How Ndigbo Is Destroying Igbo Land Through Kidnapping For Ransom

Igbo land is no doubt the most developed region in the whole of Nigeria- not because it hosts popular cities and government headquarters like other regions in Nigeria, but because Ndigbo strongly believe in the individual development of their families, villages and communities, hence the widespread development in Igbo land. What every Igbo man or woman strives for in life is to bring comfort and development to his immediate family and community- reason you see Igbo people running back home during festive seasons like Christmas, Easter, August Meeting, New Yam festival (Iri Ji), etc.

This trend didn’t start now, it started way back in the early 50s, whereby Igbo people come to cities like Lagos, Calabar, Kano, Ibadan, etc to trade and do businesses to earn money, which they usually sent back home to their parents and siblings in the village to build zinc houses, and other family development projects. Ndigbo always did things jointly as one- they always had their community at heart, reason you see Igbo communities contributing their meager incomes to send one or two of their children to school, in order to bring light and western civilization back home. This was mirrored in Professor Chinua Achebe’s “No Longer At Ease”.

I still remember how we crave for Christmas- to go home, to watch masquerade dance by both old people and young children who wear masks and drum around the village to entertain people, and in the process, earned coins and sometimes Christmas rice from their numerous village fans. I loved the local wrestling, or am I to talk of the village football match competition, where each village competes for a trophy set by a prominent indigene?

Igba Nkwu (traditional marriage ceremony), Iwa Akwa, House launches, Borehole Water Dedications, White wedding ceremonies, coronation of kings, marriage and life jubilee celebrations, and new car dedications were amongst the numerous ceremonies that colored the old Igbo land during Christmas season.

Rich people were never afraid to display the wealth they acquired in the cities when they returned to their villages; they strived to bring joy and better life to their people in the village, and in the process, they engaged in so many community development projects like- community water projects, market renovations, modern road constructions, school renovations, and to complement their wealth display, they built beautiful mansions in their family houses, thereby beautifying the Igbo land, and making villages look like modern cities. But today, things have turned upside down.

I still remember how my elder brothers clamored to build duplexes in our village despite the fact that our father built a good house; they still desired to build their own mansions to also erect their names in the village, and their house opening ceremonies were glamorous; villages were happy as they came happily to eat, drink and merry with my family, and in return, we gave them back by initiating a yearly academic scholarship to sponsor 17 scholars to further their studies via WAEC/NECO registration and more…the competition grew popular and brought relief to parents in my community.

So many Igbo prominent men and women were also doing same in their various communities- giving scholarships to excellent students, sponsoring people to startup their own businesses, and taking their kinsmen (who were lavishing in the village) to the city to learn trade and handwork, which helped many to become prominent themselves, but today, you dare not do this, else, your aged mother or grandparents in the village will be kidnapped, and a huge ransom that you may not have will be demanded, and if you fail to provide the ransom, you may end up losing your loved one, what has come over my people of Igbo land? Who brought this pain and destruction upon us Ndigbo?

Must we copy the evil? Must we emulate things that only add pains to us? Must we copy only evil things my people? We must put a stop to this kidnapping syndrome that’s now scaring our prominent brothers and sisters from coming back home? Have we forgotten how sweet Christmas used to be in the Igbo land? How all roads led to Igbo land once it is Christmas period? Our brothers and sisters who live abroad are now scared to come home, they love village glamour, they enjoyed the tranquility of the village, the bushes, the masquerades, the home calls by well-wishers coming to say “Nno”, the sweet sensation of being home.

Ndigbo must jointly fight against kidnapping in Igbo land if we want greater development in Igbo land. Remember, Igbo region is developed today, not by the government, but by the individual efforts of the Igbo people who toil in the cities to develop their families and communities. Young Igbo people are now afraid to come to their village to dedicate their cars, or to build houses or get married, simply because they are afraid after the ceremony, kidnappers will come knocking…let’s do something my people before it gets so bad, if at all it isn’t right now.

It breaks my heart, it makes me bleed in the eye and in the heart…kidnapping in Igbo land must stop, if you have a hand in it, please stop now!