doing business. They were seen as overbearing on the people and labelled as the cause of everything wrong in Europe. Shakespeare created the Shylock character for them. Martin Luther asked that they all be killed. after holocaust, Israel replanted and today, while surrounded by enemies, they stand tall.
They are like a Dot in middle east but their value which came from their focus on internal development and mastering everything as well as intelligence, manufacturing etc, is high enough that USA and Europe have to pally them and dare not ignore them
Igbos have fought a war and lost. So it is easy to create stories about them to show them that they are peculiar.
Please emancipate yourself from this. There is nothing peculiarly wrong with the Igbos or Yorubas or Edos, etc. What happens among them is simple human nature
