Between Dom Ikeogu’s table-shaking essay, “Is Onitsha the Extravagance Capital of Nigeria?” and the many rejoinders that followed it, I have been thoroughly enlightened and entertained these past few weeks. The perspectives have been diverse, the insights deep. I am proud to have such intellectually astute and culturally attuned people as my kinsmen. I am also wiser about the psychology of managing change.
Dom’s article, in my view, put forward a very simple proposal: That the level of ostentation associated with title taking (and other social events) in Onitsha is due for urgent reform – first in light of the changing needs of the immediate community, and second on account of the economic realities of our time.
Using the prestigious Agbalanze and Otu Odu societies of Onitsha as case study, Mr. Ikeogu made two specific recommendations that stood out for me:
(1) That a bigger slice of resources currently splashed on merriment and fanfare for new initiates would be better channelled towards sustainable human development projects capable of lifting more residents of the Inland Town out of poverty.
(2) That the leadership of both revered societies should consider new lower age limits for fresh initiates to prevent excessive monetization of titles and ensure that honor goes to those who are truly deserving.
If I was a member of the Agbalanze or Otu Odu apparatchiks, I would have nominated Mr. Ikeogu for a special award in recognition of this contribution to the cause of social reform. I see the gem in his ideas and their capacity to transform both our ancient cultural institutions and our community for good.
But, as an Igbo proverb says, “The mind is (like) a handbag; everyone carries one that is uniquely his.” In other words, diversity of opinion is perfectly human. And so, along with the many rejoinders that followed, Mr. Ikeogu expectedly got his fair share of kudos and knocks.
I was particularly fascinated by responses from Onwa Buchi Amene and Ezennia Nonso Chukwudebe. Both men are Agbalanze title holders resident in the US and Nigeria respectively. So, I would assume that their views are fairly representative of a section of the much larger Agbalanze demographic.
In summary, Amene was of the opinion that the Agbalanze was well pleased with continuing the ancient practice of sharing small tokens of money, textiles, food and drinks to a vast number of people related to each new initiate. He saw nothing wrong with the grand banquets that accompanied title-taking, even in a poor community. To him, these were acts of charity, generosity, thanksgiving and wealth redistribution. Call it “giving back” from the surplus of providence.
Both Amene & Chukwudebe saw as disrespectful and misplaced, calls for re-channelling some more of the vast resources spent on Ichi-Ozo towards social development projects. Their reason: Agbalanze is NOT an arm of government but a private members club. Therefore, it was not Agbalanze’s “primary responsibility” to provide social amenities, infrastructure and jobs. Amene called on those with new ideas to go found their own clubs where they can put such ideas to good use. Mr. Chukwudebe added, for good measure, that current Agbalanze members pushing for reform from within “have the option of renouncing.” In other words, both men strongly feel that Agbalanze should be left alone!
I concede, as someone said, that people should not be told “how to spend their own hard-earned money.” But if we stretch that logic a little further, we soon realize its limitations. So, we might as well say that no one should be told how to drive their own cars, dress up for work, eat in public or even choose a life partner. What a wonderful world that would be! Imagine driving on whatever side of the road you please; arriving for business meetings in your pyjamas; eating noisily in a restaurant; or taking a girl dressed like a circus clown to see your mother!
Of course, every liberty has its limitations; and every right has responsibilities. We live in a regulated world – morally, socially, economically, ethically and spiritually. That is why even the richest and most powerful people in the world cannot always do exactly as they please. They must do what is acceptable and reasonable to society. And when they fail, they usually spend a fortune hiring spin doctors to clean up sullied reputations.
MTN is a private telecommunication business from South Africa. But in Nigeria it spends hundreds of millions of Dollars yearly building community hospitals and awarding university scholarships. UBA is a private Nigerian banking conglomerate. But its lead promoter, Tony Elumelu, spends a fortune each year through UBA Foundation and HEIRS Holdings supporting startups across Africa to scale up. There is a reason both MTN and UBA are going beyond their areas of “primary responsibility” and core competence to impact society. There is a reason they are not insisting that nobody should tell them how to spend their hard-earned money.
I suspect that, like me, Amene is a product of one of the reputable mission schools scattered across Onitsha and Eastern Nigeria to this day. Those schools were founded many years ago by Christian missionaries. The missionaries were neither part of colonial or post-colonial governments. They came primarily for evangelization. But they met communities in dire need and founded great schools, hospitals and other institutions to meet those pressing needs.
The seed money for the institutions they founded here came from European churches, individual donors and family charities. The missionaries did not insist on working strictly within the “deep religious, spiritual” and eschatological concerns of Christian evangelism. They went out of their way (so to speak), like the Good Samaritan, to attend to the existential and worldly needs of the peoples and communities with whom they were immersed. By doing so, they found an enduring pathway to winning souls and realizing their original purposes.
Since the foreign missionaries left, their indigenous successors have carried on with varying levels of commitment to public good. Many of our church leaders today are blatantly interested only in feathering their own nests. Government officials whose primary responsibility it is to provide public amenities have achieved more in the breach. Now, some members of our indigenous social clubs feel they should not even be brought into the conversation about uplifting our own communities. How sad! Africa’s elite is living up to its reputation as extremely egotistical and self-serving.
Beyond Agbalanze and Otu Odu, every institution or individual with hopes of remaining relevant in the future will do well to emulate the early Christian missionaries in Africa – through meaningful, impact and legacy causes. This is what the concept of “corporate social responsibility” is all about. It has been taught in business and management schools worldwide from the 1980s and is practiced by the most successful corporations today.
The call by the ultra conservative wing of Agbalanze for reformers to go do their own thing and leave Agbalanze alone is, in my view, one of the unexpected positive outcomes of the ongoing conversation. It nudges us to look beyond our ancient and subsisting institutions for new pathways to a better future. I hope that many of us take up this challenge. Perhaps, then, Agbalanze will realize its missed opportunities.
Those riding in cozy, air-conditioned cars do not often notice when their cars are badly in need a wash. Usually, it is passersby who see all the grime and grease.
To conclude, there is something Mr. Ikeogu said which I think has not received adequate attention in the healthy debate that followed his treatise. He observed that a life of excessive consumerism within Inland Town, Onitsha, has had negative effects on public health, life expectancy, family stability and trans-generational outcomes. In his words, “Since there is a constant supply of food and drink, they see no need for work. Many succumb to a life of drunkenness and substance addiction. They raise dysfunctional families and eventually die prematurely from organ damage. The cycle continues with their poorly raised children for generations.”
These are deep, insightful and troubling words. They suggest new areas of concern for us all. I hope that Mr. Ikeogu is wrong. I pray that those words do not come back to haunt us. Iseeeee!
