City Boys as Dressed-Up Charlatans

By Okey Ikechukwu

Our people say that a toad which, facing an identity crisis, ventures into the air under the mistaken impression that it is a bird quickly falls back to the ground with a resounding thud; looking silly and ridiculous. A bat that mistakes itself for a bird and prances out during the day to join the frolicsome engagements of real birds will drop to the ground in helpless self-immolation; after a debilitating encounter with the full blast of daylight.

Our people also say that a cat is no a leopard, nor a different type of leopard. Yes, it has whiskers and belongs to the class of animals, like lions and tigers called the ‘cat family’. But it is a cat and nothing more. If its imagination plays a mean trick on it and, believing that it is a leopard, it marches off into the forest in that delusion, it will up as afternoon snack to the real owners of the forest.

So, think of Cubana Chief Priest who stepped forward to present himself as a potential representative of his people. He performed so lamentably in the party primaries that all he could mutter after he was worsted was “I regret trusting my community elders”. He later changed his story to a claim about having withdrawn earlier from the entire process. But the damage was done. The point made by the outcome stands.

He complained bitterly about how the money he gave out failed to deliver the ticket for him. He did not complain about any programmes, brilliant initiatives or new leadership templates his inability to clinch the ticket would now deny his people. He spared no thought for the impact of his profile and life choices on social morality and the young.

Today this Imo State Coordinator of the City Boys Movement, an impressive assembly of political n’ver-do-wells, has seen for himself what his people really think of him. This is a blessing, if he and Obinna his boss would summon the courage and humility to dwell on the experience. This political battering is his chance for a re-awakening. Let us hope that he does not miss this rare Divine Intervention and fail to wake up and learn how to use his social visibility and little wealth to influence his environment for the better.

“I’m a hustler”, he said after the political disaster that struck him. Hear him: “I don’t regret trying to contest for a position. My only regret was trusting the elders in the community. I know how much I gave them, but only 14 people voted for me in the primary”. What he failed ort ask himself is this: “Who the hell am I that anyone should vote for me?

He spoke of wanting to bring a cleaner and issue-based political participation driven by young Nigerians, when announced his political ambition earlier this year. But he never really got to meaningfully explain the issues he had in mind. The question now is this: “What has he learnt about the young people and even the elders he was talking about”? 

In particular, what does Obi Cubana, his Chief Priest and others in that thoroughly disreputable assembly of deluded individuals know about society in general the Igbo society and the core values of leadership in particular?

Our people say that “Onye aju na ebu anaghi aza ide ji uno” (the person who is swooning cannot be hailed as the pillar that holds the edifice). Our people also say: “Ugo na udene anaghi azo nri” (the eagle and the vulture do not meet at the same dining table). And it is common knowledge that no family or kindred sends out an offspring of doubtful value to represent it in the village square as “Onu na ekwulu Umunna” (the voice of the kindred).

Ndigbo have core values that make a clear distinction between the sublime and the ridiculous. What the City boys represent today is one of the most visible expressions of a new breed of “Igbo leaders by self-proclamation”, who would declare themselves “Obi of Lagos”, “Mayor-General of Ndigbo”, etc., because of some paltry wealth.

Can any of these characters say “He who brings kolanut brings life” at the beginning of an event and actually explain what it means? Knowing that Ndigboo do not bring a dead man back to life by bringing kolanut to him, can they then tell you how this statement makes sense? Do they know that the kolanut is not a snack, but a symbol of communion?

Ndigbo do not eat it without calling on The Giver of Life and the gods protection and guidance. This makes the presence of kolanut, first and foremost, an opportunity for prayers. And since prayers bring blessings and strengthen life, whoever brings it has brought an opportunity for the strengthening of life. Hence the prayer of the person blessing the kolanut: “He Who Lives above, the Giver of life, protect us”.

The kolanut ceremonies also emphasize the interdependence in every community and among all living things. That is why it is said: “May the river not dry up and may the fish not lack water to swim in. The river’s looks more beautiful because of the fish, while the life of the fish depends on the steady flow of the river. Ndigbo also pray thus while before eating the kolanut: “Elders shall live and the young shall live. Our harvest shall be rich and none shall pray for the misfortune of another, lest his farm be the only patch of earth without rain’, etc.

This prayer is the first event in every serious gathering of Ndigbo, showing that Ndigbo have always been an organized people, with a mature sense of community and social responsibility. What the Igbo traditional political system lacked in absolute monarchy is replaced by a republicanism that uses the council of elders, titled men, age-grade associations, etc., to arrive at community decisions endorsed by all.

The concept of “Igbo enwe eze”, which has been fueling the type of tomfoolery characterized by many rich young men simply means that no single feudal authority can visit tyranny on the people unchallenged. That is why it is said: “When the talisman begins to act so tough as to even try to intimidate its owner, then it is time for you to show it the wood from which it was carved”.

Igbo enwe eze does not mean disrespect for constituted authority. It simply means that the collective right of the people can always be invoked to remind anyone with tyrannical aspirations that a hero is always a people’s hero. That is also why Ndigbo say that “A masquerade that flogs its drummers and followers ceases to dance, because it walks alone”.

It is because the tradition Igbo concept of power and authority rest more on respect for the laws of the land that the true Igbo concept of success is always linked with respect for Omenani. The people, and the laws of the land, always determined the difference between right and wrong. That is also why Ndigbo say: “Asokalie eze anya ekpuchie nkata na iru wee gwalua ya okwu aru” (After long periods of deference to a bad ruler, you should cover your face with a basket and go tell him the truth to his face).

To walk up to misbehaving the community leader and tell him what he needs to hear, you must either be part of a select group sent to admonish the leader, or you are stepping forward as the messenger of the community – sent by the community. Once you are sent in this way, you no longer represent yourself; just as a man is presumed to have transcended to the spirit world once he is dressed up as a masquerade. The covering of the face upholds the dignity of the office of Eze and affirms that no one may insult the office in his capacity as a mere mortal. But this presumably mysterious being from the beyond, speaking for the gods and men (but using the voice of a man) may do so to any unworthy occupant of the position of leader.

It is against the background of the foregoing that Ndigbo make a distinction between heroes and charlatans. The concept of  That is why the concepts of ndi akalogeli, ofo ogeli, ndi ome k’ome etc. exist to contrast “ndi obata Osu’ with true genuine leaders and heroes.

The person who boldly display debauchery as leadership violates everything a kolanut ceremony recommends.  Such a charlatan may impress some ignorant and wayward people, or mislead those who are on the fringes of social and spiritual morality. The major trade mark of an Igbo charlatan is that most of what he does cannot lead to sustainable development, or a healthy communal, religious or Family life, if it is adopted by everyone.

He is a danger to social morality and the economic life of the people; because of his ‘Okpata otitaa’ approach to on life.  It is such charlatans who parrot proverbs like: “Ewu na eso onye bu igu”. This statement is true, but it applies only to goats and any other living thing that behaves like a goat. Such sayings were originally meant to warn people against thoughtless materialism and immorality as a philosophy of life. But today it is freely used to justify irresponsibility, unfaithfulness and every form of debauchery.

It was not the case that only the person who offers immediate material satisfaction deserved loyalty. Not in Igboland, where the cardinal communal philosophy says: “namadu abughi ewu”. The fact that this proverb like “The goat only follows the person carrying green leaved (food)” is now popular in shows that the dregs and never-do-wells are truly on the ascendant.  

Truth is: Ndigbo know the difference between heroes and charlatans. Because Ndigbo are represented and led, particularly in Abuja, by an emergent elite with wrong ideas about leadership and social responsibility, everyone is disconnected from real issues of group values and identity. That is also why there is hardly an ‘Igbo Position’ on any national issue today.

A curious high breed of questionable antecedents, who are committed to ensuring that the worst in the land stand forth as epitomizing the best, cannot be the Igbo destination. Let the fate of Cubana Chief Priest be an object lesson to many similarly led astray. The City boys should calmy sit down somewhere and recalibrate. They are really nobodies, masquerading as meaningful varies in a political chess game that does not need them at all