Society & People

The perils of Igbo-on-Igbo violent extremism poses an existential threat to the Igbos of Nigeria.

The promise and destiny of Nigeria is playing out in the United States. The significant contributions to the U.S. economy and politics brought by highly skilled, bright and motivated Nigerian immigrants and their children are building up U.S. success, to the neglect of Nigeria’s potential breakthrough in economic growth and social development. 

I’d begin with a fundamental truth: marriage is give-and-take and if you only focus on taking, or taking more than you give, you will have an unhappy married life or lose your marriage. Argue less, listen more, I would tell him. 

Material things fade away, but the memories we leave will transfer on to our children, friends, and those we have touched while we were alive. So, what memories will you leave behind for people to remember and reflect on when you die? And what personal legacy will you leave behind for your children to carry on and hand over to their children? Hopefully, it’s something they can cherish.

You know them when you meet them. They have inflated egos and a grandiose sense of self-importance and entitlement. They bluster, they brag, they rant and rave. And they have a need for constant and excessive validation and praise by others. They demand privilege, deference, adulation and bowed heads.

Universities proclaim mottoes that commemorate a befittingly grand ideal, like Harvard’s Veritas (Truth) and Oxford’s Dominus Illuminatio Mea (The Lord is my light). The University of Nigeria’s motto expresses a pragmatic purpose: To Restore the Dignity of Man.

The attitudes, behaviors and actions of some of them have created a narrative which conflates everyone, inexplicably, into one cesspool of malfeasance, reinforcing the prejudices against them and misrepresentations of the entire group.