TheCable

BY ALOZIE IFEANYI

In the 20th century, decision making in Igbo land was through consensus. There were no kings, Monarchs or Figure Heads. When decisions were not reached through consensus, the Chief Priest who is seen as transparent, honest and unbiased will be called upon to make a final decision.

This system actually worked in the 20th century. It created a communal kindred spirit in Igbo land. There were no tussles for pride of place in Nigeria. The Igbo are by character strong, tolerant, competitive and ultra-democratic, highly individualistic with an excessive penchant for achievement and egalitarianism (Ekwunife, 1990).

Political Power in Igbo land is widely distributed almost pluralistic. There is no real authority that can control or sanction what anyone does. The Igbo society is divided into deeply antagonistic clans that cannot dominate one another. The power of one clan is constrained only by the guns of another. This distribution of power does not lead to inclusive institutions but to chaos, and at the root the lack of any political centralization. This leads to inability to enforce even the minimal amount of law and order to support economic activity, trade. The call for political centralization in Igbo land is a heart-felt cry. The last general election is a pointer to the current sored underbelly of Igbo political leadership. While there was centralized political power in the West and North, same was lacking in the East. The other group that practice decentralized power is Somalia. We need a rallying point, a higher authority either as an institution or individuals we all look up to. We must see politics as a game and stop attaching emotion and sentiment to it.

MENTORING

Our elders should be ready to groom willing youths in any chosen career. The idea of trampling on ambitious young ones should be vanished. Most of the current Igbo leaders in Aka Ikenga, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Igbo Leaders of Thought are between 70-100 years old. The current political atmosphere is hugely dynamic and these leaders are no longer in sync with global best practices so the need for a change of baton. The individualistic trait of the Igbo should be vanished as we compete outside of our space in National Politics. We have to start taking care of our own that they will take care of us.

EXPORTING

Importation is a greedy, selfish, unproductive business. It employs little or no persons. It creates no employment neither does it encourage distribution of wealth. We have to do more of exporting through local manufacturing. Igbo business men have to invest more on manufacturing than mere trading.

We Igbo have excelled very well in our chosen career, in entertainment, sport, academics. There is usually a trend of prejudice against enterprising groups in a country, where middlemen are an ethnically distinct group – the Chinese in South- East Asia, the East Indians in Uganda and the Jews all over the world. Our professionals currently in Law, Medicine, Engineering, Academics, Management, etc have been taken over by our brothers from the West. We have to create wealth and actively participate in corporate Nigeria through investment in stock and local manufacturing.

We are great people but we have to come back home and re-define ourselves as a people. We have to take our rightful place in the county but we need our best upfront.

The current crop of Igbo leaders need to be sacked. As long as they are concerned, nothing else matters if only they can grease their palms.

You can reach Ifeanyi via [email protected]