9jagbeborun

There's something called the Kairos Moment.

It's that moment in time when everything lines up for you and you're supposed to just walk into the opportunity.

Unfortunately, many people slam the door shut due to personal idiosyncrasies instead of walking through it.

May we not miss the time of our visitation.

Igbos are not and have never been slave in Nigeria. Anyone saying or believing Ndi Igbo are slaves in Nigeria is either ignorant or a romanticiser of victim mentality.

We must understand a slave has nothing to his or her name. Their very existence, to the breath they take, belong to their Master.

Ala Igbo which is an integral part of Nigeria completely belongs to Ndi Igbo. There is no doubt or any form of ambiguity about this fact. This will not be the case if we are truly slaves in Nigeria.

Ndi Igbo, occupy, govern and largely dictate the socio-economic cm political direction of their ancestral homeland which is in Nigeria.

1. Ndi Igbo choose their religion in Nigeria.
2. Ndi Igbo are not restricted to move outside of their region in Nigeria.
3. Ndi Igbo have no master they pay allegiance to in Nigeria.
4. The same law Ndi Igbo are subject to in Nigeria is the same law for the rest.
5. All the basic freedoms including, pursuit of happiness, education, association, expression, property ownership etc are fully exercised by Ndi Igbo in Nigeria.

So, where exactly is this Igbos are slaves in Nigeria coming from?

Or, is it because Igbos have not been president of Nigeria since the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1999?

If that is the premise upon which this victim hood lie stands, then I am tempted to ask, how does not being able to occupy the highest political office in Nigeria amount to slavery when you are legally free to occupy the office if you play your game right?

The laws of the land did not stop any Igbo man from being president of Nigeria. This is a fact. Our lack of political sagacity as a people has been our only hindrance.

As for those who say, what of being Vice President? Please note, Alex Ekwueme was Vice President of Nigeria from 1979-1983. This event happened nine years after the civil war.

Additionally, Muhammadu Buhari chose two Igbo scions as Vice President in 2003 and 2007 Presidential elections. He chose Dr. Chuba Okadigbo and Rt. Hon. Ume-Ezeoke respectively.

However, Igbos rejected their children who were chosen as Vice Presidents and voted massively for PDP. Assuming Ndi Igbo voted massively for Buhari in 2007 or 2011, maybe, that political marriage would not just have a produced a Vice President but a President.

So I ask again, how are we slaves in Nigeria? The same import duties Igbo businessmen are subjected to are the same for the rest of the country? The same tax we pay is what the rest pay. No Igbo is openly dispossessed by the Nigerian law for being Igbo.

If there are particular areas Igbos as a group is being marginalized or targeted in Nigeria, I think it is best we tactically focus on that specific event rather than enabling this gross misrepresentation of facts, the statement, Igbos are slaves in Nigeria is laddened with.

Such statement, aside being historically, factually and wholly incorrect is an insult on Ndi Igbo who are free born by birth and right.

You do not need to insult and denigrate your ethnic group and ancestry just to score useless points or whip up emotions to your personal cause. This constant habit of cutting off our nose to spite our face should stop forthwith.

Ezeikolomuo
Igbo Consciousness Teacher