‘Ndigbo, in spite of blessings, achievements, are helping to drag ourselves down‘ – Catholic Bishop

The Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, His Grace, Dr. Anthony J. V. Obinna, has expressed regret that “Ndigbo, in spite of all the blessings and achievements, are helping to drag ourselves down”. Archbishop Obinna, who spoke Monday , at a pre-Odenigbo Lecture press conference in Owerri, also lamented that the unbridled quest for wealth and political power among Ndigbo, was doing a lot of harm to their collective psyche and reputation. “We are bringing shame upon ourselves through avaricious quest for money, avaricious competitive quest for political positions and by subjecting ourselves to slavery, in the hands of fellow Nigerians”, Archbishop Obinna said. He was equally disturbed that some people of Igbo extraction now hanker for all manner of titles from other cultures. “It is disturbing that some of our people now hanker for all manner of titles from other cultures. Such titles and dress-ups now make us not recognize them as Igbo people.

They appear awkward in our sight”, Obinna fumed. Continuing, the Catholic cleric said that “the most painful part of it is the battle being waged against Ndigbo in this nation”. He was pained that a good number of Igbo leaders, for whatever reason, do not seem to think seriously about the battle being waged against the hapless people.

“A number of our Igbo leaders do not seem to seriously think that their brothers and sisters have been put under serious discomfort that is tragic. Many of our young people have been killed in the process of expressing their anger over the way Ndigbo are being treated in this country”, Obinna said. He recalled that these battles have been against Ndigbo, especially after the civil war, which ended January 1970, having sought to be independent. “We tried to be on our own but we were constrained to come back to Nigeria, yet we are not welcome to Nigeria. That is why you have all these reactions of our young people. It is sad that Nigerians still treat Ndigbo as second class or third class citizens of this nation”, Obinna said. The fiery cleric recalled with grief that only recently, scores of Igbo women were sadly imprisoned in ImoState, for merely expressing their fundamental right.

“These women, like I was made to understand, were in a very peaceful protest. They were protesting over the state of Ndigbo in Nigeria. They carried out this protest without arms, cudgels, bows, arrows or even sticks, in a non-violent way, yet they teargassed, shamed into being imprisoned in our own Igboland”, Archbishop Obinna lamented. He however appealed to Ndigbo to cherish and protect their God-given dignity, stressing that they should not reject themselves, even when they are rejected by others. “Let us therefore, continue to do our best to cherish and protect the dignity of the Igbo people in Igboland and everywhere else”, Obinna pleaded. Vanguard