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.
By Hon. Chimazuru Nnadi-Oforgu
Duruebube Uzii na Abosi
OBLONG MEDIA UNLIMITED 
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