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The Igbo Dilemma: A Self-Inflicted Identity Crisis
By Hon. Chimazuru Nnadi-Oforgu Duruebube
The Igbo nation, once unified in its resilience and cultural depth, now faces an existential crisis that is largely self-inflicted. We have become experts at dismembering ourselves, at developing standards for inclusion that are so impossibly high that even we cannot meet them. It is ironic, if not outright tragic, that we demand more of others, like the Ikwerre, than we demand of ourselves, as though we are guardians of an exclusive ethnic club. This is not just a problem of cultural identity; it is a suicidal act of reverse ethnic cleansing, a gradual dismantling of what once held us together.
The Ikwerre Question: A Double Standard
Why is it that when some Ikwerre people say they are not Igbo, we amplify their voices and insist on their exclusion? Yet, when hinterland Igbo declare themselves to be Jews, Bini, Ogodomigodo, Igala, or anything but “Igbo,” we still insist they are part of us. Even when they cite feelings of inferiority, marginalization, or historical grievances, we persist in calling them our own. But for the Ikwerre, we create a higher standard, a labyrinth of requirements they must meet before we “accept” them.
They must prove their reliability, their loyalty, their cultural alignment. They must do more, say more, and “put their acts together.” Meanwhile, the rest of us, fragmented and disoriented, fail to meet even the basic standards we impose on others. It is the same story as the systemic discrimination against the Igbo in Nigeria, where higher benchmarks are required for Igbo success. And yet, we complain bitterly about those external injustices while replicating them internally.
A Struggle for Survival or Dismemberment?
There is a larger struggle at play here, a deliberate effort to dismember the Igbo into scattered, unviable “dots in a circle.” It is a strategy, a deliberate scheme, and we are playing into it. The Igbo have been deeply penetrated—first by politicians who sell out our collective interests, and now by a more calamitous invasion of our intellectual sphere.
Where are the intellectuals who once deciphered the deepest intrigues, who once showed the light so others could find the way? Today, they are either silent or complicit, unable to connect the dots. How is it that even traders understand the significance of an Ohanaeze President-General of Rivers extraction, yet intellectuals fail to grasp the larger picture? This is not just about a cultural office. It is about cultural survival. It is about cohesion, about ensuring that we do not allow ourselves to be erased.
The Bigger Picture: Survival or Extinction
Inside this “little” matter of an Ohanaeze leader from Rivers State lies the global question of Igbo survival. It is tied to the history of pogroms, genocide, and ethnic cleansing aimed at erasing the Igbo as a viable race. It is tied to adversarial landlocking schemes, economic strangulation, and cultural disintegration. It is not a trivial matter of who occupies what position; it is about whether we survive as a people.
The Igbo must wake up. We cannot continue to act as though the enemy lies outside when we are doing their work for them from within. If we fail to understand the stakes, if we allow ourselves to be dismembered and scattered, then we will have no one to blame but ourselves.
The Call to Action
The survival of the Igbo race requires cohesion, not fragmentation; inclusion, not exclusion; unity, not division. We must stop playing into the hands of those who wish to see us dismembered. We must recognize that the little matters are never just little, they are symptoms of larger schemes.
It is time to hold our intellectuals, politicians, and cultural leaders accountable. It is time to redefine what it means to be Igbo, not as an exclusive club but as a resilient, unified people. If we fail to act now, history will not forgive us for letting our greatest strength, our identity, become our greatest weakness.
We are at a crossroads. It is up to us to choose survival over self-destruction. The time to act is now.
Hon. Chimazuru Nnadi-OforguDuruebube Uzii na Abosi
The legal team of suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, say they are ready with factil evidence to defend her in court.
The team received a formal summons in the case filed against her by the Federal Government at the Federal Capital Territory High Court last week.
On Friday, May 16, 2025, the Federal Government filed the suit, marked CR/297/25, over alleged defamatory remarks made during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on April 3, 2025.
The government accused the senator of “making imputation knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of a person”, citing Section 391 of the Penal Code, cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990.
Among the witnesses listed to testify during the trial were Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and a former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
Others include Asuquo Ekpenyong, a senator; Sandra Duru; Maya Iliya, investigating police officers; and Abdulhafiz Garba, investigating police officers.
However, in a statement issued Friday night by Dr. Ehiogie West-Idahosa (SAN) on behalf of the legal team, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyers confirmed receipt of the formal summons and pledged to prepare all “factual and statutory defences” available to the lawmaker during trial.
“At about 2:30pm on Friday, May 23, 2025, within the premises of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, we received the information filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, containing three counts alleging that our client, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central, made imputations she had reason to believe would harm the reputation of Senator Godswill Akpabio, President of the 10th Senate,” the statement read.
“We received the said information on her behalf through a letter of authority duly issued and filed in the court’s registry.
“The legal team will fully prepare and present all factual and statutory defences available to our client during the trial.”
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will on Tuesday next week begin the take over of 4,794 properties in Abuja, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headquarters, due to unpaid ground rent.
The PDP headquarters, currently under construction in Abuja’s Central Business District, is among the affected properties, having been revoked in March for several years of unpaid ground rent. The FCTA disclosed that 4,794 titles had been revoked for failure to pay ground rent, with some defaults dating back 43 years.
The affected properties are located in various districts, including Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape.
The defaulters owe over N6.96 billion in ground rent. The FCTA had given a 21-day grace period for owners with debts under 10 years, which has now expired.
The FCTA officials announced that the takeover would begin on Monday, May 26, 2025, with the sealing off and restriction of access to the affected properties.
The Director of Land Administration, Chijioke Nwankwoeze emphasized that the revocations were carried out under Section 28(5)(a)(b) of the Land Use Act, which empowers the government to reclaim land when the terms of occupancy are violated.
Two people sustained serious injuries when a training aircraft crash-landed at the Ilorin International Airport on Friday.
Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, NSIB, Mrs Bimbo Oladeji, who disclosed this in a statement, said the incident occurred at 17:28 local time on May 23, 2025, during a simulated instrument approach on Runway 05 at Ilorin International Airport.
Oladeji said the aircraft veered off the runway and came to a stop on the grass verge, leaving the two occupants on board injured.
She stated: “Both sustained serious injuries and were swiftly evacuated to a medical facility, coordinated by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA.
“In response, the NSIB Go-Team is currently preparing to depart from Abuja to Ilorin to conduct on-site investigations. The team will secure the site, collect physical evidence, interview witnesses, and retrieve operational data to establish the cause and contributing factors of the incident.”
Quoting the Director General of the NSIB, Captain Alex Badeh Jr., she said “Our thoughts are with the injured, and we commend the swift medical and emergency response. Now, our focus is on understanding exactly what went wrong. Every investigation is an opportunity to improve safety. We are deploying our team to Ilorin to ensure that no detail is overlooked.”
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