How Young Nigerian Girls With Unwanted Pregnancies Are Forced Into Marrying Older Men, Women

 BY CHIKA MEFOR-NWACHUKWU

PREMIUM TIMES

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In some parts of South-Eastern Nigeria, there exists a tradition that encourages the families of young girls who get unwantedly pregnant to force them into marrying older men or women.

“My husband died a year after we got married,” began Chinwe Eze (not real name), a young mother of three who told the story of how she was forced into marriage when she fell pregnant for the young man that rejected her pregnancy. “I was 16 then, and he was 65.”

“My husband died on the 3rd of December, 2011,” she explained further, pointing to the wall of her sparsely decorated living room where the date ‘3/12/2011’ was written with white chalk as if to constantly remind her of the death of the elderly man whom she got married to but barely knew.

Chinwe’s countenance, as she narrated her story, was that of one who has resigned to the fate life had thrown at her. She was only a teenager living with her uncle and his wife at Aba in Abia State, South-eastern Nigeria when she was put in the family way.

“My mother was selling okpa (a traditional Igbo food). She used the little money she made to take care of me and my five siblings. My father had no job, so he left everything for my mother to do. And since she couldn’t take care of all of us with her meagre income, she sent us to our relatives to live with them,” she narrated.

Chinwe, who hails from Ezinifite in Anambra State, was sent to stay with her uncle when she was ten. Six years later, a twenty-year-old trade apprentice impregnated her. He accepted the pregnancy but wondered how he, a “boy-boy” (an apprentice), could take care of a pregnant girl. Chinwe’s uncle accepted the N20,000 that the apprentice could raise and bundled her back home to her mother.

“They brought me back home to my parents and my family insisted that I must get married. I refused, but they warned that if I put to bed at home, that I and the baby would have it rough as there was no money to look after us. I had to accept one of the elderly men who came seeking my hand in marriage. He was a widower whose wife died without giving him any issue. I was five months pregnant then,” she narrated.

Chinwe gave birth to her son four months later but the celebration of her childbirth was cut short when her elderly husband died. He was a sickly man whose family desperately wanted him to have an heir before dying; in a society that promotes male ascendancy.

After his death, Chinwe decided to return to her father’s house since her late husband’s family was not treating her nicely. She however did not get that succour she craved in her father’s house.

“My mother was still struggling. I tried to join her in the okpa business but things were not working. My late husband’s family started pressurizing me to come back. I weighed the two options and decided to go back,” she added.


But the option Chinwe took came with a price. Her husband’s family promised to take care of her and her son in exchange for her breeding more babies for her late husband.

“They told me that one of my husband’s brothers would be the one to be sleeping with me. I had to do as they instructed. I now have two more children, a boy and a girl,” she further narrated.

For eleven years, Chinwe, now 27, has had no life of her own as she survives on the little income her husband’s family provides her with. She explained that she wanted to start a business but her family opposed the decision.

“I was learning how to sew when I first got pregnant. Now, even if I want to go back to the trade, who will sign the agreement for me? Who will pay for my training when my husband’s brother seems not to care?” she asked rhetorically.

Chinwe’s life mirrors the condition of many other girls who were forced into marriage on account of “unwanted” pregnancies. These hapless girls have become easy prey to elderly men and even women who desperately want to have their own heirs. They are unceremoniously married off to such people to breed babies for them. In some parts of South-east Nigeria, this practice is seen as normal due to the elevated status given to the male child by customs and traditions.

Randomly sampled opinions across South-eastern Nigeria suggest a woman in the region is duly recognised and is customarily elevated by virtue of her birthing at least one male child. And this makes her fulfilled as she would be accorded more respect than her counterparts who are unable to achieve the same.

In Bondage

While Chinwe was in her own case forced into an unceremonious marriage, Ngozi Asogwa (not real name) was deceived into it. A native of Nsukka in Enugu State, Ngozi got pregnant at the age of 17 in 2016. Her family accepted to marry her off to a man whom she had never seen before. The sister to the said husband approached Ngozi’s family members and told them that her brother had asked her to act on his behalf. Even while they were sceptical about the whole affair, the woman persuaded them to accept the offer by insisting that her brother who resided in Onitsha was busy with his business and would be back as soon as he could.

The woman then came with her family members and performed the marital rites, and months later, Ngozi gave birth to a baby girl. The woman then returned and took her and the baby to her own home where they were to stay and wait for the arrival of the supposed husband. Two years went by, and no husband showed up. This got Ngozi and her family members worried. In spite of this, the woman continued to calm them with the same tale of the man being busy in Onitsha. One day, Ngozi managed to get hold of her supposed husband’s phone number and called him, and that was how she got the shock of her life.







“The man told me that he knew nothing about me and the baby. He then informed me that he was already married. That was how we got to know that the said man had been married for years with no issue and that his sister, the one that approached my family, wanted desperately to help him get children,” she narrated in tears.

Now, Ngozi wants out of the sham marriage but the woman who paid her supposed bride price is insisting that Ngozi’s family must pay back the whole money she spent for the marriage, including the bride price, she said.

“She told my family that we will have to pay her N273,000. Where will I get such money from? I am in bondage right now, and I don’t know how to free myself from it,” she lamented.

Ngozi who is only 22 is now determined to start a new life, but with the issue of the unpaid money still hounding her about, she has not been able to move on.

“If I go back there, the next thing is for them to insist that I give them more babies and they won’t even care how I make the babies. That is not what I want for my life. Any man that comes for me will run away because of this issue. The woman is heartless. She should at least collect a little sum of money and let me be,” she lamented.

Ngozi’s brother, Michael Eze, said “all we want” is money to pay off the woman holding his sister.

Many girls who get pregnant while still with their guardians are not only forced into marrying elderly men but also women who are in desperate need of children, especially male children. A research work published in the Pan-African Studies journal of 2012, revealed that woman-to-woman marriages in Igbo Land were not contracted in response to the sexual emotions or attractions of the couples, but simply as an instrument for the preservation and extension of patriarchy and its traditions.
Sleeping with random men to breed babies

Kosarachi Amadi, a native of Umunachi in Anambra State, was forced to marry a woman at age 15.

“I wasn’t really forced per se,” she said. “I just looked at my condition and decided to jump into the marriage. My mother gave birth to me when she was 14. She wasn’t married then. Growing up, I knew I wasn’t accepted in my family. So, when I got pregnant, I decided to find a home for my baby. I didn’t want the baby to pass through what I went through.”

Kosarachi explained that the young man who impregnated her was only 16 at the time and could not take care of her. His family was not interested. So, when an elderly woman approached her family for her hand in marriage, she hurriedly accepted.

The woman in question had lost her husband some years back and had no children, so she married Kosarachi to “fill her compound with children”. Kosarachi further revealed that she slept with any young man that appealed to her and eventually had six more children for the woman that married her.







“Although I was still young, I understood what I was there for. Mama (the woman that married her) didn’t care where the children come from. All she wanted was to have so many of them, and she takes care of us. So, what do I care?” she asked rhetorically.


She however lamented that with her kind of lifestyle, she has had to treat sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) several times.
More challenges for girls forced into marriage

Chioma Okeke, the Executive Director of Shoulder for Gender Support and Development Initiative (SGSDI) in Anambra State, who has worked with girls that were forced into such marriages, revealed that these girls are prone to diseases and that they easily spread it because they sleep with multiple partners.

She added that many of them are living in abject poverty and have had their lives muddled up by the situation.

“It is pathetic! Many of the women who have passed through this condition are elderly now, but they are still in pain. Yet the society is still condoning this sort of thing. I feel the women involved should come out and speak up against a practice that destroyed their childhood,” she said.
Why do such marriages persist?

Mrs Okeke attributed the reason for the continuity of this sort of marriage to the culture of the people which mandates that every child “must have a father whose name he will bear.”

“They will tell you that it is against their culture to have an illegitimate child in their house. They maintain that every child must have a father,” she said.

She added that the solution to this concern is to ensure that there is a drastic reduction or outright elimination of cases of unwanted pregnancies in the area since the menace is clearly skewed against girls who fall pregnant unwantedly. She then advocated that sex education be taught to children early enough at home as that would help expose them to the realities of their life. She expressed worry over the fact that many families are still uneducated and uninformed about sex-related issues which eventually translates to their children not knowing much about sex education.

“Some families see it as a taboo to discuss these issues with their children. It was so in our time. Nobody taught us. My mother then would tell me that if any man crossed my leg, I would get pregnant because I had just started menstruating. This was the type of education we got from our mothers. It is a pity that this later generation is doing the same. They should wake up!” she said.

Mrs Okeke harped on the need for everyone in the South-east of Nigeria, including religious and community leaders, to speak up against the practice because it negatively impacts not only the girls but on everyone in the society.

“When it is happening to other people, you will think it has nothing to do with you. Your husband, son, or brother might be one of the people sleeping with these girls, and he will bring the infection or disease back to you. We have to come out and speak up,” she said.
Is it Culture?

In an interview, Nnadozie Anene, an 80-year-old community leader in Abatete, Anambra State, explained that the practice has been in existence long before he was born. He stated that because the Igbo tradition places a higher premium on the boy-child over the girl-child, such practices would continue to exist.

On why many girls with unwanted pregnancies are pushed into early marriages, the octogenarian said that children born out of wedlock are usually treated disdainfully and that to prevent that and ensure that such children (particularly the boys) are not born illegitimately, such marriages are contracted.

“The young girl is forced to marry, sometimes even to a woman who doesn’t have any children, so that the girl’s child will become hers and be eligible for some rights and properties in the family of his adopter,” he said.

Also speaking on the same issue, another community leader from Nibo in Anambra State, Patrick Okpala, added that such a practice varies from community to community.

“In my hometown in Nibo, we accept a girl and her pregnancy because one cannot tell what the child would become in future,” he asserted.

Mr Okpala however added that sometimes, it is because of the uncertainty of the child’s destiny that some families do not allow the child to be born into their homes as such a child could, for instance, grow into a very prosperous person and even outshine the male siblings of the pregnant girl and command more respect.

“There is currently a case in my village where such children are struggling for the ownership of land with their mother’s siblings. They have become wealthier and are insisting on getting the same share of land as the legitimate children in the family,” he narrated.
What the government is doing

The Co-Chair of Anambra State Child’s Rights Law Implementation Committee (ASCRIC), Hope Okoye, stated that the committees are working assiduously to ensure that practices that violate the Child Rights Law and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law are eliminated in the state.

Mrs Okoye, who is also the Coordinator of the VAPP Law Implementation Committee in Anambra, said they were working with the local governments and community leaders to set up a response team that would ensure that gender-based violence of any form is eradicated and that justice is served to the survivors.

“We are also planning on identifying endemic communities where child marriage is prevalent so that we will carry out sensitization on the provisions of the Child Right Law and the VAPP Law. We take advantage of the existing platforms and liaise with communities and then sensitize them. Sometimes, we go to their market and churches to create the awareness,” she added.

Mrs Okoye, who is also the Executive Director of the Integrated Anti-Human Trafficking and Community Development Initiative (IATCDI), urged families whose daughters had unwanted pregnancies and are finding it difficult to take care of the babies, to give them out in adoption.

“The Ministry of Women Affairs is responsible for facilitating the processes of adopting a child. There are people who are ready to officially adopt a child through the ministry. The ministry still reserves the right to revoke the adoption if anything goes wrong. People are ignorant of these facts, and that is the reason they would want to push out their girls with unwanted pregnancies,” she concluded.

Obiara Kara… He That Must Dominate

BY TONY IWUOHA

SUN NEWS ONLINE 

I have a grouse against Ndigbo. I am Igbo, so I have a grouse against myself too. We are fools, by choice.

There is this wild plant, which my limited knowledge of botany fails me to identify properly. However, my people call it Awolowo (I don’t know why) or obiara kara. It grows too fast and speedily occupies any expanse of land where it sprouts. Obiara kara means the one that comes to dominate.

That is where the Igbo foolishness begins. They are obiara kara, who come into other people’s land and begin to dominate. They assume a sense of worth and become overlords in a strange land, expanding to the left and to the right; front and back. They leave their father’s land in tatters and build up other people’s lands.

Strangely, their hosts never invest in anything in Igbo land. They make their money there and go home to invest in their own lands. But not so for the foolish Igbo. He feels at home anywhere he goes, not minding that Nigeria is not home for him. I’m not talking about nebulous Biafra, mind you; I am just saying east or west, home is the best. I am saying nowhere is a man safer than in his father’s house or community.

However, the Igbo go offshore to places like Lagos which they stupidly believe is no-man’s land. They buy up swamps, even rivers, fill them up and build mansions. They maintain their own roads, as deliberately ignored by the host governments . They feel they have arrived and even begin to have weird political aspirations, dictating who rules the area. And, as witnessed in the last election in Lagos, they are given brutal lessons on how not to behave in another man’s land.

There was an outcry in Lagos recently when the Federal Housing Authority, FHA, demolished some property belonging to the Igbo. The reason given is that the buildings were built on unapproved sites or not approved at all.

On the face of it, the demolishers are right. Nobody should build on unauthorised locations. However, the question is where these authorities were when the buildings were being constructed. Where were they when the builders were paying certain bills as regards the building, such as tenement rate?

It would be interesting to know how shops and business places built by government, local or state, and sold to the Igbo are also often demolished as illegal structures. This is not the first time this is happening to Igbo property. Sadly, the foolish Igbo would still pay for the cyclic demolitions, even if they shift to another place.

We need to properly situate one thing. The Igbo are Nigerians, no doubt, but they need to apply common sense like other Nigerians. Part of the argument against the Biafra quest is that the Igbo would lose their humongous investments offshore. This fear is not unfounded even though it is not enough to enslave a people for life. However, the question is if the Igbo really need Biafra to survive and whether Bifara would heal their foolishness, as further evidenced in the destruction of the Biafra economy by locking it down. There is definitely much to think about, as there is no wisdom in burning down the Biafra space they want to enthrone. Is there really no better way to Igbo renaissance than confronting the hyena with bare hands?

The non-discerning spirit of the Igbo makes them vulnerable. They invest heavily in property outside their homeland but are envied by those who sell to them, later lamenting that the Igbo are taking over their land. Thereafter, under different guises, the Igbo are dispossessed of the properties but never willing to learn from history, they keep on buying and losing to the unofficial Nigerian policy to checkmate them economically.

It makes sense to encourage Ndigbo to invest in their lands. The reasons they are not doing so are justifiable fears but regardless of those fears, it is still safer to invest at home.

Contributing to the contentious debate, Chief Pascal Egerue, an insurance guru and president of Nsu Elite Congress, a think tank for Nsu town in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State weighed into the matter.

According to him: “Where aku (wealth) resides depends on return on investment and entry and exit purpose. We didn’t take wealth to these cities but just our brains and skills. For those that have made money, exit strategy is important but should never be a total exit as long as you still have reasonable returns. Convertibility is more important.”

On the clamour for Igbo people to invest at home, Egerue said “it is a risk that has to also be properly evaluated so that you don’t on the altar of uneconomic altruistic consideration lose the little you have.”

He itemised some of the “obvious and hidden risks in investing at home, which need dispassionate discussion as:

The Omonile system whereby the traditional rulers look the other way while the youths in their domain chase away investors through all manners of illegal taxes; property devolution problems and issues and cost of acquisition of property in the South-east, which is far higher than acquiring the same in some places in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt where the appreciation is higher.

He identified the reason cost of land is high to the effects of ‘Ego mbute ‘ (proceeds of frauds) and Diaspora money as well politicians that want to create illusions of industrialisation and employment generation and have the fund to buy off any land in town at irresistibly high cost, among many others.

Egerue also noted some of the hidden risks, most of which we must bear in mind, including urban status of some communities; unfortunate lack of skilled and honest labour in the rural communities; lack of patience and staying power by the youths, who would rather plot their exit from day one by being dishonest in whatsoever assignment you give them because of the notion that the investor has too much money and the opportunity has come for them to take their own; dangerous gossips in the village about any person they consider affluent, heaping everything on the person’s head, such as labeling him a ritualist and cultist or that he has blood money and all manners of idiotic things.

He pointed out that all these would likely get worse, as mkpurummiri (crystal meth) enters the stage, with its attendant disruptions and restlessness, which has laid a siege to Igbo land and unfathomable carnage.

I do not agree any less with Egerue when he said: “We Igbo are most times victims of our attitude. FHA allocated buildings in Festac and made specifications. Our Igbo young men bought up all the buildings and spaces and turned them into eye popping mansions. Why won’t jealousy and vindictive attitude set in to antagonize them?

“The question we need to ask ourselves is this, with all their billions of Naira and dollars, where are the mansions owned by the Indians, Lebanese and Chinese in this country? Most of the time, we Igbo invite what comes to us. It is important that we begin to order very well our priorities. We also need to recover our culture of prudence and humility so that our enemies will look away from us while we burrow into the economy, get much of it and invest in saner climates where ever it is.”

The most plausible thing for the Igbo to do is to soberly reflect on their lot in this country and shorn themselves of all proclivities to loquacious acts that expose them to hate and targeted malice. They should cut down on their investments offshore while we the South-east governors should collaborate on a regional level and in concert with state lawmakers, evolve policies that would make the region investment-friendly.

The security challenge must be addressed frontally and those claiming to be fighting for Biafra must not drive away investors through self-atrophying campaigns. No reasonable person sets fire to the roof of his father’s house and expects his enemy to help him to put it out. Rather than do that, the elated enemy would rather seize the opportunity to pour gasoline on the raging inferno. That is why the Igbo is fast becoming a scorched earth and inclement for investment whether by sons of the soil or outsiders.

The Mkpuru Mmiri Scourge In The South-East

TRIBUNE EDITORIAL

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ONE of the many lucid indications that Nigeria is ebbing dangerously into a dysfunctional society is the pervasive use of illicit drugs by many of its young people. There is hardly any geopolitical zone in the country where the use of one type of illicit drug or another is not a veritable issue of concern. It is a grave development that has the potential to imperil the country’s future. Currently, many communities in the South-East are reportedly grappling with the pernicious effects of the consumption of an illicit drug called mkpuru mmiri in the local parlance, which in literal translation in Igbo language means ‘seeds of water’. The pharmaceutical name of the illicit drug is methamphetamine and its use has been linked to various aberrant, anti-social and criminal behaviours by some young people in the zone. Cases of young boys raping grandmothers are on the rise, an indication that life has really broken down and moral values have become warped and twisted in that part of the country.

The drug is also believed to be a booster to the unknown gunmen whose level of atrocities in the South-East have become quite concerning locally and internationally. In other words, there seems to be a correlation between the use of illicit drugs and the spate of youth restiveness in the zone. Also, quite an intolerable number of young people in some Igbo communities are said to be having mental issues which tend to impair the quality of their decisions, judgments and actions because of their consumption of the drug. Thus, young people hitherto reputed for being diligent and meticulous at weighing various options before making decisions now seem to have become junkies, largely unconscious of their environment and lacking the mental capacity to evaluate the likely consequences of their decisions and actions. They are now uncharacteristically prone to violence and susceptible to taking precipitate actions because of paranoia and the hallucinatory effects of the use of narcotics, notably mkpuru mmiri.

Worse still, this prohibited drug seems to be readily available, very ‘potent’ and somewhat cheaper than some other hard drugs in its class. And that perhaps accounts for its popularity among young people in the zone. Again, there are indications that many of the laboratories that produce the dangerous drug are located in the South-East and they are reportedly owned by some members of Mexican drug cartels which came to set up the laboratories in the country in 2016. It should, therefore, not be surprising that the deleterious effects of drug use and abuse are palpable in the zone

In trade and commerce, the people of the South-East are arguably the most proficient and enterprising segment of the Nigerian society. It is rather sad that many of the young people in that part of the country have now embraced the destructive culture of illicit drug consumption that promises to dampen their otherwise impressive productivity and whittle down their economic importance if corrective actions are not taken swiftly to contain the menace. And that will be in addition to the consequences on the society of the ongoing wanton destruction of life and property in that part of Nigeria being orchestrated by misguided youths, most probably under the influence of narcotics. Unfortunately, while it is pretty easy to start the use of illicit drugs and become addicted, combating the threat of drug addiction is not a piece of cake, especially for a narcotic like mkpuru mmiri that can be accessed by users with relative ease. Thus, pragmatic solutions, far beyond mere rhetoric, outcries, lamentations and press releases will be required to rein in the scourge of mkpuru mmiri in the South-East.

There should be an all-of-society approach that will bring on board all stakeholders, including the family, religious, traditional and community leaders, and officials of the subnational governments to chart a new course out of the extant quagmire. We note the outcry by leaders of different hues to check the scourge of mkpuru mmiri but they will need to up their ante as the menace has continued to burgeon despite their efforts to curtail it. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is also called upon to increase the tempo of its law enforcement activities in the South-East with a special focus on this narcotic. It must locate and destroy all the laboratories producing the drug, cut the supply chain, and make the felons behind its production and trafficking to face the wrath of the law.

Just as we recommend concerted actions by the relevant stakeholders to combat the use of illicit drugs, we also recommend the same for tackling socioeconomic issues such as youth unemployment which, to a large extent, birthed the consumption of narcotics among the youth to begin with. For many youths, the consumption of hard drugs, including mkpuru mmiri, is their own way of escaping from the frustration and hopelessness staring them in the face within the socioeconomic environment. For instance, a crop of gainfully employed young people and those who can see positive indications that they would be ultimately employed are most unlikely to indulge in illicit drug use. What obtains now is a quintessential case of an idle mind becoming the devil’s workshop. And of course, it is axiomatic that poor people who strongly believe that they have nothing to lose now or in the future would not mind to taking precipitate actions.

Truth be told, the current efforts aimed at stopping the use of mkpuru mmiri can only provide transient respite from the consequences of hard drugs use in the South-East. An enduring panacea to the scourge of illicit drugs in the zone and elsewhere in the country will depend largely on how effectively all tiers of government work in concert with other stakeholders to address the socioeconomic factors that made the consumption of narcotics attractive to the youth in the first place. No amount of official application of force to control the use of illicit drugs among the youth will be efficacious as long as socioeconomic circumstances within the domestic economy continue to force the majority of them to become or remain non-economic actors.

Notes On Igbophobes, Igbo-Haters And Igbomaniacs (2)

BY DOUGLAS ANELE

Douglas Anele

Most Nigerians do not know that at independence and before Alhaji Tafawa Balewa’s government began implementing the merit-destroying northernisation policy Igbo people also dominated the officer corps of the Nigerian army whereas northerners populated the junior ranks and Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) cadres.

The historian, Max Siollun, in his book Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria’s Military Coup Culture (1966-1976), corroborates this when he reports that “in the ethnic stratification of the officer corps, between 65-70% of the army majors were Igbo.”

Expectedly the northernisation programme led to a steep drop in the quality of new intakes into the army as northern leaders insisted on an ethnic quota system of recruitment. As a result 60% was given to the north, 15% each to the eastern and western regions, while the remaining 10% went to the mid-west.

That is not all: the British colonial administration ensured that the bulk of critical military infrastructure and installations were located in the northern region, which consolidated the military advantage of northern Nigeria over the south. Alexander Madiebo, in his highly informative work, The Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran War, draws attention to the potential dangers of citing most military installations in one region.

He also informs that “in the name of ‘ethnic balance’ military hospitals were staffed with doctors trained in Kano for about three years in preference to doctors of southern Nigeria origin with internationally recognised diplomas.”

The warning by Madiebo about the lopsided military installations in the north played out with deadly effect during the civil war as the newly formed Republic of Biafra under Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu from the very beginning could not muster up to one-tenth of the military resources available to the Nigerian side.

After the war, successive northern military dictators reinforced the policy of exclusion against Ndigbo in the army which ensured that the Igbo never returned to the enviable position they occupied before the quota system of recruitment was introduced.

Northern consolidation of its stranglehold on the military, including the exclusionary attitude of post-war military governments towards Igbo people,is understandable. One of the proximate consequences of armed conflictis that extremists amongst the victors always insist on treating the defeated side with negative triumphalist impunity in order to exact maximum revenge, a situation that encourages animosity and lays the psychological foundation for future conflict.

At any rate, it is not surprising that a sizeable number of Ndigbo still bear grudges against northerners and the Yoruba for the genocidal Biafran war whereas most Igbo-haters are convinced that the Igbo deserve whatever ill treatment they have been getting for the same reason, all of which are inimical to the growth of genuine national consciousness and feeling of oneness in the country. In my opinion, for Igbo people generally the deep psychological wounds of the civil war have not completely healed more than fifty-one years after it ended.

An important point Igbophobes and Igbo-haters often overlook when accusing Ndigbo of dominating everywhere in the 1950s and 1960s before the second military coup is that the Igbo got their preeminent positions largely on merit.


In other words, it was not the outcome of an arbitrary quota system implemented to favour Igbo people in particular. That is why there is no documented evidence of a discriminatory arrangement or quota system which gave them undue advantage over members of other ethnic groups, unlike the northernisation policy we talked about earlier which was deliberately and decidedly pro-north.

Let me say it without equivocation: Ndigbo as a group have a reputation for industry, hard work and hunger (some say obsession) for individual success rooted in self-confidence and can-do attitude.Any non-Igbo reading this will probably dismiss my claim as prejudice arising from ethnic chauvinism.

But the facts are there and the truth should not be concealed or coated with politically correct platitudes to create a false impression of belief in One Nigeria or just because those who dislike Ndigbo for no good reason might not be comfortable with it.

More than members of any other ethnic group in Nigeria Ndigbo are everywhere contributing substantially to the development of their places of domicile. In most major towns and cities outside Igboland, after the indigenes Igbo people come second demographically and in terms of building meaningful lives for themselves and others living in the same area.

If you do not believe what I just said then ask yourself this question: What would Abuja, Ibadan, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos and other prominent towns across Nigeria have been without the Igbo? The honest answer is that those cities would be emaciated shadows of what they are right now.

That is the main reason why Prof. Tekena Tamuno, the noted historian, describes Ndigbo as the makers of modern Nigeria. To reiterate: generally the Igbo, sometimes referred to as the Jews of Africa, are the most industrious, success-driven, ambitious and resilient people in Nigeria.

Of course, this does not mean that every Igbo has the right combination of these qualities or that the attributes in question are non-existent in the Fulani, Hausa, Kanuri, Nupe and so on. There are industrious and lazy people in all ethnic groups, but Igbo culture seems to be more radioactive to indolence or persistent laziness in individuals than the rest.

But what is responsible for the Igbo character, that is, the ensemble of attributes that made Ndigbo stand out and succeed acrossNigeria despite daunting challenges? Prof. Chinua Achebe provides an insight into the issue when he explains that aside from their numerical strength “Igbo culture, individualistic and highly competitive, gave the Igbo man an unquestioned advantage over his compatriots in securing credentials for advancement in Nigerian colonial society.

Unlike the Hausa [and the] Fulani he was unhindered by a wary religion, and unlike the Yoruba he was unhampered by traditional hierarchies. This kind of creature, fearing no god or man, was custom-made to grasp opportunities, such as they were, of the white man’s dispensations.”

What Achebe is describing here can be rendered in more prosaic terms as the behavioural and psychological advantage a typical Igbo derives from the social character of Igbo peoplein general or, in other words, the essential core of the character structure of majority of Ndigbo which emerged from the basic experiences and mode of life common to the people themselves.

Without any iota of doubt there are many Igbo with a different character structure from what was referred to a moment ago as the Igbo character. Still, the personal character of such a deviantis a variation of the essential general character traits and arises from the accidental variables of birth and life experiences as they differ from one individual to another. The same thing, that is, the phenomenon of deviancy, applies mutatis mutandis to members of other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.

Notwithstanding the intellectual and psychological advantage Igbo culture confers on the individual which promotes the drive for success and achievement, a serious weakness in the Igbo character which sometimes threaten to overshadow the positive attributes deserves serious attention.

Experts in the relevant disciplines affirm that there is a natural inclination for successful human beings to be arrogant, condescending to the less successful, unduly overbearing, and blind to their own weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

employed in the north. As we observed earlier, after the Biafran war members of the dominant faction of the northern conservative military-civilian establishment in the corridors of power continued the Sardauna’s apartheid policy against the Igbo.

For them, Ndigbo are lower class citizens that should ingratiate themselves before Fulani caliphate colonialists in order to make any headway economically and politically at the federal level, and the obnoxious quota system was a readymade tool for that.

Apparently without lowering standards it would have been virtually impossible for northernersto compete and outperform Ndigbo in various aspects of human endeavour that depend on individual initiative, creativity, industriousness and self-reliance.

This is very evident especially in the education sector where cut-off marks for admission at various levels of formal education are deliberately lowered to accommodate underperforming northern candidates whereas Igbo candidates with far better scores are denied admission.

In the informal sector Ndigbo have continued to play the role of primus inter paresin the economic development of prominent northern towns and cities in spite of obnoxious crippling policies together with periodic violence or pogrom targeted against them.

On the other hand aside from recent increase in the number of cattle dealers in the south-east due to opportunities provided by selfish bulimic factotums of the Fulani oligarchy like Orji Uzor Kalu, Hope Izodinma and Dave Umahi majority of northerners in Igboland are barely managing to survive as beggars, low-grade artisans, gatemen, petty traders, okadariders and kekeoperators who mostly live in very squalid conditions.

Consequently if all the northerners in Igboland were to pack and go to their respective states, it would make a tiny mark, not a dent, in the lives of the people whereas if people of Igbo extraction had left the northen massesome time ago as ordered by a rag-tag collection of irascible northern youths, the negative economic impact on the north would have been serious.

This claim will irritate northern Igbophobes and Igbo-haters who often shamelessly and falsely claim that Igbo people put insurmountable obstacles that prevent members of other ethnic groups from establishing and progressing in Igboland.

They conveniently forget that Ndigbo face even greater obstacles than the ones they are referring to and, yet, they continue to soldier on because of two main reasons: one, their indefatigable can-do attitude and, two, they take the concept of One Nigeria seriously.

That said, with the decades-olddivisive policy of Igbo exclusion by the northern ruling cabal and their acolytes from the south epitomised in the odious nepotism of President Muhammadu Buhari, it is time for Igbo people to begin a critical re-examination ofwhat it really means to be an Igbo in Nigeria.

---------------------------------VANGUARD

Notes On Igbophobes, Igbo-Haters And Igbomaniacs (1)

BY DOUGLAS ANELE

 

DOUGLAS ANELE

An Igbophobe is someone who for obscure or unconscious irrational reason(s) has a morbid fear or distrust towards an Igbo. On the other hand, an Igbo-hater is a person who hates or thoroughly dislikes Igbo people generally for certain reasons, to the extent of preventing them from gaining employment even on merit.

According to my definition, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, late Sardauna of Sokoto, manifested the mentality of an Igbo-hater when explained to a foreign journalist that he would not employ Ndigbo in the northern civil service because the Igbo are too ambitious and always want to dominate others wherever they find themselves. In other words, an Igbo-hater hates the Igbo for being successful in spite of all odds.

One would describe an Igbomaniac as an Igbo or an avid admirer of Ndigbo from another ethnic group that has an exaggerated opinion of the positive character traits of Igbo people while downplaying the negative ones; someone whose attitude towards them is mirrored in Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s remark that “the God of Africa has specially created the Igbo nation to lead the children of Africa from the bondage of the ages.”

As an Igbo, a self-conscious one at that, sometimes I try during personal silent moments to understand why the Igbo, despite their famed industriousness, unsurpassed accomplishments, capacity to turn nothing into something anywhere they are domiciled, creative imagination, and fearlessness have consistently played second or third political fiddle especially to the Fulani and the Yoruba.

I recognise that the pace of Igbo decline in the geopolitical architectonic of Nigeria has accelerated since the defeat of Biafra over fifty-one years ago, but I just cannot fathom why the so-called Igbo leaders as a whole seem very unwilling to unify and do something concrete about it.

In his little book, The Trouble with Nigeria, Prof. Chinua Albert Achebe claims that Nigerians will probably achieve consensus on no other matter than their common resentment of the Igbo. Now, although Igbophobes and Igbo-haters might detect a whiff of hyperbole in that assertion or dismiss it by claiming that the globally acclaimed novelist was making mountains out of molehills, there is doubt in my mind that any objective observer of Nigerian history since independence to date would definitely conclude that the most prominent ruling elite or power blocks outside Igboland have deliberately put manmade obstacles to prevent Ndigbo from actualising their potentials as a people let alone acknowledge that Ndigbo are the makers of modern Nigeria and give them their due in that regard.

In other words, instead of seeing the Igbo as extremely important equal partners in the flawed Nigerian project and work alongside them to build a solid, economically viable and politically stable nation, the most powerful wing of the military-civilian establishment in the core north, south-west and south-south see Ndigbo as rivals that must be contained and, if possible, suppressed and subjugated.

Without a doubt, the intentional policy of Igbo marginalisation is one of the reasons why Nigeria is stymied in a futile Sisyphean cycle of mediocrity and chronic underdevelopment despite her impressive human and material endowments.

Of course, this does not mean that giving Ndigbo the position they really deserve will automatically turn Nigeria into an El Dorado. On the contrary, the point being made is that punitive immediate post-war policies against Igbo people several of which still remain today, such as the twenty pounds policy; the Indigenisation Decree of 1972; the hideous Abandoned Property programme; banning Igbo dominated businesses such as importation of okrika (second-hand clothing)and stockfish; ceding of mostly oil-bearing parts of Igboland to other non-majority Igbo-speaking states; sinister exclusion of the Igbo from the most consequential loci of power and authority particularly in the security apparatchik; as well as deliberate refusal by northern heads of state and their enablers to cite capital-and-labour intensive industries and infrastructure such as refineries, seaports, international airports, industrial and power plants in Igboland have had serious negative boomerang effects on the country.

But some foolish, selfish and morally disabled Igbo sons and daughters in positions of authority and influence have contributed to the sorry state of Igboland. Since 1970, with the possible exception of late Chief Sam Mbakwe, Mr. Peter Obi, and to some extent Dr. Chris Ngige, most of the governors that had emerged in the south-eastern states deserve life imprisonment with hard labour for the grossly incompetent manner they have managed available scarce resources in their states.

Despite the criminal neglect of Igboland by successive administrations at the federal level, Igboland would have been the cynosure of all eyes in terms of economic development powered by massive investment in human capital and infrastructure had these people made optimum use of the funds from federal allocation and internally generated revenue.

Any reasonable Igbo with a simulacrum of self-respect and dignity will feel ashamed and disappointed at the quality of governance by political leaders in Igboland especially since 1999. In my home state, Imo, there has been a blizzard of poor quality leadership which has grown progressively worse culminating in the astonishingly crooked emergence of Hope Uzodinma as governor.

Let me put it this way: irrespective of the truckloads of exculpatory rubbish in the media by crumb-eating puppets and hirelings of governors of Imo State from 1999 to date, there is conclusive evidence of lack of good governance and recycling of mediocrity throughout that period. Presently, it is unrealistic to expect Uzodinma to provide responsible leadership given his ignoble antecedents – you cannot give what you do not have.

His willingness to serve as a factotum to Fulani caliphate colonialists who dredged him up from the forth position and made him governor has sealed his fate as one of the worst governors to preside over Imo. Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State, like his Imo counterpart, believes that ingratiating himself with President Muhammadu Buhari and his fellow Fulani caliphate supremacists would help his political ambition after his tenure as governor.

Unknown to him, no sensible person will trust completely anyone willing to betray the collective interests of his people for temporary selfish political and pecuniary advantage. Therefore, Umahi will eventually regret his bad political choices that placed his people at the mercy of those oppressing them.

Concerning the governors of Abia, Anambra and Enugu states, the major difference between them and the ones mentioned earlier is that they have not caved in completely to the pressures from Fulani conquistadores to take over the ancestral lands of their people – not yet.

Unfortunately, they have also not spoken out with the characteristic courage of the Igbo against violent attempts of Fulani terrorists, surreptitiously backed by some in, and outside government, to make large swathes of their states’ homeland for nomadic Fulani.

Needless to say, it is the leadership vacuum across Igboland in the face of a resurgent Wahhabi Islamism moving down southwards that necessitated the emergence of Nanmdi Kanu and the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPoB) whose message of liberation from the threatening Fulani enslavement resonates with a vast number of people throughout Igboland.

Had the governors and other political leaders from Igboland lived up to their responsibilities, Kanu and his organisation would not have been so popular at the grassroots and beyond.

Back to the question of the resentment and hatred of the Igbo by a significant number of their compatriots from other parts of the country, Prof. Achebe argues, correctly, that the hatred and resentment arose from the unequalled successes Ndigbo achieved in the professions, education, and economic advancement before independence and the outbreak of the civil war.

In fact, at independence, the Igbo dominated the top echelons of federal public service and statutory corporations, which led to the accusation that they were monopolising essential services to the exclusion of other ethnic groups.

---------------------------------VANGUARD

DRUG EPIDEMIC IN IGBOLAND: Anambra Youths And The Fight Against Methamphetamine

The increasing addiction to hard drugs, especially methamphetamine, popularly known as crystal meth, glass and ice or Mkpurummiri in local parlance, by youths in Anambra State has reached a worrisome crescendo. However, some communities and its youth leaders have risen to fight the hydra headed monster, which is touted to be root cause of armed robbery, rape and other criminalities, reports David-Chyddy Eleke

In a drinking joint in Awka, two young men occupied a table, close to this reporter. Their discussion was about a certain Vivian. One of the men told his friend that he believed Vivian (supposedly his girlfriend) was not normal.

“She spent a night in my place the other day, and all through, I noticed she never slept,” the guy complained. “At about 2am, she woke me up and told me she thinks there is someone outside my door, trying to burgle it.”


The young man said he stayed awake for a while and noticed nothing, and as he made to go to bed again, Vivian looked through the window and said she was seeing a lot of people trooping into the compound. He tried observing too but saw nothing. This reporter listened as the young man’s friend questioned him if he observed Vivian take anything that was not what he offered her? Their conclusion was that Vivian may be on hard drug.

The case of Vivian is same as many young people today, including ladies. Investigation by THISDAY showed that there are a lot of substances young people take to heighten their level of happiness, and most of it, even though dangerous to their health and body organs, also give them a false sense of happiness, as much as elevating them into hallucinations and higher realm, as could be seen with Vivian.

Merely unwrapping some pieces of Tom Tom sweets into a bottle of Lacasera drink has been discovered to be be used by youths to give themselves false sense of happiness, just as pawpaw leave soaked in hypo bleach, or urine collected and left for days can also intoxicate.

Unwholesome Trend of Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine is one of such substances which is regularly abused by youths. Checks showed that the substance which is also called crystal meth, glass or ice has also acquired a local name; Mkpurummiri, and has proven to be the most commonly used among hard drugs today, just as is now very rampant in communities in Anambra State.

Investigation showed that it has same effect as cocaine, but even though it is much more destructive and addictive, it is far more cheaper.

Mkpurummiri is a synthetic (man-made) chemical, unlike cocaine, for instance, which comes from a plant. It is commonly manufactured in illegal, hidden laboratories, mixing various forms of amphetamine (another stimulant drug) or derivatives with other chemicals to boost its potency.

It was gathered that common pills for cold remedies are often used as the basis for the production of the drug. The meth “cook” extracts ingredients from those pills and to increase its strength combines the substance with chemicals such as battery acid, drain cleaner, lantern fuel and antifreeze to manufacture it.

It comes in clear crystal chunks or shiny blue-white rocks. Usually, users smoke mkpurummiri with a small glass pipe, but they may also swallow it, snort it, or inject it into a vein. Experts say its users have a quick rush of euphoria shortly after taking it, but it is dangerous, and can damage one’s body and cause severe psychological problems.

A source who spoke to THISDAY, and who claims to have friends that indulge in the substance in Awka said: “Mkpurummiri has the same level of addiction like cocaine, but what is more fascinating about mkpurummiri is that it is cheap, and that makes it even more addictive than cocaine. This is because it is very highly affordable. For just N500, you can buy a dose of mkpurummiri or even more, depending on how the dealer sells in your area.”

THISDAY gathered from investigation that there are several ways of consuming the hard drug. A source who spoke to THISDAY on condition of anonymity said some local and unprepared users who are taking the drug for the first time use foil to wrap the hard drug, before using lighter to melt it, then making a hole in the foil, through which they slot a pipe to sniff in the drug.

It was also gathered that some people preferred to melt it, then use syringes to inject it into their bodies. “This method is mostly used by those who have become so reliant on the drug. Others just melt it and sniff it through their noses. But people who are accustomed to it acquire a glass pipe, with which they consume it, while others use electric bulbs, whose heads have been removed to melt and sniff it,” the source said.

War against Mkpurummiri

Given that the high number of cult activities, rape and armed robbery have been attributed to abuse of the substance, these has led to a total declaration of war on it by most communities in Anambra State. Many communities are correctly fighting the use of the drug in the state including: Enugwu Agidi, Ekwulobia, Umudioka, Oba, Obosi, and many more.

Declaring war on the drug, indigenes of Umudioka, a community in the Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State, through a press statement signed by the President-General, Umudioka Improvement Union, Chike Odoji, said indigenes and non-indigenes resident in Umudioka were prohibited from taking mkpurummiri, Indian Hemp and any other illegal substances, all of which had been coded in local parlance by their consumers.

The statement read, “This is to announce to all indigenes of Umudioka and non-indigenes living in Umudioka that henceforth consumption, smoking and sales of Mkpuru Mmili; Isi na Awa Agu; Aju Achu Enwe; Stonch; Indian Hemp; and other substances/illicit drugs have been proscribed in Umudioka and her environs.

“Soonest, UIU (Umudioka Improvement Union) in conjunction with NDLEA, anti-cult and other relevant law enforcement agencies will commence a manhunt for all the dealers and consumers within Umudioka. You are therefore advised to stay away from any known bunk that deals on the above-prohibited items. We will not spare anyone once apprehended no matter how highly placed.”

If youths of Umudioka were lucky to get a warning, then, some drug addicts in other communities were not, as war on users was immediately declared, and suspects rounded up for interrogation and punishment.

The trend in many communities in Anambra State is the flogging of consumers, and on a daily basis, videos of youths who have been apprehended, tied up in trees or pillars at village squares of village halls have been surfacing on the social media.

Anayo Nwafor, a young man in his 20s in Enugwu-Agidi was one of the unlucky users of mkpurumiri. THISDAY gathered that in early November when the community declared war on consumers of mkpurummiri, Anayo was among several youths apprehended for being addicted to the drug. The punishment is usually flogging, and right at the village square, youths tied Anayo and flogged him to unconsciousness. He later died as a result of the flogging.

Leaders of Enugwu-Agidi who addressed journalists in a press conference in Awka told the sad story of the painful demise of Anayo. The Enugwu-Agidi Town Union National Public Relations Officer, Hon. Dumebi Onubuiyi, told journalists that the town union had embarked on peace missions across the community since it came into office few weeks ago, until the ugly incident of the death of a youth occurred in the community the previous week.

“We heard of the sad event that took place of one Anayo Nwafor that was apprehended with illicit drug material; the one that they call Mkpulummili. The youths instead of consulting us, manhandled him and he eventually gave up the ghost.

“The boys that are involved are youths of the community. We are trying to lay our hands on them to hear from them. But since this sad event happened, they have not been seen anywhere. We have involved the police, the DSS and other security agencies in the matter.”

Also last Saturday, youths of Ekwulobia in Aguata LGA also went to town on a war against the hard drug. THISDAY gathered from a resident of the community, Afam Ogbaji that four youths were arrested by members of the town’s central vigilante, and were held at the town hall, where their matter was being deliberated as at the time of filling this report.

Ogbaji said: “There are some communities in Ekwulobia that have very notorious drug joints. Those are the villages were you will find some of the craziest youths in Ekwulobia. I joined them to a raid of one of the villages, but I later left when the Central Vigilante were going to another village.

” Right now, four youths have so far been arrested. I hear that while some people want them to be flogged, others are asking that they should be handed over to NDLEA. They have not concluded,” Ogbaji said, while talking to our correspondent. The effort has remained on as on a daily basis reports of communities’ fight against the scourge keep coming in.

Stakeholders React

Meanwhile, some stakeholders have condemned the flogging of addicts, saying that flogging is not a form of rehabilitation for drug addicts. Former Senator Representing Anambra South and governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just concluded election, Senator Andy Uba added his voice on how he feels the scourge could be tamed.

Uba in a press statement he published on his verified Facebook page said: “One of the greatest threats today in Igbo land, especially in our dear state, Anambra is drug abuse among youths. Various communities’ youth leadership have adopted flogging anyone found to be taking the METH (Mkpulu Mmili).

“The question has been, will such beating solve or stop someone that is already addicted to that? My view is that we should embark on advocacy, reorientation and rehabilitation programmes among other things as approach against the new threat from consumption of ‘Mkpulu Mmili’. The government and civil society organizations should lead this strategy.

“In Anambra State, Ministries of Health, Youth, Women affairs, LGA etc should synergize and coordinate the advocacy, reorientation and rehabilitation of youths on issue of Mkpulu Mmili menace. In Anambra State, we have in existence, a well organised local community administrative system (Town Union). Community system, which remains a major means through which the above listed State Government Ministries and Civil organizations can effectively manage the growing ‘Mkpulu Mmili’ abuse in the state.

“The rehabilitation content should accommodate training them on various skills for productive purposes.We cannot be facing such challenge and the state government agencies that should initiate intervention will be busy in Awka while the labour force of the state is under threat due to drug abuse. You cannot separate the growing consumption of Mkpulu Mmili from violent crime that is creeping into our state.

“There is need for the government to takeover the narrative on the issue of Mkpulu Mmili in the state. If Awka is too busy to look into the happenings in various communities, why not devolve powers to LGAs who are closer to the people? I therefore, call for new policy regime in confronting this threat as flogging mkpulu mmili users won’t solve the scary challenge in Igboland,” Senator Andy Uba said.

Mr Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra State also waded into the matter. Obi in a press release decried the scourge, while proffering solution to the problem. He said: “It would be irresponsible on the parts of the elders to keep quiet in the face of the ugly stories emanating from different parts of the country on the new trend on hard drugs among Nigerian youths.

“While commending various groups that have spoken on the menace, especially some towns that have been trying different methods to arrest the disturbing trend, I call on the NDLEA to devise a new strategy that will involve working closely with the government of various town unions across Nigeria towards arresting the new development.

“I recognise the great efforts the NDLEA was making in the fight against drug abuse, but the rapidity and openness with which the youths are embracing the condemnable acts is a sign that something is fundamentally wrong with the society and I call for the society to seek and correct those fundamental wrongs as lasting panacea to the menace.

“The United Nations Office on Drug and Crimes (UNODC) has earlier reported that Nigeria has the highest drug abuse prevalence in the world, with 14.4 per cent of Nigerians presently engaged in drug abuse. The situation will possibly be worse now with the recent spate of drug abuse among Nigerian youths. A timely action by the government and the concerned agencies will help save the youths from the ugly trend.”

Also reacting, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) threatened to go after distributors and consumers of the hard drug in the Southeast. The group described the development as very strange and completely unacceptable.

In a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB blamed security agents for the drugs’ prevalence in the North, vowing not to allow same in the South-east. While accusing some security agencies of complicity in the racketeering of the hard drug, the separatist group called on communities to ensure they report those involved in the madness to its office for proper torturing.

The statement partly reads, “We note with utter displeasure, a very ugly and disturbing trend among some youths in Biafra land who have resorted to the consumption of destructive hard drug methamphetamine popularly known as Mkpuru Mmiri. This development is very strange and completely unacceptable. It is this same hard drug that renders Almajiris in the North useless, and we won’t allow this madness to creep in or fester among Biafran youths.

“IPOB hereby declare war against this nonsense. We shall go after those taking or distributing this harmful illicit drug. Henceforth, anyone found peddling, consuming or in any way involved in the distribution of this illicit drug shall be decisively dealt with. Biafran youths are known for their enterprising spirit, entrepreneurship and diligence.

“IPOB will not allow evil men and unpatriotic elements to ruin or destroy the future of our youths with Mkpuru Mmiri. While we commend communities who have already risen to curb this evil, we solicit useful information about those behind the distribution of this illicit drug so we will teach them in the language they understand.”

What the Authorities are Doing

THISDAY visited several government institutions to find out what they were doing to arrest the scourge of hard drug in the society. The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Vincent Okpala who spoke to our correspondent said: “A small ministerial committee has been put together to study and design a community based intervention plan for the ongoing epidemic. Our design will involve every political ward and draw support from relevant law enforcement agencies like NDLEA, Police and Civil Defense.

“With respect to treatment, the states psychiatry hospital is available. We have also reached out to state based clinical psychologists to explore adaptable CBT programs. Cutting the supply chain is key. His Excellency (Governor Obiano) is committed to sanitising our drug distribution system in line with National drug distribution policy. Achieving the Coordinated Wholesale Center in Anambra as intentioned by the Federal government will truly help us achieve the later and the government is committed to this.”

The state police command also stated that it has been worried about the new trend and was working to ensure that the scourge of drug in the state is broken. The Police Public Relations Officer of the command, DSP Toochukwu Ikenga while interacting with THISDAY said: “Drugs is the oxygen that drive most crimes and bad behavior exhibited by individuals. It is an unfortunate situation that youth engage in drug taking to serve whatever purpose or satisfaction.

“The Anambra State Police Command has frowned at this ugly development and we have since joined a deliberate program by the police high command called Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCAVCO), a program targeted to sensitise the youths of dangers of drugs and others vices. We are also planning a town hall meetings in different communities and among other strategies to deal with the situation.”

Meanwhile, the job of fighting drug circulation rests squarely on the shoulders of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). A visit to the Anambra office of the agency was unsuccessful. It was gathered that the public relations officer of the command was away on a course in Jos, while the commander of the agency has been transferred out.

A staff who refused to disclose his name said: “The new commander just arrived the state yesterday, and has not even started work. She is a woman, and most of us have not met her yet. You may need to give her some time to settle down before four check back again.”

-------------------------------------THIS DAY

Black Catholic Voices Interview With Ogechi Akalegbere, 2021 Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award Recipient

BY CATHOLIC STANDARD STAFF

 

Ogechi Akalegbere. Image: Catholic Standard 

(Ogechi Akalegbere, the Christian service coordinator at Connelly School of the Holy Child in Potomac, Maryland, received the 2021 Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award on Nov. 16 from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the anti-poverty program of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. She is a member of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where she has served as a catechist and as co-chair of its Pastoral Council. She has also been active as a board member and community organizer for Action in Montgomery, a community advocacy organization rooted in Montgomery County’s neighborhoods and congregations. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington’s multimedia team of Geoffrey Ros and Ron Bethke taped the interview at St. Rose of Lima Parish’s Historic Chapel, and Mark Zimmermann, the editor of the archdiocese’s Catholic Standard newspaper and website, conducted the interview. Here are the video and transcript of the interview. )


How would you summarize your faith journey as a Catholic who is African American?

Ogechi Akalegbere – “So, I was born in Nigeria, and I was born to two Catholic parents and they baptized me in the Catholic faith back in Nigeria, and I’ve grown up with that faith foundation really integral in my family life and prayers and attending Mass and receiving the sacraments. I think for me the biggest way that I could summarize my faith journey has been “hills and valleys.” There have been a lot of successes and triumphs and ways that my faith has really helped me grow, but also in the moments of desolation and separation I felt with my relationship with God, I’ve also grown as an individual because it’s challenged who I am, what I stand for, and how I interact with the people around me. And I think that foundation that my parents set, especially in encouraging us to participate in religious education and in service, has really formed the woman that I am today.”

How does it feel for you to be back home at St. Rose today?

Ogechi Akalegbere – “Well this is the perfect place to do this. This parish has really shaped who I am. I think I would not be the person that I am today if it wasn’t for St. Rose of Lima. The multicultural aspect of our parish has really shaped and formed my love for diversity and diversity work. The opportunities to really engage in the community and service, and using my time and talent, has really been a way that I’ve grown in my gifts as a young adult and even as a teenager; and I just call this place home. I received most of my sacraments here, even marriage here, and I would not call any other place home.”

What have you learned from the witness of faith of other Black Catholics, how has that shaped your life?

Ogechi Akalegbere – “I think my first example of the witness of faith of Black Catholics would definitely have to be my parents, specifically my mom. My mom is probably the most religious, faithful person that I know, and her steadfast faith, especially after dealing with many trials and tribulations, has really encouraged me during moments of valleys, like I explained earlier. I think that watching her form of faith, her form of faith expression, really encouraged me to be more contemplative and to be more personal in my relationship with God. She could pray for hours and hours (and I am not gifted in that way), but I also realize that even though we have different forms of faith expression, she’s been a great example of really trusting in the will of God.

“Other faith examples that I’ve been blessed to have later on in life, have been examples of saints, like St. Augustine. St. Augustine is very much like me, in some ways, and obviously very different than me in other ways. I really enjoyed reading his book The Confessions and learning about his moments of spiritual desolation and questioning and really that tension of faith and spirituality that he had. He’s also a bit of an over-thinker like I am, and so I connected with him on that philosophical level as well. But for me, him being a Black Catholic man, and he was the first Black Catholic saint that I was ever exposed to, was really poignant in me being able to represent my whole self, in my faith.

“And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my personal hero, Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman. Again, I see so much of a mirror in who she is and who I am, and she represents all that I hope to be and more, if I am ever to become a saint. Her joyfulness, her passion for really bringing her whole self into her faith, and encouraging others to do so, and even just her bursting out into song in speeches. I love to sing as well. I think that when I can bring joy and bring my whole self into my faith, that is when I’m living out my purpose the best, and she really is a great example for that to me.”

How does your faith shape your work as Christian service coordinator at Connelly School of the Holy Child, what are some of the key service activities there, what impact do you hope that has on students, and what have you found most inspiring about the students as they are engaged in this service?

Ogechi Akalegbere – “For the past three years, I’ve been the Christian service coordinator at the Connelly School of the Holy Child.

“My faith is integral into the work that I do. I’ve always had a passion for service. I didn’t even know it was a job until I applied, and I’m so blessed that I can actually do this as a job. I think that service is one of the ways that I can live out love in action, and being able to encourage students, and young girls especially, to figure out how they can use their gifts in service for others is a real blessing.

“Some projects that I really am in love with that we do as a school, one is an intergenerational service project where students get to do virtual conversations with the elderly, and so on any given Zoom call, it’s myself, the Gen Zs, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers all together talking about different themes and really giving of themselves, their stories. And I found that in whatever service you do, if you take the opportunity to have a real encounter, a real exchange of self, you can really expand your worldview, and I've loved that some of the students have taken this small few weeks experience and grown from it and continued a relationship with seniors that they’ve gotten to know through service. Other opportunities that I love to participate with students are the areas where we get to go into the community, whether it’s serving meals or having a game night and Valentine’s Day party with women at the Saint Josephine Bakhita Shelter in D.C. and really allowing students to recognize that there is humanity even in those that are so often deemed voiceless or invisible by society.

“Service is important to me in my own personal life. I serve as a board member and community organizer with Action in Montgomery and also on the Pastoral Council here at St. Rose of Lima. I think from a young age, it was one of the few ways that I really felt that I could inject myself in my community. I’m a bit of a know-it-all, and I like to know and really engage with all types of people and know how all the pieces work. And so whether it’s on the grander scale as a board member or in the trenches in the community really getting involved with my parish and flushing out the vision of how the parish will look like, I want to see how I can use my gifts and my voice and my insight in service to my community, whether it’s my parish community or the larger community, and in those experiences I’ve grown as a Catholic. I think that has really helped shape why I am Catholic and how I can live out that faith in a tangible way, and I’ve also grown as a citizen in my community really recognizing the inequities that are around me and really recognizing the people in the pews around me as well as a parishioner.”

What is your reaction to the nationwide demonstrations for racial justice that have happened since the spring of 2020 in the wake of unarmed men and women of color being killed by police? Tell me about your involvement with Catholics United for Black Lives, why is that important to you, and what impact do you hope that group has?

Ogechi Akalegbere – “My reaction to the demonstrations that happened this past year in relation to racial injustice, especially the disparity in killing of unarmed Black men, was sadness, but also it was not surprise, because if you pay attention to the stories of Black individuals in this country, the narrative has continued over and over and over again. Living in Maryland witnessing the killing of Freddie Gray in Baltimore and the uprising that happened in this state, seeing it on a larger scale in the media coverage because we were in our homes and really focused on the news, really re-triggered some emotions for me, but also reignited my passion for social justice that, if I’m being honest, had grown complacent.

“And I also recognize that even though I have parishioners that I love, I didn’t really have a solid group of Black Catholics that I could talk to, and really have a shared experience with and a shared focus on the flourishing of Black lives, so my involvement with Catholics United for Black Lives was really an answer to that. I was blessed to be asked to be on their board, and as a board member, I also serve on their Community Organizing Committee, and a Community Organizing Committee allows and helps embolden members, allies and people that are interested in the flourishing of Black lives to really figure out the needs in their own communities, wherever region they live in and how they can help solve inequities, but through that Catholic lens and to teach others that organizing and social movements are not in conflict at all with our Catholic call, in fact, it's one of the most beautiful ways we can live that out.”

People of color – African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans – have been hardest hit by the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. What does this say about our country, and what should our country do about this?

Ogechi Akalegbere – “I think that during the pandemic we recognized that people of color; Black, Latino, (and) Indigenous, were hardest hit by the pandemic socially, financially (and) medically, and those issues have always existed, but the pandemic really put a spotlight on the inequities and forced people that had the privilege to maybe ignore or forget about those problems to have to focus on it. And I think what it says about our country that this has continued for so long and unfortunately will likely continue once we come out of this pandemic is that we are so tied to this idea of a throwaway culture, where some people are dispensable, the elderly are dispensable, those that don’t contribute financially to the economic market can be dispensable, but they are not. Our health, our value, everybody’s value is intertwined, and my hope is that as we move towards whatever this new normal looks like, we remember the lessons learned and we remember the people left behind and forgotten and hurt the hardest, and we place our emphasis and our resources and our values towards making sure that those margins decrease rather than increase.”

Cardinal Gregory has noted that while the nation confronts the coronavirus, it must also address the virus of racism. What do you think the Catholic Church should do as an institution to combat racism, and what do you think individual Catholics should do?

Ogechi Akalegbere – “I agree with Cardinal Gregory that we must address the virus of racism. Racism is a sin, and when I think of sin, I think of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and in that sacrament we must first acknowledge that we have a virus, have a sin at all, and until we do that, and unfortunately we have people within our pews, within our communities, that are choosing to ignore that it even exists, until we really collectively acknowledge the sin of racism and then uproot that, we have a long way to go.

“I also think that one of the ways that we can really break down biases and barriers are through moments of encounter. I think it's fitting that we are starting the Synod process. One of the lessons I’ve learned from community organizing is the value of storytelling and relational meetings and relational conversations. If you don’t know your neighbor, you cannot advocate for and recognize the humanity of that neighbor, and so for the Catholic Church collectively, the Synod is a great step, if we invite everyone that is often voiceless to the table and individually we can challenge ourselves to really understand who our definition of neighbor is and who is not included, who gets to have a voice and whose narrative is told for them. If we continue to have those encounters and conversations and really listen and really do the work of seeking reconciliation with one another, we can start to solve the problem of racism, but understanding that just listening is not the end step. Listening is actually the beginning to a process of reconciliation and personal change and systemic change, as well.”

How have you kept the faith, both your Catholic faith and your faith for our country, over the years, despite this “virus” of racism that has infected both, and what gives you hope for a better future for our Church and our country?

Ogechi Akalegbere – “It’s been difficult to keep my faith and my faith in this country, especially given the events that have taken place in the last couple of years, but I think that growing in relationship with fellow Black Catholics, with other allies and people that have a real passion for getting rid of the sin of racism within our Catholic Church and the world, I think that has really helped me along my journey.

“I also think that my work that I’ve always liked to do in service and encountering other people has continued my faith journey, even when I felt great disappointment, even when I've been on the receiving end of racism here by members, or people that I encounter day-to-day, I think, again relying on my faith and conversation with the Holy Spirit who hears all of my different types of prayers and frustrations and groanings, and learning about different saints that have also had a passion for social justice has also fortified my journey.

“This problem of racism, this problem of division, is not a new one in our country, and I think that reaching out and finding the examples of the faithful that have overcome this, examples like Sister Thea Bowman, examples like Sister Mary Lange and Augustus Tolton, those men and women who really have had to endure a lot in this country but have kept their faith. Those people have really sustained my faith journey and kept my faith. I find hope in this work in young people. I’m blessed to work with amazing, amazing young women who really encourage me and embolden me to do more, to continue on the path and to not lose hope because they give me hope. They have a trust in us. They are not the future. They are actually the present, and their present purpose and present involvement is what we should all be tapped into, because they will really be the ones to help us along this journey.”

Could you share with us some of your personal experiences of racism, to help us understand what people of color go through?

Ogechi Akalegbere – “Some of my personal experiences of racism have been micro aggressions and for me when I think of microaggression, they’re like tiny razor marks that you may not see but imagine washing your hands and putting on hand sanitizer, you'll feel that paper cut or razor mark. And it really damages the person in a way that takes away part of their humanity or makes them feel less than.

“And some examples have been in my work in doing community service with students. When I go to a service site to donate books or canned food items, and I get the assumption that I'm here to receive, which is no shame. I’ve been on the receiving end of charity in my life, and I have no shame with that, but constantly being assumed to be in need and not in the giving role, and not capable of being a giver, and being mistaken for different types of Black individuals, because there’s only two of us in the room, or you’re not taking the time to get to know the other Black individuals in your institution, being told that your idea is not good enough, but then having to hear your white colleague share the same idea and then being praised.

“So those are just some that come to my mind. I’m sure there are more, but the way that my brain works, in protection for myself, sometimes I put those away because it is how I survive in this world. It’s how I try not to get angry too much. I think the worse are the microaggressions, the gaslighting, the ‘what if.’ When I share an experience of racism, being told that I’m over-exaggerating. I had a Catholic woman that I very much admired tell me that, ‘You seem sensible. so why are you so upset about the murder of Breonna Taylor?’ and, ‘Don't you think that this was going to happen because her boyfriend was this, this, this and that,’ which you all know has no merit in the value and dignity of someone’s life. And then to try to coach that gaslighting with ‘you’re one of the intelligent Black women that I follow, so you shouldn't be like the other Black women that are up in arms about the killing of a Black woman,’ that looks and feels just like her.

“That was probably the most hurtful exchange that I’ve ever had, and I’ve had exchanges like that ever since, and I think that sometimes, especially in this area where I live, people expect racism to look like Charleston. They expect racism to look like January 6th, the insurrection. But racism and microaggressions are the most insidious forms, because they are coached in good intentions, but (they have) bad impact, and it really can do a number on someone’s psyche, their sense of value and their sense of self.

“And I’ve witnessed racism against students that I love and cherish at my school whether it’s about their hair, whether it’s about their qualifications to get into an Ivy League school, and how are they even considering applying to this school, they should lower their expectations. And it angers me, but I also recognize that my role isn’t just to be the service coordinator. My role as one of the few Black faculty at my school is also to be a witness and a voice and advocate for those girls that have to navigate youth in that way, and teach them that it doesn’t always get better, but it does change, and they can they can find hope and solace in talking to someone like myself.”

“…A lot of people don’t realize, and I didn’t realize, when I think of centers of racism and where I should be careful, usually growing up, I thought of the deep South. And then I realized even around here, in Frederick, I think Thurmont was a ‘sundown town,’ one of those towns that you just don’t go to as a Black person or stay, once it gets dark.

“… One of my side things, I’m a competitive powerlifter, and so I’ve traveled to places like York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and there are certain places we just did not stop. And my coach is Sicilian, so he looks like he could be Black. He’s just very blessed with his olive skin, and he would get looks, and when I first started lifting, I was the only Black person, Black female, in the whole competition, and I would get nasty comments from men, and part of it was sexism but also it was laced in racism and just, you know, having to put on a brave face because I just came to compete. So there are lots of stories.

“...There’s a pressure to represent your race well, and just having to walk with that pressure is hard, because you want to – other people get the luxury of just being themselves – but when you’re minoritized, you have then the added burden of not being able to be yourself, you might have to code-switch, and I worked a lot to not do that, because I know that there are Black girls that look to me as an example of how to move in this world, and if I shape-shift who I am to fit the comfort of other people, I’m teaching them that’s how they need to move in this world as well, and that’s a disservice to them, and so out of service to the young people that I encounter, I’ve grown in how I live my life and show up in this world as a Black woman, but it takes a lot of courage to do that, and I don’t fault anyone that chooses to play whatever social game they need to so that they feel safe and can have access to privileges that they might not otherwise.”

What is your reaction to receiving the Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award?

Ogechi Akalegbere – “My reaction to receiving the Cardinal Bernardin Award is shock and joy. I am just a mere citizen that just does what she thinks is the best, and I think that to be recognized in such up a big way, especially a way that really ties in my faith, my service work and my passion for diversity and justice in a beautiful way is just a testament to how following God’s will and trying to just do your own part in God’s will, can really shape and encourage other people. And I hope that in hearing my story and in hearing a little bit about myself at the reception, people feel emboldened and encouraged to really engage in deep and meaningful encounters with those that are often called the margins.

“I think that the beauty of being a young leader is that you have the wisdom from your past and you also have the hope for the future, and I think of the image of the Sankofa bird. The Sankofa bird is a symbol that’s used a lot in African-American celebrations, but it comes from a tradition that asks you to take pearls of wisdom from the past and use that in the present, as you move your feet forward towards the future, and I really internalize that messaging, because I think that as individuals and as a country, as a Church, we can never forget our history, no matter how dark it might have been, because that really colors how we live in our day-to-day world, and it also will shape the future, and we do that as a practice as Catholics. We look to our Catholic tradition. We look to Scripture. We look to the saints. We look to our ancestors and how they lived out their faith, how Christ called his disciples to live out their faith, and often that exists in moments of tension and injustice and highlighting those that are the least. We pray the Beatitudes. We highlight those that are the least, and so if we continue to live a life that recognizes and highlights those that are the least and uplift them so that they are not voiceless but given a voice, given a platform and a seat at the table, I think then I’m doing my work of justice while I’m living out my faith well, and I hope that I can speak to that in a great way when I receive this award.

“Cardinal Bernardin was a huge mover and shaker in the social justice movement. I almost wish like, could we look back at what he talked about it, and live it out today? Remember the people that have come before us like him who are real advocates for justice, and I hope that especially the religious men and women in our Church are looking to him and looking to people like him as examples of how to really care for justice, care for those that are marginalized in our pews, in our communities, and I just hope that I’m doing him a great honor.”

What advice do you have for young adults about getting more involved in their Catholic faith, and what advice do you have for the Catholic Church about reaching out to and engaging young adults in living out their faith?

Ogechi Akalegbere – “Some advice that I have for young adults about getting more involved in the Church is that if there is an opportunity or a program or group that you want to start that doesn’t exist, don’t be afraid to be the person that starts it. Reach out to the staff or start it on your own. We have the blessings of social media and technology to really allow us resources to do things on our own.

“One example is that I really wanted to have a small group where I didn’t have to explain things that are specific to my life as a Black woman and then open up myself spiritually. So my friend Stephanie and I started a BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) Women’s small group, and we met and it was nice to have a space where I can just shed the microaggressions or the heaviness and burdens that I experience especially in the year of 2020. And we could just be. And be women of color of faith, of Catholic faith, and share, and that didn’t exist in my parish and for me to start it, it may not have flourished in my parish. So be open to reaching out to other young people that might have similar interests and pooling your resources across different parishes, like for that example.

“Another way that I think that we can really inject ourselves is to continue to ask questions of how you can serve. Sometimes you’re not going to be called upon to give your voice. So you might have to be bold enough to do that. So whether it’s joining a ministry and leading the ministry, offering up that opportunity, offering up your skill, your time, and recognizing who is not involved in the parish and bringing that to the leadership. Be careful! That might mean that you are then asked to lead a ministry, because church folks love to invite young people to do things, but if you’re ready and willing to allow the Holy Spirit to do that for you, it could mean great things, and it can really reinvigorate your faith.

“One example is I was very resistant to being a catechist, but I also had a lot of questions on how young people were really rooted in their faith. So that led me to becoming a catechist, and I’ve been blessed to be a catechist for the past six years and in doing that, I’ve really strengthened my understanding of theology in the Catholic Church, because I have to be able to explain it to middle school students. And so be open to the ways the Holy Spirit might show the holes and gaps that are needed in your parish.

“If you don’t have a home parish, try to find one. A home is a beautiful place to have and a home of faith is a beautiful (place). I know in the D.C. area, we’re very transient and it’s common to go to different Masses at the most convenient times, but find a home. Find a place where you can grow roots and friendships and relationships, because relationships are what is going to sustain you. When sometimes your faith relationship with God may not be as strong, God has always proven himself through the relationships of the people He puts in my life.

“And I think the Church needs to be open and get rid of this phrase that ‘the young people are the future of the Church.’ We are not. We are the present, and the young people that I teach are the present of the Church, and if you think about us as the present of the Church, you think about us as being needed and being needed to be heard and encouraged and invited, and to reach out to us when we challenge, or create tension, or have viewpoints that are not always the way that things have been, to be open to change, to be open to a deeper understanding or a different understanding and to really create a landscape of the Church that continues after you leave.

“After I’m not here, I want to create a landscape of a Church that allows the people that I teach in middle school and their kids to feel welcome as their whole selves in the parish.”

(At the end of the interview, Ogechi Akalegbere discussed how she had gotten her first name.)

“Last year in 2020 before the pandemic hit, I had a mission to go on a date with my mom, kind of like a mom-daughter date. (On) one of those dates, I asked her, ‘How come my siblings and I all have Nigerian names, Igbo names, and you have (the name) Angela, and daddy’s Geoffrey?’

“And she laughed, and she said, ‘If you know Nigerian history, Nigerian independence took place in 1960.’

“And I’m not going to give my mom’s age, but my mom and dad were both born before that. My grandparents wanted, and so many parents even in my mom’s generation, wanted their kids to assimilate well. This is a common thing in Asian tradition and Hispanic tradition and even in African American tradition, naming your child a name that will be accepted by basically the Anglo or White American communities, or the White European (community) if they immigrated to Europe.

“But my mom, in a bit of a revolutionary twist – and if you met my mom, she’s the least activist person I know, she thinks all the organizing I do is a little too agitating – so it was funny for me to hear that her and her brothers had really wanted to reclaim the Nigerian identity and to share that with their kids. All of our names are also Christian-related names or faith-based names.

“My name Ogechi means ‘God’s time’ (in the Igbo language), which is funny, because I’m the most impatient person ever!

“In her own small way, she (my mom) was trying to really inject culture into her future kids, and she made that conscious decision to really anchor us in our faith. My faith is part of my name, and my culture is part of my name. I hated it when I was a young kid, and people would mispronounce it all the time. But I’ve grown to love it, because it makes me who I am, and it really melds together my faith and culture in just one simple name. So I just love my name now, and I love that my mom finally told me the story of why (I have this name). She has such a simple name (Angela), an Anglo name, and I do not.”