Interest is the idea of involvement, attachment, participation, drive, inclusion and consumation of a person or group’s intentions to invest in a cause of action, process or project deemed favourable for the advancement of objectives and goals towards growth, development, coexistence, survival and sustenance over time, space, location and agreement or covenant bound on livability, deliverability and assurance of sustainability in rendering service for the good of all.
Interests are usually coalesced, condensed and captured in a document called the constitution as the titular grand norm or agreement that binds people’s interest together.
But where a constitution becomes deliberately irreconcilable, subject to regular ammendments and erroneously manipulable by the weilders of power, interest becomes disingenuous, dissipated and distorted in a manner that serves some and excludes others in a veiled attempt to circumvent hidden interpretations.
The Nigeria Project which is built around unity, faith, peace and progress from independence in 1960 has been truncated by the civil war in 1967 and a burst of successive military interregnum that redefined Nigeria’s interest into groups and sectional vendetta over and above national creed and concurrence.
National interest having been devolved into personal and groups interest, left political power to be centralised in such a manner that holders of power have the right to serve their personal interests first, then group interest and later National interest, if there be any so to speak.
This lacuna gave rise to unbridled nepotism, tribalism, egotism, absolutism and syncretism symbolised by affronts like: Emilikan, D.o.T in a circle, Who do you think you are, Nigeria is our property and power belongs to us.
The IGBO interest in Nigeria has been amputated since after the civil war in 1970 resulting to:
Lack of Federal Government projects in IGBO land.
Non implementation of the post civil war program of Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Reconciliation.
IGBO non access to the office of the President of Nigeria.
Economic blockade of the South East zone, though unwritten, but is in practice through policy forbearance.
Perpetual security alert and garrison of the South East zone thereby creating more tension and vulnerability to Ndigbo much more than the terrorism and banditry in the Northern part of Nigeria.
Maritime blockade of the South East zone.
The quest to deconstruct IGBO INTEREST draws from four perspectives namely:
IGBO Political interest.
IGBO Economic interest.
IGBO Sociocultural interest.
IGBO Spiritual interest.
At the Political arena, the south East zone or IGBO have been denied access to political power at the center, reduction of the South East zone to a minority status with five states and less number of Local governments in the entire Federation, subversion of the people’s electoral mandate as it happened in Imo state on 2021 and at the Presidential elections in 2023 where the scores of an Igbo Presidential candidate was manipulated, mutilated, manoeuvred and falsified in favour of another candidate in which the courts upheld and gave contestible verdict that checkmated the right of IGBO to ascend to the throne of Nigeria.
IGBO was excluded in a very serious issue as the Presidential Committee on National Census that sets parameters for enumeration and head count in which IGBO has interest to defend and protect.
Political interests are discussed, captured and resolved at the Legislature and Executive and once access or unparalleled representation is denied a particular group, their interest suffers relegation and abandonment.
Critical interests at the political stage includes:
States creation.
Local Government creation.
Legislative representation at the center.
Appointments along lines of Federal character principle.
Census, enumeration and boundary adjustments.
Electoral Reforms.
Civil service recruitment, placements, promotion and retirement.
The Armed services institutions (Army, Navy, Airforce, Police and Paramilitary).
National security composition, functions, locations and deterrence.
The Economic interests are situated in resources availability, management and control.
It is well known fact that Igbo Economic interests in Nigeria have been amputated since after the civil war in 1970 and this is obvious in retrospective views as:
Non inclusion of the South East zone in the National Gas master plan reticulation.
Non existence of National infrastructure projects in IGBO land.
Placement of oil and gas resources in IGBO land as national reserves assets forbearing exploitation.
Abandonment of coal mines in Enugu for improved power generation and distribution in IGBO land but in hot pursuit or search for crude oil in the Chad basin.
Abandonment of maritime expansion and inclusion in IGBO land covering Orashi/Ugwuta axial, Azumini litoral axial, Ohaji/Egbema litoral axial, Onne, Porthacourt and Warri ports rendered effective due to official policy ambiguities.
In the Sociocultural arena, IGBO interest speaks specifically to IGBO identity.
After Independence in 1960, IGBO was identified as Eastern Region which stretches from Nsukka in the orth, Igbanke in the West, Obubra in the East and Igweocha or Porthavourt in the South.
The civil war discomfigured IGBO land especially with the twelve state structures creation of General Gowon in 1967 that resulted in the bulkanisation of Alaigbo whereby IGBO resudes in present day North Central and South South zones in a deliberate Federal Government effort to decapitate, disunite and disaggregate IGBO head count or population for reasons of curtailing or downsizing IGBO cosmopolitan numerical entity into a post war minority status as accomplished by successive Military regimes of the General Babangida and Abacha meteoric states creation gamble.
IGBO identity can be seen in several IGBO tribes residing in Benue state, Kogi state, Edo state, Delta state, Akwa Ibom state, Cross River state, Rivers state and Bayelsa state.
The interest of IGBO scattered in all these states is to find expression in total IGBO integration and reunification based on language, ancestry, religion, culture, geography and tradition.
IGBO sociocultural interest revolves around:
Identity clarity.
Cultural affinity.
Language orientation.
Common ancestry.
Unique tradition.
Specific archaeology.
Geographical contiguity.
The mesh of above definitive interests constitutes IGBO cosmological narrative.
The IGBO Spiritual interest speaks to an indivisible Ehnic group under one God, who is the God of heaven, whom IGBO call CHINEKE or the creator.
About 90% of IGBO decent espouse Christianity as race religion based on their early contacts with Christian missionaries.
IGBO Spiritual interest revolves around:
Justice.
Equity.
Fair play.
Emancipation.
Wisdom.
Commonality.
Philanthropy.
Honesty.
In all of these, Truth stands out as the core interest in IGBO ethical and spiritual values.
The attractions for the conversation on recapturing IGBO INTEREST in this 21st century is as a result of the following factors:
Huge crowds of IGBO living outside Nigeria as Diaspora IGBO since after the civil war in 1970.
The increasing number of IGBO children born outside Nigeria and having foreign citizenship.
The penchant for IGBO to be ignored in Nigeria’s leadership calculations.
The reason d’ètre to reengage IGBO strength and cordiality in forging a common agenda for IGBO renaissance in this 21st century.
To think home and invest at home by means of economic integration and focused transfer of wealth to Alaigbo by reinventing IGBO ingenuity in development and technological advancement.
Igbo interest in Nigeria is an inquiry into:
IGBO creativity.
IGBO innovations.
IGBO worth.
IGBO identity.
IGBO leadership.
IGBO Economy.
IGBO culture.
IGBO unity.
IGBO wealth creation.
IGBO Apprenticeship.
IGBO response to local and national issues.
This Position paper may be considered a framework fit for further expansion, analysis and incubation on way to reintegrating and recapturing IGBO INTEREST and directive principles for warding off existential threats being faced as a result of primodal competing ethnic foibles inherent in Nigeria’s socio-politocal sphere with obtrusive tendencies to IGBO emergence since after the civil war in 1970.
God bless Ndigbo.
God bless Alaigbo.
God bless IGBO bu IGBO.
Steve Nwabuko.
30/08/2025.
OBLONG MEDIA UNLIMITED 
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