How Much Respect Do You Show Igbos?

By Ena Ofugara

I am not Igbo. I am proud of my Urhobo. However, as a stdent of history, I wish to show just what these great people came/come against and yet thrive.
Okay, the incessant killings in the North will be glossed over so as to make this article not overly long. The civil war will also not be discussed.
However, post civil war, as I explained in my post MINORITY REPORT: THE SYSTEM IS RIGGED AGAINST YOU, the rich in Nigeria have major roots in the Indegenization decree of 1972 and 1977. I reminded how the banks gave people of other tribes, predominantly Hausas and Yorubas loans to by up companies owned by foreigners. Now imagine the Federal government forced Chevron to sell 51 percent of its shares and that Access Bank will give you loans to buy the shares. How rich will you be in a year? 5 Years? That is how many Yorubas and Hausas got to own UAC, all those Dunlop, Leventis, Cadbury etc.
Now while this was ongoing, Gowon told the Nigerian banks to give TOPS twenty naira to any Igbo man that had money in the bank before the war. That is, if you had 5 naira before the war, you will be given the 5 naira. But if you had a hundred naira, you get just twenty naira in full fulfilment of the banks duty to give you your money.
Ask yourselves "why would the banks give Igbos only twenty naira? Did the banks collapse? So why pay less than you were given?
So while the banks were giving loans to Hausa and Yorubas to buy Oyibo companies they did not build, Igbos were being cheated out of their rightful moneys.
Now not also that these people lost Houses and business across the land. It is safe to say that as at 1970/71. the richest Igbo had 20 naira that may be the equivalent of maybe one million.
Let us lok at how Dangote made his money. He Dagote (a great man and pride to Nigeria) has an uncle called Dantata who owned huge chunks of the groundnut pyramids of the 50's and 60's. He gave Dangte a loan and Dangote paid it back in record time. CLAP CLAP. The add that Dangote has had his "brothers" in government, from IBB to Abacha and Abdulsalaam. When they now agreed to democracy, he was rich enough to have funded Obasanjo and so government policies, be it monopoly afforded him for rice, sugar flour and of course a large share of subsidy etc ensures he is the wealthiest Nigerian. (note many had same opportunity but did not use it. We kowtow to Dangote's investment capabilities)
However, for the Igbo man, where will he see an uncle that will loan him money? The richest man in their family has how much as at then? So while Fani Kayode can inherit property of his father and grandfather and great grand father, a Chidi Cali cannot inherit anything from his grandfather who had business in Kano or even Port Harcourt. Neighbours have made his dad's storey building theirs, and even someone as educated as Saro Wiwa lived in an Igbo war emigrant house as his. (a sore point of the Niger Delta and Igbo Unity) WAEC building was Ojukwu's dad's building and like that building, thousands and the land with it....lands worth billions today were taken from Igbos and each and everyIgbo had tops 20 naira, destroyed homeland, stolen and destroyed wealth away from the east. ALso his brother is never president that will give him oil block or fuel lifting. Of 33, only one Igbo man and because he was in Obasanjo's good graces.
YET LOOK HOW PROUD THEY STAND TODAY!!! Look what they have achieved for themselves....FIRST GENERATION WEALTH...top second generation. From being unable to send their first sons to school so he could help look after the shop, to producing first class brains in all departments of modern learning.
So today, as you accuse Igbos of wanting their Biafra or of Baby Factory, or liking money and ready to do anything for money, remember that just forty years ago, while the banks were dashing your uncles loans to buy all the companies of Nigeria, it stole from the Igbos. Know that appointments have not favoured them. Note that they remain persecuted and many speak such ill and hate twoards a people forced by need to survive to be extra-aggressive towards their sustenance. Maybe if you took their history into consideration, you will not be so critical of them, but instead say "what a resilient people" and give God the glory that FOR NOW, we and such a great people are compatriots.
Igbo Kwenu.

Igbos are long overdue for their own separate country!

There are more Igbos than the entire population of Djibouti, Mauritius, Equatorial Guinea, Lesotho, Guinea Bissau, Gabon, Botswana, Gambia, Namibia, Eritrea, Mauritania, Central African Republic and Liberia all put together!

Igbos are long overdue for their own country!

Igbo

Op l respect your honesty.

gidgiddy:
Igbos are long overdue for their own separate country!

There are more Igbos than the entire population of Djibouti, Mauritius, Equatorial Guinea, Lesotho, Guinea Bissau, Gabon, Botswana, Gambia, Namibia, Eritrea, Mauritania, Central African Republic and Liberia all put together!

Igbos are long overdue for their own country!

Seems it's high time I started caning you on nairaland since you don't want to learn, declare your separate country make we rest.
Is your name Kanayo; continue to beg?

God Bless The Igbo Nation!! With God By Our Side We Will Continue To Conquer!! Always Proud To Be Igbo!!! In My Next World I Wish To Be Igbo Again!

...and the persecution has continued but they Igbos have continue to thrive and against all odds.

Today, the head most of the tier one banks in Nigeria...Zenith, AccessDiamond bank, First bank, UBA, and upcoming Fidelity and Union bank.

Your write up is in order. I have said it here that what Igbos face in Nigeria is hate fueled by fear among other tribes. They wonder how an Igbo man with zero opportunity could rise so fast, so the strategy became to gang up against them, deny them of all opportunities, and never allow them smell the high rank of the military, Navy, police, presidency etc. Making sure that they never rise up....however, that won't be for long....the oppressed shall certainly be free someday and oppressor become the oppressed. Igbos will rise, its inevitable.

every tribe is a blessing in Nigeria & as an Igbo man I choose to acknowledge the other potentials of every tribe because they are all good at something making them unique.

well my grievance is when the NE, NW, NC & SW gang up on not only the igbos but other minority ethnicities
which has been the virus in a collective unity.

the political system especially in the presidential level can never favour SE. that's the bare truth.
& being that we are Republicans or liberals we don't beg for power.

its when you cross the line attempting to usurp us in our native lands & strangle our means of livelihood or progress that's when you will awaken reprisal that you will be surprised all Igbos rising up & coming together


all I have is respect & love for every tribe but some of the elites in those regions I mentioned above is sowing hatred amongst us.