Home / News / Local / Igbo Governors and the Struggle: ‘You can’t stand on my nose and get balance.’ By Gerald Oluchi Ibe
Oluchi Ibe

Igbo Governors and the Struggle: ‘You can’t stand on my nose and get balance.’ By Gerald Oluchi Ibe

Oluchi Ibe

Is there anything new under the sun? What was, usually is. This simply explains the Igbo attitude to governance and their present governors. Unfortunately, only Igbo know this. Though the governors, natural ofekes as known in Igbo worldview do not even understand and so they end up each time wringing their fingers and wondering open mouthed.

The Igbo idea of governance and government is widely known and studied but with little understanding by those who do not know. As far as the Igbo are concerned, they are still in a struggle against colonial governments that choose to use might, starting about 1897, to impose their will on Igboland. Igbo response to that forceful imposition then is still the same today as they battle the new variants and clones of the same colonial structure.

Colonial government had imposed idiots, nincompoops, sycophants and the likes as warrant chiefs (governors) on the Igbo. Igbo carefully avoided these fools and kept living their lives the way they had always, simply treating the new government as the irritants they were.

As a matter of fact, the Igbo there and then developed the idea of ‘bokwa ma govmenti,’ a dangerous, daring avowal of dismissal of government. To finally show that these collectives of ofekes had no role to play in their lives, Igbo women went after them and taught both the colonial white men and warrant chief-governors, a lesson of their lives in the now famous Women War (Riot) of 1929.

Thinking that the present Igbo will treat the same warrant chief-governors otherwise is the height of folly.

Now compare this to other sections of Nigeria, where the Governor is the summum bonum! the lord of the land who’s words are laws and who with their political and military powers can do and undo. To these folks the Igbo say in derision, ‘govmenti gbakwa oku’ (government can go to hell).

The only government a full fledged Igbo son or daughter will adhere to and obey is only the one that is carrying out the dictates of the majority. Even if that majority say they want to go to hell and you alone, the governor knows that hell is not good, simply take them to hell, period! To understand this is to understand the ancient ingrained Igbo system and Igbo relationship with governance. Nothing more, nothing less.

Now, despite the militarization of Orlu and the entire Igboland for instance, despite all the warrant chief-governors prancing about like praying mantis, what has happened today? The people once more like their mothers in 1929 have in one voice told them ‘bokwa ma govmenti.’

Now, how can Warrant chief Hope Uzodimma understand this? Ditto his sister governors?

Now, the Igbo governors’ big headache is explaining to their Northern handlers and owners of their warrants how they cannot, with all the powers they have including the military, bring bloody civilians to order!

Let them go and explain this. Meanwhile the Fulani, the rest of Nigeria, like ostrich with a head in a hole, beyond throwing in more arms and weapons do not have any other answer.

But the answer has always been there, glaring. You cannot in ten lifetimes impose leadership on the Igbo and hope it will stand. Even little children will tell you, ‘you can’t stand on my nose and get balance.’

Ya diwa!

*Oluchi Ibe is a Washington-based historian.  

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