Ọnọdụ Igbo

Adada State should be supported outright. The choice of Anioma is the genuine best for Igbos, but with the Anioma fogged-brain politicians choosing to die in South South, Adada becomes the natural justice for Igbos.

The House of Assembly members and local government chairmen of Anioma are a monumental disgrace. Igboland will vomit them like the evil they are.

Ohaneze Ndigbo is Not Enough

The basic problem of Ohaneze Ndigbo is that it is under the control of the governors of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. The governors decide who emerges as the president of the group, and Local Government Chairmen choose the Ohaneze chairmen at the local government levels.The governors influence the projects and programmes of Ohaneze, and determine its strategic pursuits. In other words, these politicians decide, control, and influence what Ohaneze says or does.

The annual budget of Ohaneze is primarily funded by the five state governors from the state purse. The five governors are standardly referred to as ‘the funders’. Other sources of Ohaneze funds are voluntary and unregular.

Ordinarily, this circumstance should not form a problem to the ambitions and destiny of Ohaneze. If governors were, by any chance, people driven, and state interests were harmonised, each annual funding commitment would be another round of binding of the Igbo elements and forces. But the transiency of state governorship in the context of the Nigerian political milieu for the Igbos is enough to explain the challenge in question.

Now, the challenges faced by Igbos in Nigeria keeps the ordinary Igbo individual expecting too much from the Ohaneze. Ohaneze cannot do all that are wished for and expected by Igbos. Ohaneze is a child nannied by stooges of circumstance.

A new Igbo group must emerge to take the centre stage in the Igbos affairs. That group should take cognisance of the pitfalls that have limited Ohaneze. The outside enemies are by the sides sounding trumpets of woes, reminding us of our setbacks while hiding their own woeful calamities. We must ignore the distractions. This is not rocket science, it is quite achievable. It has to be done.

There are leaders in Igboland, but there is no leadership. A new cream of leadership is needed that is independent of government sponsorship

Ọhaneze Ndị Igbo should prepare for the era of proactiveness and people oriented results. The era of cold progress is over forever. We the people are now ready for Ohaneze.

Ọnọdụ Igbo bụ ọnọdụ ugo; ọnọdụ ugo adị egbé mmá.

The Igbos are uniquely recognized for maintaining defined patrilineal kinship. Other peoples form their social units based on residence in a state or district, or existence under one king. That gives them scattered bloodlines and the tendency to normalize in**st marriages. Many of such people do not have any particular name in their language for their social unit. But the Igbos have a name for theirs: ụmụnna.

There is nothing wrong about those other peoples. Different strokes for different folks. But there is something special about the Igbos having an ụmụnna:

1. With ụmụnna, blood relationship is clearly defined and in**st is a taboo with natural consequences.

2. With ụmụnna, an individual is hardly deserted. Even if you fail as a person, or your parents and family fail, there are still people who are naturally obliged to look after you.

3. With ụmụnna, there is no need to run to outside authorities like the police to settle problems with your relatives. Active ụmụnna actually place a law against this. And one ụmụnna can mediate with another ụmụnna over issues joining two individuals or families of different ụmụnna.

4. With ụmụnna, you clearly know where charity should begin. Ụmụnna is home.

5. Ụmụnna sets the rules of living. They have sanctions such as compulsory apology, mandated instruction, community labour, fine, cajoling and ostracism.

There is an important implication from all this. If your ụmụnna has failed, sorry, you have lost your root. A bad ụmụnna is more dangerous than a cobra. You will never get justice in a town where the ụmụnna is led by bribe takers. A failed ụmụnna will so certainly have a lot of young people with poor values, who deal in crime and social vices and those who make money through evil means.

Strong signs of a failed ụmụnna include the following:
1. The individual's desperate recourse to ụmụnne and ikwunne.
2. The tendency of individuals not visiting their hometown in many years.
3. Whenever one person wins a case against an ụmụnna, look closely, that ụmụnna is gone.

If your ụmụnna is strong, you will never fail. A meeting can be called, inviting all home and abroad based offsprings, just to discuss why Okeeke has not succeeded after ten years of living in Lagos or Kano. With a strong ụmụnna, there is hardly a wretched individual; scholarship to the university is as normal as eating breakfast. These are actually a way of ensuring the cycle of help, because the beneficiary today is an obliged benefactor tomorrow.

Nwannem, build your ụmụnna. Help yourself and your children after your life. Ofu osisi adị eme ọhịa.

Ọnọdụ Igbo Igbo History, Arts, Culture and Unification.

“I contested the presidency on three occasions but I did not succeed. I took my losses in good composure knowing full well that as a Christian, all powers and promotion come from God. But today, destiny has placed squarely on my shoulders the duty of leading the Igbo as the president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide. I, therefore, have a duty to valiantly defend the Igbo cause and I promise Ime-Obi and all Igbo people that by the grace of God, I will not fail them.”

– Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu

In English: happy new month.
In Igbo: ka ọnwa ọhụrụ a maara gị mma.
Don't say ‘añụri ọnwa ọhụụ’. That would mean ‘new month happiness’.