(judge me not by my race, but by the content of my character ) Martin Luther King

Sometimes it does not make sense responding to racists like Osuji,who use an Igbo name to write articles making generalised hateful assertions on the whole Igbo race. No Igboman will ever write such an article loaded with lies, not even about another ethnic group. But because evil triumphs when good men dont act, i will take the pain to deconstruct Mallam Osuji's fallacies.

How can any sane human being make such overwhelmingly general assertions about a race of almost 50 million people. Is it not the same Igbo race that produced people like Michael Okpara, Akanu Ibiam, Nwafor Orizu, Mbonu Ojike, Dennis Osadebay, Ozumba Mbadiwe, Francis Nwokedi, and the revered Dr Nnamidi Azikiwe who was in the forefront of the struggle for independence, and who maintained a stable and peaceful Eastern region at the time the Western region was burning in the first republic?

How can any normal human being say Igbos cannot provide leadership, when they dominated the federal civil service and the armed forces officer’s corps before the war, at a time when merit was the criteria? Francis Nwokedi became the most senior civil servant, and Aguiyi Ironsi became the first general officer commanding the Nigerian Army, if they could not provide leadership, how did they come to head this organisations?

Nigeria's political history shows that Ndigbo gave block support to Dr. Nnamidi Azikiwe's NCNC, later NPP until his death . It is not a secret that Zik's NCNC even won elections in the Western region before he was sabotaged. If he could not provide leadership, how was he able to win elections in the Western region?

Alex Ekwueme unlike Atiku Abubakar who is fighting with his boss, provided leadership and was loyal to Shehu Shagari throughout their tenure inspite of his superior educational qualifications. If this is not an example of leadership, please can someone tell me what is?

Talking about slavery, exposes the crass ignorance of "Mallam Osuji" all African tribes were involved in selling slaves, especially tribes from coastal Areas, Yoruba's, Ijaws, Efiks were all highly involved in selling slaves. In Badagry Lagos the relics of the slave fort where slaves were held still exist. In Senegal, Ghana, Gambia etc relics of slave forts still exist. Or was it also Ndigbo that sold Ghanaian and Senegalese slaves? How can any person who is not mad pin slavery on Ndigbo?

Talking about boastfulness, I grew up in Delta state and I can confirm that every ethnic group have their fair share of boasters. Just last week I was in a party where I met some Yoruba guys who were boasting heaven and earth to some girls, but that does not mean that I will label all Yoruba's as boasters. I also lived in Lagos, and I am sure that anybody who has lived in Lagos can attest to the fact that the Yoruba's have their fair share of boasters. Northerners are always boasting, threatening and reminding other Nigerians that they are "Born to rule" Sokoto state plate number carries the quote "BORN TO RULE".I can not count how many times Northerners have boasted that nobody can rule Nigeria without them, and several other boasts. This goes to show that boasting is everywhere in Nigeria.

Mallam Osuji claims that Ndigbo calls Northerners "NNAMA" but he conveniently forgot to mention that Northerners call Ndigbo "INYAMIRI" so who is the saint here? every ethnic group has names for other groups even within a tribe, that is a fact of life in Nigeria. It is utter madness to pin such a trend only on the Igbo,when other groups are also guilty of such name calling.

If Ndigbo cannot provide leadership Emeka Ojukwu would not have been able to hold the Igbo and other Eastern Nigerians together to prosecute a devastating civil war against all odds for three years. That simple feat is the greatest example of leadership.

The tendency nowadays is for people to use the behaviour of the present crop of settled self serving Igbo leaders who are largely imposed from the outside to judge Ndigbo. It is very wrong to reach such obnoxious conclusions. Nigeria's political history and the role Ndigbo played pre-independence and after independence is forever a testimony of Igbo leadership for anybody who wants to accept the truth.

It is common knowledge that Igbo leaders since the end of the civil war, most notably since the death of Dr. Nnamidi Azikiwe have been imposed by divide and rule merchants from the outside, that is why you have people like Chris Uba sponsored from Aso rock causing mayhem in Anambra state. And that is why the present crop of potbelly so called Igbo leaders are more interested in lining their pockets, than in uniting to fight the Igbo cause. The allegation of political immaturity is total hogwash, the iconic role Ndigbo played in the struggle for independence is a testimony to that. If not for the civil war, Ndigbo would have continued to play a domineering role in the governance of this nation.

Inspite of the continuing Igbophobia, massive conspiracy, and divide and rule arrayed against Ndigbo, those who have demonstrated the greatest, steadfast, and incorruptible leadership in Obasanjo’s administration are still Ndigbo, i.e. Dr. Dora Akunyili (iron lady) NAFDAC, Professor Charles Soludo Central Bank, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili (madam due process) Solid Minerals, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former vice president of world bank and erstwhile Minister of Finance, Dr. Ndi Okereke Onyiuke Nigerian stock exchange and chairwoman of Transcorp. There are also others like Professor Pat Utomi a business leader and genius, Emeka Anyaoku former commonwealth secretary general, Cardinal Francis Arinze, one of the runners up to become pope after the death of pope John Paul, Senate president Ken Nnamani who provided an uncompromising leadership in the senate that led to the crushing of third term, Senator Francis Ellah, Professor Chinua Achebe, Chief Phillip Asiodu, Proffessor Humphrey Nwosu (option A4) Justice Chukwudifu Oputa etc, for any race that  parades such a formidable array of distinguished individuals who have provided leadership in several organisations including the common wealth, world bank, and various organisations to be described as a people who demonstrate political immaturity or cannot govern is the height of madness.

Ndigbo are neither superior nor inferior to any group, and they have never claimed otherwise. For anybody to insinuate that Ndigbo feels superior or are inferior is at best a palm wine drinkers talk. The most important point is that as always, Mallam Osuji’s article has reinforced once again the idea that Ndigbo have a lot of enemies within Nigeria, who are ever ready to bandy about lies and generalisations about a whole race.

Over generalisation is the single greatest disease that is killing Nigeria. That was why a coup carried out by 5 majors, one of whom was a Yoruba, acting entirely on their own was branded a coup by the whole Igbo race. We are yet to be told where the whole Igbo race sat down to plan a coup. Everything in Nigeria is generalised, Yoruba this, Igbo that, Urhobo this, Isoko that, Nigerians are just a generally very hateful and divisive group of people, little wonder nothing is working.

Just like the Yoruba’s overcame the 60’s crisis that was a very unstable period in their history, Ndigbo will also overcome this era of wicked self serving leaders imposed from outside. No period in history ever remained stagnant, as era’s always come and go. When this era passes as it surely will, it will be remembered only for historical purposes as an era when the Igbo had a motley of rogue leaders. Ndigbo do not despair. Aluta continua!

Robot  Villager

# 1 How can any sane human being make such overwhelmingly general assertions about a race of almost...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 05.07.2006 01:52

Onyeka Nwelue

# 2 Osuji bu onye ara nwuru anwu. Nne ya nwukwa. Chineke akpola ya oku. Obu otu n'ime ndi ahu mere eji nwe gbue Ndigbo na Ugwu Awusa. He is not even a racist, he is just the **** of an Indian cow. He should just be ashamed of himself. I would advice him to read Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran War by Madiebo. After that, he should just sit down and ask himself questions. Nani ihe m nwere igwa ya bu ka ya buru ozu onwe ya chuba Ndigbo. Ndigbo biri kwa nu o! Posted by Onyeka Nwelue| 05.07.2006 02:36

demonteufel  Villager

# 3 chinedu, your indignation is well understood.....i think we're giving quasi wrong interpretation to osuji essay, for osuji everything black-race is igbo-race. osuji sees black-race through igbo spectrum, for him igbo-race is everything and his world, thus the momentary pathetic conditions of black-race is for him to be attributed to the present confusional circumstances in igboland...i hope this would help for now. i'm writing a comprehensive essay on osuji's weltanshauung..! regards Posted by demonteufel| 05.07.2006 05:27

ono	# 4 osuji is an inorant #$%^. Let him tell us what his masters have that we the igbos dont have. I don't want to join issues with fools who base on hatred to write. Posted by ono| 05.07.2006 10:54

ozodiosuji  Villager

# 5 Let me make the following additional comments. Politics exists because human beings are, by nature, selfish; each of them looks after his self interests. (See Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations.) Because each of us looks after his self interest, conflict necessarily ensues between us. Politics is supposed to engage in conflict management in human societies. Given the selfish nature of human beings, politics is inevitable in human society. Until human beings become angels and are social interest motivated, politics will always be part of the human scene. One is not a wide eyed idealist who expects people to be selfless and completely serve other people. If human beings were totally loving there would be no need for government. We can imagine an alternative society, one where all persons love and serve all people’s interests, a Christ based society. But that society is in the realm of imagination, not reality. Simply stated, I do not expect Igbos to be perfect human beings. I expect them to be flawed human beings like the rest of us. On the other hand, I resent it that many Igbos seem to think that everything goes in society. Unhesitatingly, they engage in antisocial behaviors. It is as if they have no conscience and no sense of remorse. They do whatever enters their minds regardless of ethics and morality. In America, there is something called the honors system. It means that society expects properly socialized persons to behave in a pro-social manner, to not steal other people’s property when no one is watching them. American society, like most properly functioning societies, operates on trust. Igbos come to America and abuse Americans honesty. They abuse the trusting society that they were invited to live in. They steal; engage in credit card rackets and other antisocial behaviors. In so doing, they give all of us bad names. In addition to doing this dastardly things to unsuspecting Americans, they generalize to fellow Nigerians. If you undertake a business with them, they will not hesitate cheating you and exhibit no moral qualms. It is as if they are strangers to morality. They find it easy to engage in criminal activities. It no longer matters to them how wealth is acquired; all that seems to matter is to have wealth. Their current philosophy is: go steal from Americans and build mansions in your town and pretend to be a big man, even though you are a thief. They have become a community of criminals. I am an Igbo but have lost trust in Igbos. I would rather die than engage in any kind of cooperative venture with them, especially those from certain parts of Igbo land (the area that produces most of Nigeria’s 419 criminals). These people steal too much and lack integrity. And when you catch them in their thievery, instead of exhibiting remorse they try to make you the issue, to destroy your credibility by applying childish mental health terms, such as “sicko” to you. In the context of Nigeria, Igbos behave as if they are immature children who are lacking in knowledge of human nature. Human beings are proud and if you insult them, in an attempt to assuage their injured vanity, they can kill you. Any human being has the capacity to harm, even kill you, if he wants to. Therefore, you must treat all people with respect and dignity if you want them to respect your life. This reality not withstanding, Igbos insults other Nigerians. They do not know how to choose their fight and attack everybody in sight. If you attack others by perpetually insulting them, they will counter attack you. You will be forced to be defensive. I see Igbos being defensive. Many Igbos engage in anti social behavior. If you dared trying to redirect them, instead of doing so, they call you silly names, as if calling you put down names, names meant to destroy your credibility, would prevent you from seeing them as they are: criminals. Finally, my essay has one glaring weakness: it made a sweeping assertion about Igbos. It is impossible for all Igbos to be criminals and childish. Obviously, there are a few pro-social and mature Igbos. I apologize to those Igbos that are law abiding and mature. I hate casting doubt on such person’s ability to govern Nigeria. Nevertheless, I have a right to call attention to a problematic aspect of the Igbo character. Some of us care for morality and will not hesitate calling attention to those who engage in antisocial behaviors. Ozodi Osuji Posted by ozodiosuji| 05.07.2006 14:46

tanibaba  Villager

# 6 Ozodi you wrote Finally, my essay has one glaring weakness: it made a sweeping assertion about Igbos. It is impossible for all Igbos to be criminals and childish. Obviously, there are a few pro-social and mature Igbos. I apologize to those Igbos that are law abiding and mature. I hate casting doubt on such person’s ability to govern Nigeria. I am happy that you have made this statement. It shows that you are matured and responsible. Lawrence you wrote: Sometimes it does not make sense responding to racists like Osuji,who use an Igbo name to write articles making generalised hateful assertions on the whole Igbo race. No Igboman will ever write such an article loaded with lies, not even about another ethnic group. But because evil triumphs when good men dont act, i will take the pain to deconstruct Mallam Osuji's fallacies. How can any sane human being make such overwhelmingly general assertions Without prejudice to your positions as expressed in your article I want to tell you a Yoruba story. A man approached the kingmakers of his town to install him as the ruler of the town. The kingmakers replied that they would have loved to make him king but the inhabitants of the town complained that he curses people. The man retorted " it will not be well with those who said that" He indeed validated the position by his outburst. thank you taslim Posted by tanibaba| 05.07.2006 18:08

Auspicious  Villager

# 7 @ Taslim: "A man approached the kingmakers of his town to install him as the ruler of the town. The kingmakers replied that they would have loved to make him king but the inhabitants of the town complained that he curses people. The man retorted " it will not be well with those who said that" He indeed validated the position by his outburst." Muhahahahaah! Tes, I may have reservations about many of your commentaries here on NVS, but man mi, that was a clincher! One would think that because we are all black Africans from the same country, we wouldn't find the need to call ourselves things like "racist" and the likes. Iro o! (Na lie!) People shout racist at one another in Nigeria than in Oyiboland. O ga ju! (Na wa!) Posted by Auspicious| 05.07.2006 18:21

Tony  Villager

# 8 @ OZODI OSUJI, whatever you call yourself as i dont beleive you are Igbo, for all i care you could be one Yorubaman, or Hausaman using an Igbo name to write your useless article, or perhaps you could even be an Ikwerre,the identity denying Igbos who hate other Igbos.But let us even assume that you are Igbo,what do you hope to achieve by your article? Do you honestly think your article will give you a better standing among your sworn enemies in Nigeria? At least nobody can blame that Ndigbo sinks knifes into people's throat like Northerners on flimsy excuses like Denmark. Here you are talking of America and 419,recently CNN aired a documentary on Nigerian criminals in America, the man himself an exconvict who was making the confession was a Yorubaman. How can you conclude that only Igbos commit such crimes. In the UK and Ireland the great majority of credit card scams,are done by Yoruba's but that would not be enough to conclude that all Yoruba's are criminals. There is no denying the fact that the Igbos attach a lot of importance to success,which in itself is not a bad thing, inevitably that desire would push some Igbos to crime,but such criminals are in the minority.Ndigbo are known for being hardworking, and enteprising. The great majority of Igbos are honest traders selling their wares all over Nigeria to earn a living. There is no village or town in Nigeria no matter how isolated where you will not see an Igboman selling his wares. How does this translate to all Igbos being criminals? those commiting crimes, though loud because they flaunt their wealth are clearly in the minority. In Onitsha, Aba, Port-harcourt, Kano etc there are millions of Ndigbo visibly earning their living through honest means. I challenge you to also write a generalised article on the Yoruba and Hausa. Osuji if you are an Igbo hating Ikwerre man i will advice you to tread softly with your obnoxious articles before it's too late. @Taslim, i am not surprised at your comments, because it clearly suits your Yoruba bias. But i have news for you. In the Nigerian context no ethnic group can score up to half in the integrity index. Yoruba's, and Northerners are just as corrupt and criminal as Igbos in every respect. In the case of Northerners, those ones are even barbarians who go as far as killing other Nigerians for excuses as flimsy as a cartoon in farway Denmark. From your local government chairman,to your state governor, to Obasanjo himself whose administration encourages political godfathers,all are thieves and criminals, so tell me who is the saint here? A Yorubaman has been the president for quite sometime now,we have all seen the disaster of this administration. Petrol is still being imported,corruption is endemic, the police and armed forces kill people at will, if Yoruba's were such saints why has Obasanjo not changed anything in Nigeria? Taslim go to your village and surrounding villages, i can bet my life that there are Igbos there trading their wares for a honest living. I am waiting for you to explain to me, how the Igbo spread in the lenght and breadth of Nigeria in self employment, thereby reducing the burden on unemployment, translates to criminality on a majority of Igbos. I insist that the great majority of ordinary Igbos among all Nigerian ethnic groups are the most hardworking. No Nigerian can deny this fact, except like Osuji, you are just being mischievous. Osuji claims he is an Igbo, even though i suspect otherwise, he now goes on to make sweeping statements about all Igbos, ironically including himself in all the allegations. If you say you are Igbo,and then you issue a statement saying all Igbo,this or that, does that not automatically include you? doesnt that make him look stupid? If he is truely an Igbo and he is different as he tries to portray,why doesnt he have the wisdom to know, that there would be millions of other Igbo like him, rather than making sweeping generalisations? This Osuji guy is just plain stupid period. In conclusion, we are all Nigerians, and we are witnesses to the monumental lies, deception, 419, corruption, mismanagement at every level of governance in Nigeria. Olabode George stole billions in NPA, Tafa Balogun stole billions from the police, Alamesigha stole billions from his state.The point i am trying to make here, is that Nigeria is a unique country for criminality and corruption, and all ethnic groups are involved. Ndigbo are even less involved in the government 419,as a result of their marginalisation in Government circles since the end of the civil war. Those who point a finger at people,should know that 4 fingers are pointing back at them. Posted by Tony| 05.07.2006 20:49

Naija for life  Villager

# 9 For the last time, there is no such thing as an Igbo, Yoruba, Ijaw, Edo, Ibibio, or Tiv race. These groups are anthropoligically and accurately characterized as tribes. They are all components of the Negro race. The race of people that inhabit west Africa, and that are characterized by short, tightly coiled hair, various epidermal hues ranging from black to the predominant bronze color, comparatively flat noses and minimal body hair, are known anthropologically as Guinea coast or true Negroes. This term circumscribes the majority of the tribes indigenous to West Africa, and all the tribes indegenous to Nigeria, south of the rivers Niger and Benue. There exists no morphological differences between these tribes, and with the exception of language, they observe cultures and practices virtually iddentical in significant particulars. Employing the term "race" in describing any of these tribal entities is perpetuating self delusion, and attempting to delineate Nigeria's tribes along fraudulent criteria. Anthropologists divide the world's races into three categories: Negroid, Caucasoid and Mongoloid. So disabuse yourself of this rhetorical psychosis that seeks to cast your tribe in a mold independent of West Africa's other Negroes. We are all members of the Negro race, and in all pertinent respects by which we might compare our attributes, are near as makes no difference. Our slavers of yesteryear were keenly aware of this fact, as are the racists of today. They yielded to a philosophy that, for all its ignominy, we would be well served to adopt today. They made no distinctions between Negroes in the dissolute slave trade, effortlessly abandoning themselves to the doctrine that one Negro made just as good a slave as another. We will be well served to replicate this mindset, not the one that one Negro makes just as good a slave as another, of course, but the more unifying one that makes no distinctions among us on the basis of race, for none exists. Posted by Naija for life| 05.07.2006 22:11

DoubleWahala  Villager

# 10 =tanibaba>Lawrence...... Without prejudice to your positions as expressed in your article I want to tell you a Yoruba story. A man approached the kingmakers of his town to install him as the ruler of the town. The kingmakers replied that they would have loved to make him king but the inhabitants of the town complained that he curses people. The man retorted " it will not be well with those who said that" He indeed validated the position by his outburst. thank you taslim @Taslim, although you write that your "story" is "without prejudice", it is inapplicable, in this particular instance, because Lawrence is the one making the direct accusation on Osuji, not the other way around. In other words, Lawrence represents one of "the inhabitants of the town", while Osuji is the person that wants to be the king :lol: @Osuji, you have now landed, with your disclaimer, which is just as sweeping as your initial outburst. I believe that you would have recieved more considered, balanced and thorough responses, if you had written a concise, balanced essay, in the first place. Thanks for having the balls to admit your initial, untenable position. DoubleWahala Posted by DoubleWahala| 05.07.2006 22:27

---

The conversation continues in our forum. Click here to read all comments

---