OHANEZE, IGBO LEADERS OF THOUGHTLESSNESS

A group of Igbos have banded together under the Ohaneze banner and have arrogated to themselves, the appellation, Igbo Leaders of Thought. A more apt description would be Igbo Leaders of Thoughtlessness.

A governor or more appropriately mis-governor of Abia State rusticates all Igbo employees whose forebears are from other Igbo States but were born, bred, and see themselves as Abians, from the state’s civil service. Ohaneze keeps mum. How is this Governor Theodore Orji different from Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of Northern Region, who would not hire any Igbo into the civil service of the then Northern Region?

Now I understand why all these leaders of thoughtlessness, some of whom were politically active during the quest for independence, did not protest the lumping of disparate entities into an amorphous country named Nigeria. They would do to their Igbo-speaking brethren, what Ahmadu Bello did to the Igbos. A similar event was witnessed after the creation of Enugu State. Theodore Orji, after his heinous act, continued to chair the South East Governors Forum. What a shame!

In the Diaspora, there are a myriad of organizations all claiming to represent the Igbos. Ohaneze loves this arrangement because it means more opportunities to gallivant the globe without any tangible accomplishments.

In America, there are two WICs (World Igbo Congress), IWA (Igbo World Assembly), CISA (Council of Igbo States in America), and who knows what the next organization will be? The grapevine suggests it will be WCIFC (World Council of Igbo Fake Chiefs). All these competing organizations claim to represent the Igbos and hold competing yearly conventions during which Ohaneze and invited Governors give highfalutin speeches. Ohaneze should demand a merger of all organizations, in an exercise to be supervised by Ohaneze, and conducted in Igbo land. If the organizations fail to comply, the ring leaders will be sanctioned or possibly ostracized.

What has Ohaneze done about the indiscriminate creation of autonomous communities out of villages and hamlets in Imo State? To add more maggots to the already festering wound, fake ezes are crowned and imposed on these communities. No self-respecting Igbo would want to be an autonomous eze (eze onye agwanam*,) so only confidence artists (419 and 914**), robbers, and kidnappers clamor for such dubious ezeship. Ohaneze is yet to condemn this wanton rape of Igbo cultural traditions.

If the Igbos do not put their house in order, it will be difficult to fight outsiders who hate the Igbos because of the Igbo spirit of innovation, resilience, hard work, and tolerance. The mad pursuit of money for money’s sake is the greatest Igbo problem. Money without accomplishments, that will outlive you, is useless. Mo Ibrahim, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Mark Zuckerberg are all using their money to change the world. The Igbo moneybags are busy buying luxury cars, taking worthless titles, marrying several wives, building ostentatious castles, and trying to subvert society. The rest of the money is hidden under their mattresses or left to rot in unidentifiable bank deposits abroad.

Igbos wake up and save your tribe from imminent extinction. Igbos born in Igbo land cannot speak the language but speak garbled English in the name of enlightenment. Another shameful act! It is even more shameful when Igbos claim Jewish ancestry but behave like the people of Jericho. If care is not taken, Igbos will go the way of Jericho!

What is Ohaneze doing to preserve the Igbo language, culture, and arts? Nothing, except fighting for positions in Ohaneze so they can enrich themselves by selling out Igbo interests for their selfish interests. Is there an Igbo Festival, courtesy of Ohaneze? The answer is a resounding No. Given the antecedents of Ohaneze, Africastallestman yearns for a return to the days of the Igbo State Union that truly protected Igbo interests, just like the Jewish Defense League.

Footnotes.
*A king who is unaccountable (autonomous) to anyone. Transliterated it means a king who does not listen to anybody.
**Named after section 419 in the Nigerian criminal code, for confidence fraudsters. 914 is my creation. It is an advanced type of 419 employing digital technology and hacking.