POET and scholar Nwachukwu Egbunike will present his latest poetry collection, Incantations, on 14 February at the Alliance Française Library in Ikoyi, Lagos, marking the release of his third published volume. Issued by Noirledge Publishing, the collection reflects Egbunike’s continued engagement with spirituality, heritage and metaphysical reflection. Rooted in the African concept of incantation as […]
By OBASI NZUBECHI When Names Became Shields: Igbo Identity After the Civil War DECADES after the Nigerian Civil War, some Igbo communities quietly altered the way they presented themselves to navigate a hostile post-war landscape. Although the government publicly declared reconciliation, Igbo citizens faced persistent discrimination and limited access to power. Name Changes as Survival Mechanisms […]
Marriage, Inheritance, and Identity in Pre-Colonial Igboland LONG before colonial rule, Igbo society was structured around lineage, land, and ancestral continuity. Names were central markers of identity, inheritance, and belonging. Within this framework, marriage did not automatically dissolve a woman’s connection to her natal family—a stark contrast to modern assumptions about gendered identity and property […]
HISTORY & CULTURAL CONTINUITY Igbo and Ibibio: A Shared Past Beyond Colonial Boundaries FOR generations, the relationship between the Igbo and Ibibio peoples of southern Nigeria has been framed through modern state boundaries and ethnic labels. Yet beneath contemporary classifications lies a deeper, older story—one of shared origins, cultural exchange, and social interdependence that predates […]
Ala: The Supreme Witness in Igbo Cosmology LONG before colonial administration formalised legal institutions in Nigeria, Ala (the earth deity) was central to governance, morality, and communal arbitration in Igbo societies. Unlike hierarchical kingdoms, many Igbo communities operated decentralised republican systems where spiritual cosmology and civic order were intertwined. Crimes were not just interpersonal offences […]
70% Control Was Not Just a Number — It Was a System THE Aro story is not simply about dominance, but systems innovation. Their 70% control over slave-trade routes came from: Riverway governance Market colonisation Political brokerage And spiritual enforcement. They built a commercial republic that required no king to rule, only routes to regulate. […]
The Indigenous Question & Political Boundaries Not Migration, But Ancestry THE narrative that Igbo communities outside the five South-East states are products of modern migration has long shaped public discourse, census assumptions, political representation, and even resource allocation. Yet ethnolinguistic evidence, pre-colonial settlement patterns, and indigenous governance systems point to a different conclusion: several Igbo-speaking […]
Identity Beyond Language: The Untold Political Anatomy THE Ikwerre story sits at the intersection of linguistics, power, war, and self-preservation. Scholars agree that Ikwerre shares an estimated 95 percent linguistic similarity with Igbo, placing the group firmly within the Igboid language family. But reducing Ikwerre identity to language alone oversimplifies a more complex historical reality. […]
When Onitsha Said No IN 1991, a proposal linked to Nigeria’s military administration under General Ibrahim Babangida triggered one of the most decisive civic resistances in South-East history. The plan sought to excise Onitsha from Anambra State and merge it with Delta North to form an Anioma State. For the Igbo of Onitsha and surrounding […]
IGBO spirituality is a complex tapestry of forces and principles, embodied in a pantheon of deities that govern nature, morality, and human destiny. At the top is Chukwu (Chi-Ukwu), the Supreme Source—too vast to be worshipped directly. Ala/Ani, Mother Earth, upholds morality, justice, fertility, and the laws of the land, while Amadioha wields thunder, lightning, […]