IGBO FATAL FLAW: A CRITICAL RESPONSE BY DR AUSTIN ORETTE

The person who cries loudest when a stone is thrown into the market is the one who has been hit. To him, everything is about tribal affiliation. For someone to grow, he or she must at some point learn whether his interaction is positive or negative with the people around him

A recalibration is not a weakness. I am an Isoko man from Delta state. This is what you will call a minority. Unlike you, I don’t wear my tribe on my forehead. I only use it as a reference point here .It does not connote power to me and it is not my whole identity.

When you use yours, it is everything to you because you have been raised to believe that without it, you have no power, and you have no identity.

When you are not invited to the high table, it means you are totally subjugated, and you feel your entire tribe is marginalized and your whole existence becomes meaningless.

It is a sad life when the definition of us becomes the group. This illusion obscures our humanity and our real identity as a person. This is the limitation that takes away the natural order of growth that increases our understanding of our environment and we are glued to the mirror and Narcissus becomes our best friend. Any counter view is considered an existential threat that must be eliminated with acidic fervor. Language becomes crude and vulgar and meaning is lost and progress stunted.

I don’t have those kinds of attachments and hang-ups because my existence is beyond anything that confines me. You have been raised to think otherwise. You are your tribe and your tribe is you. This ossification makes your cage very uncomfortable. No matter where you go, you can never belong.

I am a citizen of the world. I am home anywhere because I have never been raised to lord it over other people. I am not disappointed when I don’t meet your expectations which are clannish and subterranean. You take it as a personal affront when an independent observer talks about the need to rethink. From my vantage position, I can see how the interplay of Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba affects the other people that you and others hardly think about. From the way I mentioned the tribes, you can see that they are in alphabetical order because someone like you will complain that i did put Igbo last.

I have written more on the Hausa / Fulani relationship and its effect on Nigeria. No one from there has accused me of myopia or stupidity. I am an equal opportunity offender. Why would you want me to include the South-West in an essay about Igbo and Fulani? You can write about the marginalization of Igbos if that is what you are worried about. You can also write about the relationship of Igbo and Yoruba. That should keep you busy because you have so much grudge. It is time the South-East people learn to deal with issues dispassionately.

How can a member of the big tribe preach marginalization to those of us you call minority? Everything in our land is harvested, devastated and divided among Igbo, Hausa and the Yoruba in Nigeria. Do the people from the dominant groups actually spend any time talking about justice? Your attitude is poor because it is self-serving. People like you only talk about justice when your tribe’s man is affected.

The Igbo candidate lost in the last election. If he had won, he would make everyone around him Igbo. I see nothing wrong with that. My quarrel is that we are not restructured, and the federation is lopsided. If we are well structured and every region is in charge of their resources, I will not care if you become president and all your family members become your cabinet. This is because most of the decisions they will make will not affect me and at that time, there will be a workable system that will check that kind of abuse. It is normal for people in high places to appoint people they can trust and have the vision of the leader. Buhari put all his people there. It was terrible because most of them were incompetent. In a well-structured country, it will not be necessary to be a kinsman in order to be appointed. We just want those who could do the job. The system we have now is the winner takes all. When Goodluck Jonathan was president, the majority of the cabinet was Igbos. The West and the North complained and they wrestled power from him. It was due to the insularity of the Igbos that Jonathan lost.

You are wrong to complain that you are marginalized when you could not work hard to re-elect the person who gave most of his cabinet positions to the Igbos. Your marginalization is self-imposed.

Learn how to work with others and they will work with you. It is pathetic when people like you whine about marginalization, when in actuality, you lack the discipline, dedication and the humility needed to form workable alliances.

For your homework, go and study how Bola Tinubu gained power. He stooped to conquer. I don’t think stooping is in the lexicon of the Igbos. This is why power will always elude you. You think we should beg you to lead because you are very smart. You are going to wait a very long time if you don’t change your attitude

Remember I am an equal opportunity offender. I will revisit this subject.

DR AUSTIN ORETTE WRITES FROM HOUSTON, TEXAS