blasterman: see monkey ur the one propagating hate and tribalism but be prepared for consequences. Common sense shd tell u that when ur in someone's land u shd do ur work and go about peacefully. But if u want to think ur smarter than yourself then be ready for everything

my friend shut up , you have nothing to say , low life like you should stop polluting nairaland. we are in ourland nigeria, if you want it to stop being ourland then form your own country or cut out your so called land out of nigeria mumu.

alj harem:

Yes it shouldn't if it is in good intent but Achebe aim to tarnish Yorubas and Hausas image to the world

and have yorubas and hausas not tarnished igbos image to the world already? look at seun he is ready to tarnish yorubas image as long as igbos image is also tarnished. what of akintola. i can go on and on so we are all guilty of that whether they are personal opinions or not

shymexx:

Individualism based on wealth accrued, invested, and spent outside your abode is greediness and extreme capitalism... However, if that's how Igbos are - you lot still have a long way to go before you can compete with your peers... That also shows that Igbos haven't fully evolved yet, hence why you continue to blame everyone and make inane comparisons over absolutely nothing...

To be honest, you guys are the laughing stock of Nigeria... You need to change your skewed mentality and look for ways to build a community-based society... Time is of the essence!!

you are just bitter , igboland remains the only region being developed by the people so we should be the one preaching to you. your leaders are using your money to buy mansions outside the country causing capital flight while igbos are using theirs to invest in nigeria real estate , manufacturing .thereby contributing their quota in curbing capital flight not just from nigeria but from africa. aquiring wealth is not a crim , nobody keeps money in his house , the money is kept in the bank for others to collect as loan and develop themselves. wake up and stop being bitter.

alj harem:

Hmmmmmm as they see it or how they want the world to perceive it ?

other historians can always disagree but it shouldnt cal for a fight

ichidodo: INDIVIDUALISM AND COMPETITIVENESS ARE THE HALLMARKS OF CAPITALISM. AN IDEALOLOGY THE U.S USED TO DEFEAT THE SOVIET-UNION (COMMUNISM) IN THE COLD-WAR. U WOULD AGREE WIT MI THAT THE EUROPEAN (OLD WORLD) SOCIETY AND ECONOMY EVOLVED TO WHAT IT WAS TODAY AS A RESULT OF EXPLORATION,MIGRATION AND COLONISATION OF THE NEW WORLD (AMERICAS, CARIBEAN,AFRICA E.T.C). SO ACHEBE IS VERY CORRECT. THE IGBO WILL CONTINUE TO THEIR THANG WHILE THE YERIBA SHEEPLE CAN ALWAYS KISS OUR BLACK_A55

dont mind, she is in the states enjoying scholarships worth thousands of dollars , enough to feed several families in her village. she is a product of individualism but common sense wont let her realise that.

kmariko: Please ladies and gents, boys and girls, I assume all of you are highly educated- with that presumption in mind, please take time to read the post, reread it again.
1. In no where did the post allude to any form of superiority to any group, rather it said "advantage" meaning that it was originally backward.
2. The post said that federation failed to harness the various cultural traits of the multiethnic groups to move the country forward. In the case of the IBos read "partly" meaning not wholly the same can be applied to any ethnic group. I believed he used Ibos here as an example because it is the group he is very much conversant with.

I simply do not know what the brouhaha is here all one has to do is sit back and analyse the writers statements.
3. He never said individualism overall is better than other form of cultural traits.

PLEASE ONCE AGAIN GUYS READ AND COMPREHEND

they will only interpret what they want to interpret .

shymexx:

You're not intelligent and articulate enough to engage anyone in a debate... Why can't you get one of your intelligent folks to do that??

Stop embarrassing your people smh..

prove me wrong and stop crying.

CyberG: No problem. His iboz will pay with their lives when the time comes. iboz comments will be printed and shown to them at their sacrificial altar. Meanwhile Aschebe is hiding away in the US and he is definitely not coming back to Nigeria.

just as achebe put it so why are you mad at him for writting what is on your mind

alj harem:

DUDE it is a political statement. Do you know what a political move is ? This are verbal statements to influence or alter negotiations in politics

you are right but that is for politicians and technocrats . historians and writers put it as they see it. achebe is not a politician neither is soyinka who also dont make politically correct statements.

blasterman: see fool u know me at all just show how senseless you are. For you information I'm not an ethnic bigot like you. I look as ppl as individuals and not group but what do u know when you cannot think for ur self

your the fool here , you came out threatning that lands are on lease. what point where you trying to make ? that one day igbos will loose their lands which they bought with their hard earned money? you are lower than a human being if not you wont make such stuupid statement and your a lazy baboon for even thinking of such.

Katsumoto:

Clearly, you don't have the ability to analyse my post. A society that is 100% capitalistic is an individualistic and competitive one. Which is why those societies employ a social safety net. A society that invests in its people is not an individualistic and competitive one. The degree of safety net that the society provides determines whether it is a capitalistic, socialist, or communist one.

You don't understand the concept of net migration. I am not sure I have the patience to explain it to you now.

you only se net migration where you want to see it, it can apply to chinese since they are verywhere, it can apply to indians, europeans, yorubas who live all over the world even in unknown nations, fulanis etc. stop deluding yourself. over 80 percent of igbos live in igboland .onitsha, aba and ph are over crowded already .

we pratice capitalism and until we switch to socialism the individual remains the driving force. he pays tax, employs peopela and even train others , the govt uses the tax and resources to improve infrastructures(health ,schools), offer scholarships and loans to more individuals and the cycle continues.

alj harem:

I agree with you but not in the manner Achebe is going about it. When we talk of educational historic achieve yes, When we talk of Ibeto, Innoson, Adenuga etc Yes not that YORUBAS ARE THIS, IGBOS ARE THAT. Competition can either be healthy and unhealthy, WE as a people younger generations need to be careful of what we take in as the truth and what we accept from our so called elders.

I challenge facts from all politicians be it hausa, igbo yoruba tive ijaw etc I could careless. Rather than talk on how to improve our various sector of specialisation we are talking about who is better in an ethnic frazzy

ethnicity is something we cannot throw away , so far nobody is insulting anybody or killing anybody i dont see why you should get mad if an ethnic grou claims of being at an advantage in a particular section. all you need to do is try to out comepete them. even withing ethni groups there are competitions , the role of the central govt is to harness the positive aspects or all ethnic groups and use it for the good of the nation or society .

take dat: When was the last time you had someone preside over the affairs of this Nation as you did rate yourself high in politics. That was 46yrs ago, even the so called marginalised SS have produced one.
How has all your endeavours in commerce translated to the emancipation of your people in the East. You build houses in highbrow areas and investments outside the East which you are bound to lose if shit supposedly hits the fan.
Stop deceiving yourselves cos others see you as tools that can be discarded when the need arises.

we invest both in igboland and outside igboland, do you have a problem with that? first class citizens take advantage of what the country has to offer no matter the region while second class citizens are limited to only what their region have to offer, use you head for once. benefiting from my region and other region is an advantage not a disadvantage afterall thats what one nigeria is all about.

alj harem:

NO YORUBA MAN HAS CALLED HIMSELF "THE MOST SOPHISTICATED". They use "sophisticated politics" that SIR is a political statement not an inciting statement. How does sophisticated politics relates to superiority complex ?

No sir he did not, you cannot say one was better than the other and later say the other surpassed him. Not in this stage of our nation. That is very tribalistic on his own part.

If Fulanis talk about knowing the Quran more than other groups, They would be challenged.

This is no debate, WE CANNOT BE DEBATING ON HOW YORUBAS ARE BETTER THAN IGBOS OR HOW IGBOS ARE BETTER THAN HAUSA. It seems silly to me and any well thinking person, don't you think ?

so what makes you think your more sophiscated politically than other ethnic groups? whats the difference between achebes claim and yorubas claim ?

Katsumoto: Clearly, Achebe is not a deep thinker. He is a literary giant no doubt, but no more.

If he understands the evolution of society and the stages each group must pass through to evolve as a society, he would not tout, rather ignorantly, that individualism and competitiveness is an advantage. Individualism and competitiveness is merely an advantage for the individual but not society as a whole. Societies may or may not have social classes but they need hierarchies for them to function well. There is no great society without hierarchy. People who do well in such societies must find a way to compensate those who are not doing so well. The Romans gave the people gladiatorial arenas; the Europeans and Americans have social safety nets which the Asians are also replicating.

What Achebe sees as advancement in the form of Igbos settling in other places, others call it migration to seek opportunities in more evolved societies. Competitiveness and individualism meant that Alaigbo was not as evolved as other Nigerian societies. This competitiveness and individualism is still the reason why there is net migration from Alaigbo to other parts of Nigeria. For instance, there are Americans and Brits in Nigeria but there are more Nigerians in those societies than there citizens in Nigeria. Nigerians do well in those more evolved societies, better than some citizens in those countries but it would be foolish for Nigerians to claim that the society is evolved because of their presence. The rebuttal from the citizens of those countries would be, "if you are so great as to develop my society, why isn't your society better than mine or at least as developed as mine".

If there was an advantage to be derived from competitiveness and individualism, ALaigbo would be a shining example in developmental terms and the net migration from Alaigbo to other parts of Nigeria would have been reversed. Rather than have Igbos moving to other parts of Nigeria, you would have other Nigerians moving to Alaigbo.

Mr Achebe, talk is cheap. It is not important for you to claim superiority over others, it must be visible and demonstrated. Saying it doesn't make it so. The joke is on you.

you just wrote trash , how can a society improve if the individuals are not improving in their qualities, what are scholarships for . its a pity all of you here typing trash live in first world countries where govt focus on individuals, invest on them , hraness their talent then use it for the good of the society. theres is no net migration from igboland like you like to claim , igboland is over 25million strong and our total population is about 30 million. the net migration you claim can be applied to yorubas, chinese, europeans, american and hausas too going from your logic.

alj harem:

LOL Oya show me where A YORUBA PROFESSOR wrote that 1966 coup was an Igbo coup.

The reason why Sarduna said what he said was because of the quote by Nnamdi in the 50's

It is on record that a party, later known as Zik’s party, the NCNC, was actually led at inception by a Yoruba man Sir Herbert Macaulay and Dr. Azikiwe served as his secretary. It is on record that many Yoruba people were members and moved out en masse when Zik made an infamous statement to his fellow Ibo Union that God has sent Igbo race to liberate Nigeria and he started using his West African Pilot newspaper to drive the Igbo agenda. It was Zik that turned NCNC from national party to Igbo party. That despite the insultive utterances, the party was still popular in the West until Zik insisted on ruling the Western Region against common sense and Ibadan People’s Party gave their votes to Action Group to form the government. People like Achebe came up with the tribalism theory against Awolowo, and in their selective ignorance, they forgot that Azikiwe went back to the East to drive away Eyo Ita who was the Prime Minister because he was from the minority tribe. But nobody talks about that, so what do they really want from us?

it might not be yoruba but am sure you get my point, we are not hanging whoever said it but disputing it with facts , competition is not superiority and boasting , we are not cattles we are human being he have to compete against ourselves, chalenge others and even taunt them with our achievements ,that how todays society works if not everybody will be laid back.

take dat: Igbos are the only known Second Class citizen in Nigeria. They claim there are industrious by developing other parts of Nigeria while their own people live in Squalor. Bunch of Scoundrels and Savages.

igbo people or igbo region is sure doing better than most regions, point out which ethnic group is having it better than igbos in terms of pilitics, education, wealth ,commerce etc lets compare . we are first class citizens and will remain so unless you show us at least 2 ethnic groups out of the 250 ethnic groups that are doing better than igbos.

alj harem:

So you think it is healthy of me to be quoting and talking about how Yorubas are better than Igbos ? I mean how would that add value to the so called "Yoruba" and "Igbo" or even this discussion ?

I never insulted Igbo people but the ones supporting his silly statement.

yorubas have been claiming to be the most sophiscated or whatever do you see igbos crying about it? he compared igbos and yorubas in terms of education and commerce , what is wrong with that . we do the same thing almost everyday in nairaland . every ethnic. so if fulanis come out today to claim they know the koran more than anyother group or they control the cattle market will you come out to fight them for saying such. it can call for a debate or argument but not tribal war.

alj harem:

What happens on nairaland stays on nairaland. You cannot be writing books and articules of which ethnic group is this which is that. I don't understand

when you people were writing books claiming 1966 coup was an igbo coup did you see us hyperventilating instead we challenge it with facts , i expect you to do the same. even akintola in that video claimed igbos have taken ver everything, sarduna said the same thing in the youtube interview. what exactly are you mad at?

alj harem:

There is nothing wrong in comparing regions so long as IT IS HEALTHY. Achebe's form of comparison is NOT healthy and is causing discord among brothers and sisters. DON'T YOU SEE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How can Yorubas and Igbos be fighting at this age of our nation ? DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO YOU !!! Because to me it makes no sense at all. Nwannem take a look at this trash

"He delved into history with his claim, asserting that the Igbo overcame the earlier Yoruba advantage within two decades earlier in the twentieth century.

“Although the Yoruba had a huge historical and geographical head start, the Igbo wiped out their handicap in one fantastic burst of energy in the twenty years between 1930 and 1950.”

He narrated the earlier advantage of Yoruba as contingent on their location on the coastline, but once the missionaries crossed the Niger, the Igbo took advantage of the opportunity and overtook the Yoruba.

‘The increase was so exponential in such a short time that within three short decades the Igbos had closed the gap and quickly moved ahead as the group with the highest literacy rate, the highest standard of living, and the greatest of citizens with postsecondary education in Nigeria,” he contended."

so what is wrong about what he said? he is not the first to say that , you can counter his facts with yours rather than turning it into tribal war. i dont see the north fighting tribal war when they are told they are lagging behind today in terms of literacy, wealth etc. counter his facts and stop insulting igbo people.

oyb: seems that achebe, like james watson is suffering a loosening of the tongue in his twilight years

nothing particularly new here - our brothers from the east have always had massive ego problems

no matter where they are, they will whine marginalization

write your own memoir and stop whinning , since when do people write politically correct memoirs.talking about ego problems maybe your yoruba leaders like tinubu can teach us a thing or two about ego.

blasterman: Just for una info any landed property on a land is a lease. Dat lease can be broken or not renewed. Make una dey yarn dey go

and so ? lazy man , if you like no go work buy your own land . lazy rat. if we call all of you lazy because of this your statement you wil start crying about how igbos insult other people.

alj harem:

what is the truth ? That Yorubas were once better than Igbos ? Or Igbos are now better than Yorubas ?

Where have you seen any Yoruba man make ANY COMPARISON ON HOW HE IS BETTER THAN ANY GROUP ?

Is that your truth ?

Can a man write a similar article about Igbos without even I alj harem not fighting ?

If that is his own reality, then I guess he needs to come back to Nigeria and see the truth

OF WHAT HELP HAS EVEN ACHEBE DONE FOR IGBOS ? I am waiting

no body used the word better, theres nothing wrong with comparing one region with another, stop this your bitterness and use your brain for once. what exactly are you mad at ? you people are only proving him right .

sindyko: Am obsess and tribulate abt these ibos, they r fond of dere loudmouth and chest beating, I will pinpoint u to some archive, go and make a research only if ur pomposity or cheating boasting could. If u want to dispute u most av criterion, I know must of u ar clueless,just come to NL to clamour and rant, go in deep to luk for the fundamental or inception of an issue. It was ur GRAND FATHER starter wat dey can never finish up, they were d one started KILLING in the north. Go and make consult not by ur cowdice (father) and treason, Google it. Write traitor chukwuma kaduna nwoedgwu wat ever, u will b told our he started wat he could end up.

Bird of the same feather, I wonder how could a good boy come out from a callous and scandal parent, people of the same dirty blood. That is wat ACHEBE has started now. U know he's old, he wil soon........ Having caused catastrophe for u guys, where by ur coming generation can never get rid off.

Be conscious igbos WE mighty wipe u off.

the more people like you type rubbish the more what achebe wrote is being proved but bitter people like you only end up commiting suicide . i wonder why it pains yoruba people so much. if you were as good as you claim you wont be bothered , other southerners are not bothered because they know they can compete with igbos even in igboland where many of them reside , they work hard like igbos and not sit around dreaming of how to pull others down.

Orikinla: Nigeria has a population of 167 million, making it the seventh most populous country in the world and Africa's largest nation. Gross domestic product is projected to grow by more than 6.5% between 2012 and 2015 - one of the fastest rates in the world. The Government has introduced effective policy measures which have stabilized the banking sector in response to the impact of the recent financial crisis in Nigeria. The banking system is poised to support and accelerate Nigeria's long-term economic growth.

~ From http://www.nigeriansreport.com

i doubt if nigeria's populations is even up to 100million

nobody can tell but there are just way too many igbo people all across nigeria, check our schools, companies, churches. its either igbos are the most populated or they are just too noticeable. as for hausa fulani being the most populated, thats the biggest fraud ever .seperate the two and you have two minority groups.

wetin sec school students know ? and these are the leaders of tomorrow like they say , na wa oo

Toaskarity: Good job germannig! you just put a fool where he belong with his igbo hate ibibio, hate ijaw etc lol why dont he end with igbo hate yoruba or hausa but he wants to add isi ewu to his comment if its about hausa/yoruba, jst like they hate igbo aswell.

dont mind the fool , he thought he would get away with the comment ,maybe by the time the repeat it several times that igbos hate ibibio, ijaw etc it becomes the truth.

which nigeria embassy ? they are on their own if they are relying on nigerian emabssy , only NGO's can save them in this kind of situation.