Igbo land is changing and the people have no idea the extent it has changed. But it is not changing to a culture to be proud of, rather, to a culture to be loathed and condemned and cannot be proud of.
Over the past few years, Igbo land has been changing gradually from the cerebral, hardworking, justice, fairness and freedom loving people to a society that is gradually being affected by ritual killings, youth indulgence in drugs and cultism, terror, deaths and more vices; where the spirit of hard work is shifting to a spirit of get rich quick syndrome through nefarious means.
Cultism and drug abuse have permeated the Igbo society and with access to guns and weapons, enabled by the existence of non-state actors taking over the streets of Igbo land – they are showing their power in cutting down lives, especially at their prime.
Criminals are now liberation fighters; seizing the opportunity they now have to perpetrate evil while fingers are pointed elsewhere or these criminal actions easily explained away. The justification that follows these actions and the shifting of blame has allowed the new ideologies to become accommodated and are taking roots.
When a society is deemed to fail, the youths and children are the easy targets and in the last few years, the youths are filled with anger and are turning away from the values known about Igbo people to one that brag about things that are loathed in Igbo land to the chagrin of many observers.
Igbo youths are being radicalised and their future destroyed with the introduction of hard drugs and empty embrace of cultism and quick money through ritual killings.
Recently, we have witnessed deaths occurring on the streets regularly and houses of people burned and I ask, how did we get here?
These actions or ideologies are not what the Igbo are known for and a gradual process to kill that strong Igbo spirit is in full gear while embracing the emotionally weak spirit – the bad and wrong ideas that endanger the future of the Igbo.
Youths who have people; role models who thrived and worked hard to be at the top are seeking out easy ways that even in the secondary schools, students are indulging in cultism.
In the face of this seeming radicalisation of the Igbo youths who think they can seize social power through the use of guns and criminalities, but, social power is taken not by initiating and institutionalising an ideology that upends the age-long values that Igbo people are known for, for centuries. The desired social power should be based on an ideology that places Igbo people and Igbo land as a society, one of the highest, enviable societies in the world.
We cannot enthrone terrorism and clap for the destruction of Igbo land. We cannot give criminals and criminalities the space to lead the way.
A society that allows its deviants to chart the course of its future, is a dead society.
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How can Igbo people that loathe death now explain away deaths including innocent people all in the name of liberating them?
The streets of Igbo land are becoming unsafe even in the day. Deaths are recounted daily as people are hushed not to speak out. People are afraid of returning home. Fear and anxiety abound as no one knows who those parading as the unknown are.
The people who genuinely want the political and social emancipation of Igbo people should renounce these new ideologies and within their individual and collective efforts push for the liberation of the minds of the Igbo youths while directing them away from criminality to self and social development and economic emancipation.
The current situation is not to be extricated from the action or inaction at various spheres of social and political leadership.
The churches have become materialistic where individuals of questionable character are offered the front pews in anticipation for their donations or the preaching of prosperity without hard work. The traditional rulers who award chieftaincy titles to undeserving individuals therefore making people working hard become unrecognised. The movie producers that spent years producing movies that elevated ritual killing. The political elites that abandon governance, their role as role models for self-aggrandisement and public display of wealth and arming of youths for personal political interest. The parents who have abandoned parenting in search of materialism. The teachers who have abandoned their role in character moulding and the society that has been left by itself to decay. This is the current situation Igbo land is finding itself and we have to collectively resist the creeping wrong ideologies.
We must resist as individuals, parents, church leaders, traditional leaders and in all facets of our social involvement. We must resist the degeneration of the Igbo society and put a stop to the negative transformation of Igbo land.
Igbo land needs and wants peaceful streets for economic activities to thrive. Children should go to school and learn and have good character. It must be a collective resolve to rid the Igbo society of the vile and unrewarding philosophies and ideologies that do not serve the people.
To save Igbo land; we must resist!