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There are over 500 different tribes and three major ethnic groups in Nigeria. The Igbo tribe, which is made up of approximately 32 million people is one of them. The Igbo are made up of one of the most illustrious and industrious people in Nigeria.
Today, I’ll be debunking some of the common misconceptions associated with this tribe, things shared in common with other tribes and other great things you don’t know about the Igbo culture.
1. It is not “the Igbos”.
You don’t say “the Englishs” or “the Frenchs” do you? Exactly. So saying the Igbos is wrong. Simply say “Ndi Igbo” or “the Igbo” or “the Igbo people”.
2. Some of us who have never left the shores of Nigeria still speak good English.
Yes, this is true. Each tribe has a unique accent, rather than try to change it, everybody should own their accents and be proud of it.
3. All the Igbo do not prefer business to education.
That there is a generalisation; the believe that all the Igbo people do is chase money. Yes it’s true that a lot of young boys learn apprenticeship work from their ogas and go on to start their own businesses. But if you look at it logically, isn’t that education in itself? They know how to read and write and do mathematics (calculating daily earnings and expenditure), which is more than can be said for those that were in the four walls of a school. But moving on, we do love education and progresion and can be found in all career fields. Some of the best African writers are Igbo. *hint* *hint* Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Flora Nwapa, Chika Unigwe… I could go on and on.
4. Ndi Igbo do not eat human flesh.
Well, unless there’s a famine going on. Just kidding. But desperate situations do call for desperate action — as some Biafrans resorted to to ward off starvation.
5. Igbo people have not fully recovered from the effects of the civil war.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s book Half of a Yellow Sun deals with this. Their are adults that are known as Biafra’s lost children who will never reconnect with their families because of the war.
6. Not every Igbo wants Biafra to secede from Nigeria.
As bad as the country is right now. and with all the brouhaha that’s been happening, most Igbo people see secession as a disaster. Especially those who are aware of what happened in the Nigerian-Biafran civil war. Nobody wants a repeat of that.
7. The Igbo love money.
This is like the most common thing all Igbo people hear. I’d like to ask, who doesn’t like money? Be truthful.
But some will say that the Igbo people love money more than other tribes and will go to any length to get it. Like sacrificing their family members. Nollywood movies are to blame for that.
8. Igbo people do not perform human rituals.
Again, blame bloody Nollywood. Most people say ndi Igbo are ritualists because Okija. But contrary to popular opinion, it wasn’t money rituals that took place there, but a place where the bodies of those who messed with the gods were dumped.
9. Igbo people do marry people from other tribes.
Another fallacy is that Igbo people don’t marry outside their tribe. All tribes have this problem. Most parents from any Nigerian or African tribe want intratribal marriages for their kids. But what is even more important is that most young people are following their heart, because marrying from the same tribe isn’t an important determining factor? Tribe isn’t important in this kind of thing.
10. Igbo people are not stingy.
Again, I don’t know why that is classified by tribe. Stinginess is a human nature, not Igbo nature.
And if you think Igbo people are stingy, then you definitely haven’t been to an Igbo wedding.
11. Bride prices are not always ridiculously expensive.
Most people believe that the bride price attached to marrying an Igbo woman is hefty. But this isn’t common across all the Igbo people. It is peculiar to some places. Also, the price is negotiable. So, if you love the girl, you’ll definitely talk your way into being a member of her family.
12. Igbo people are not disrespectful.
Just because we don’t prostrate and kiss the floor doesn’t mean we don’t respect our elders. If that is an important criterium or actually yielded something important, the whole world would be doing it.
13. Igbo people greatly appreciate good music.
A lot of Nigerias music legends, both dead or alive are Igbo. E.g: Osita Osadebe, Oliver de Coque, Phyno, Flavour.
14. Yam is the lifeblood of the Igbo.
Which is why, the New Yam Festival (Iwaji), an annual celebration, is held to celebrate the yam harvest. During the festival, people show off their yam tubers as a sign of success and wealth.
15. Some school of thought believe that the Igbo, Yoruba, Nupe, Edo, Idoma all share a common ancestor.
Of course, this list isn’t exhaustive. Umu nnem na umu nnam (brothers and sisters) what are the other things you wish others knew about Igbo people? Share them in the comments.
There is almost always an unending rivalry between these two great countries on social media, but truthfully Nigeria and Ghana share a lot of similarities and bonds. Let us explain to you..
1. Neither of them invented Jollof rice
This may bruise some egos, but the truth is Jollof actually originated from the Yolof tribe in the Gambia area. *avoids talking about whose is better*
2. Ghanaians and Nigerians love spicy food
These two nations love to sweat when they eat. It’s amazing how these two nations love to up the spicy levels in their food and they both love their pepper-soups!
3. Communication companies
These two nations share the same huge communication companies *avoids mentioning names* and mostly complain about their services almost all the time.
4. Traffic
We hate this part! The traffic situations in these two countries are a lot similar. See, we have things in common.
5. Dance moves exportation
These two great countries have given the world some fire dance moves. The Azonto and The Shoki. We wonder why dance moves are not included in these countries major exports list.
6. They are both professional hagglers
If you ever step foot in any market in any of these countries you will realize that nobody ever settles for the prices goods are labelled. Nigeria: “How much last?”
Ghana: “Chale is this the best price?”
7. The movie industry
You see, the way the movie industries of these two countries are set up, it is hard to differentiate who is who. People think a lot of Ghanaian actors are Nigerian most times.
8. Complaints about the government
You go anywhere in these two countries; a beer parlor, newspaper stand, office and they all have something to say about the government and how it is not performing optimally. We can place a bet on this.
9. Noticeable accents
Truth is wherever you go your accent sticks with you like your skin. Every Nigerian and Ghanaian has their distinct accent that is recognizable anywhere in the world.
10. Police road blocks
See, I bet we are both tired of these. Law enforcement agents setting up road blocks or checkpoints. Both countries have this all the time and we are used to “dropping something” for the men.
11. Football
Everything about this unites these two countries. Nigerians and Ghanaians love football so much even though the rivalry is next to none when both national teams play and both countries boast of football stars!
