Cultural
Dynamics and Societal Changes: The human society has gone and is still undergoing
through a series of changes that are analogous to those of human development
from birth through childhood, puberty, adolescence, old age and death. Society
changes simultaneously with the changes in any particular culture area.
Although these cultural changes are reflected in both the material and
non-material aspects of a people�s culture, the non-material aspects of culture
seem to be dominant. There is a strong link between the social life, religion,
ideology and polity of any given socio-cultural entity. The people�s social
values, norms, ethos, mores and folkways find anchorage in their beliefs that
in turn fossilize into ideologies. This phenomenon makes religion and politics
emerge as cultural siblings that are analytically separable but are factually
inseparable. The resultant effect is that there may be only a �De jure� and not �De facto� separation between religion and
politics. Religious factors cannot be extricated from democratic elections in
any part of the world as we have experienced it in parts of Afrika, America, Asia and Europe. The
recently concluded United States Presidential elections and the Iraqi general
elections may serve as good examples of this religio-political relationship.
Our concern here is: What role does culture play in the religion, politics,
technology and social life of a people that may affect its societal change?
This implies that any changes in a people�s culture provoke changes in the
society as well. Everyone admits that there are cultural and consequent changes
in our human society, but there is no agreement on how cultural changes occur
or ought to take place. Cultural and political changes often go hand in hand.
Schools
of Thought: Some scholars hold the opinion that cultural changes ought to be by
Evolution that is a gradual and natural process of development. The Igbo
Ahịajọkụ Lectures
seem to fall into this school of thought because the aim is a gradual recovery
and promotion of Igbo cultural values and identity.
On
the other hand, some scholars posit the hypothesis that cultural changes ought
to be sudden and quick via Revolution. Although some people are weary of
revolutionary changes because of the possibility of the eruption of violence,
it is good for us to note that all revolutions need not be violent. Examples of
violent revolutions include: the American revolution of 1776; the French
revolution of 1789; the Haitian revolution of 1804 and the Soviet revolution of
1917. The spread of Islam in the 7th century A.D. via Jihad falls
into this category. A peculiar example of non-violent revolution is that of
Jesus in the establishment of Christianity that has changed human history
forever.
Next
to the revolutionaries are the Reactionary scholars who want the change
suddenly
�to redress the wrong
or injustice at hand. The Igbo Ekumeku Movement of 1883 � 1914 may belong to
this school of thought. The Nigeria-Biafra war was as a reaction on the part of
the Biafrans to resist the genocidal war waged against the young Republic by Nigeria and her collaborators. The war that cost over
three million Biafran lives was forced on the Biafrans and they had to fight to
defend themselves in order to survive.
Activism belongs to the school of thought that implores a
vigorous agenda to ward off injustice and bring about change in a given
society. Activism may not imply violence; but it encourages the use of forceful
persuasion to usher in change. The United States Civil Rights Movements of the
1960s witnessed a strong wave of political activism.� There can be religious, cultural or political
activism. In some cases these three arms of activisms may come under one
umbrella. Activism is a civilized and respectable manner to seek for justice
for the masses and activists do not need to be politicians. It is theoretically
plausible for one to be indifferent or neutral and it is practically impossible
for one to be passive when society in is pillaged by hard-hearted politicians.
While wicked politicians are culpable for their actions, passive citizens are
more culpable for their passivity that is not natural.
The
Igbo Case: The Igbo people have suffered a lot of cultural, religious and
political degradation and the ground is fertile for any or all types of
activisms. Chinụa Achebe�s �Things Fall Apart� summarizes the Igbo
predicament. On the one hand, Europeanized brand of Christianity that the
colonial masters brought to the Igbo nation fail out with Igbo Traditional
Religion; and secondarily colonization was through the British conquest of the
Igbo nation. Cultural activism may not be separated from Religious Activism in
as much as the two are interwoven. However, Cultural Activism may serve as a
stepping- stone for the realization of the goals of Political Activism.
Conventional wisdom reflects that Cultural and Religious Activisms may thrive
where Political Activism fails. A tyrant or dictator has not ruled and may not
rule in the Igbo nation. This is reinforced by the Igbo adage that: �Eze onye
agwala m anaghị achị n�ala Igbo�. ��A dictator or tyrant does not
and cannot rule in the Igbo nation�. Thomas Hobbs once wrote that: �Homo homini
lupus�. ��Man is wolf to man.� Folks, what has happened to the Igbo nation of
over forty million people? Our people say that: �Onye hụrụ ọkụkọ
vọga nsi, chụpụ ya makana ọ dịghị onye mara
onye ga-ata ọkpa ya�. Literally speaking, -�One
who sees a chicken in a mess with feces, should get it out of it because no one
knows who will eat its legs.�
�
Some
clergy personnel have been in the forefront of Igbo Cultural Activism. Late Msgr.
|
Advertise
here
|
|
|
Martin
Okeke Madụka of the then Archdiocese of Ọnịcha was a
prominent champion of the cause of Igbo Cultural Activism. His Grace, Most Rev.
Dr. Anthony Obinna of the Archdiocese of Owere, has become a protagonist of
Igbo Cultural Activism by his establishment of the �Odenigbo Lectures�. Fada Jọn
Ọfọegbu Ụkaegbu has become an advocate and exponent of Igbo
Cultural Activism through his propagation of Igbology. The era of Igbology promotes
Igboism agenda as opposed to that of Bekeism that fosters and promotes foreign
ideologies in the Igbo Nation.
There
are some issues that have to be resolved by vigorous means without any
apologies to the colonial masters. William Shakespeare said that desperate
situations require desperate remedies. We don�t need Westerners to tell us how
to write our Igbo names and words in the correct Igbo format. The spelling of
Igbo towns and words like Owere, Ọnịcha, Ọka, Enugwu, Ọgwụ,
Enyiogwugwu, Igbo-Ụzọ, Ọlụ, etc. have to be written
Igbotically. There abound Igbo proverbs that highlight the various ideological
trends in the Igbo nation. From the Igbo evolutionists comes the proverb: �Onye
ji ihe nwata welie aka ya elu, aka rawa ya ahụ, o wedata aka ya, nwata
ewerekwa ihe ya�. ��One who takes what belongs to a child and raises one�s hand
will bring down the tired hand and the child takes back the thing from the
one�. The question is: How long will the child wait for the hand of the
oppressor to be tired before it is lowered so that the child will reclaim what
is his or hers? The Igbo evolutionists confuse pacifism with evolutionism and
they quote Igbo pacifist proverbs out of context. Cultural activists are
equally and truly pacifists because they want a speedy peace that will usher in
justice because there cannot be peace without justice. We know that justice
delayed, is justice denied. The real peace-lovers are those who make sacrifices
in order to achieve peace, and not those who wait until peace comes by itself.
We
have to clearly assert that Freedom is never Free.�� Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Once said that: �Freedom
has always been an expensive thing�; and he paid the ultimate price in his
pursuit of freedom. If you wait for freedom to be given to you, you may never
be free because our people say: �Enyere ibe nye m, onye gaara inye m?�.-�Who would have given me my due if it were in the hands
of others�? Everyone is a maker of one�s fortune in so far as: �As you make
your bed, so you lie on it�. Col. Ọnwụatụegwu of the Biafran
fame once said that: �Victory smiles on those who are able to apply themselves
to the changes in time, and not those who want the
changes to occur�. We have to take the bull by the horns because �Onye kwe, Chi ya ekwe�.
There is a strong link
between Cultural and Political Activisms. Patrice E. Lumumba
of
the Republic of Congo rightly said that: �No one is free who does not control one�s political
destiny�. There is no doubt that the greatest obstacle to the realization of
Igbo freedom is the loss of Igbo civil sovereign in 1914. We believed in Nigeria and if Nigeria has failed us, we have no other option than to
seek for our political freedom in order to guarantee our destiny as Patrice E.
Lumuba said it Instead of Nigeria to get better or improve, it gets worse
day-by-day and year-by-year. The current National Political Reform Conference(NPRC) may be the last
attempt to save Nigeria that is evidently in a sate of political coma. If
we have done our best and sacrificed millions of Igbo lives to save the Nigerian State and it continues to fail us, let�s call a spade a spade and seek our
cultural and political future.
There are only
structural and not essential differences between Colonialism and
Neo-Colonialism in so far as their goal is the same. Do we have any Afrikan
country with its National Anthem in an Afrikan language? On the contrary, every
European Nation has its National Anthem in its own language. In this regard,
one may rightly doubt if there is any true politically independent Nation in
Afrika.� Cultural Activism may brighten
our route to Religious, Political and Economic Freedom in the Igbo nation and
the rest of Afrika. In the Igbo geo-political area, we have to galvanize all
the ideological groups and harmonize their operatives in such a way that Igbo
identity would be preserved and honored. It is apparent that Igbo Cultural
Activism will play a vital role in the effort to lead Ndi Igbo to our destiny
and eventual freedom.