Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Viva! Arthur! Viva!

With due respect Biko, there was a hierarchy in Igboland.  Eze means excellence? Great. What does Ohu mean? Are the Osu and Ohu equal to the title holders? To obtain a title was quite expensive.The Eze, Ali and Mkpisi titles in Asaba are also a case in point. 

Class formation was manifested in the mechanisms of power and control. Senior titled men had more voice in decision making than others. 

Democratic equality? In fact political 

power was not diffused but concentrated in such a way as to exclude a sizable segment of the polity. Senior title holders called the shots and seemed to be part of a local aristocracy.  They could not even  be convicted in some areas.

 Ifemesia has challenged "the false impressions of utopian egalitarianism " in pre- colonial Igboland. 

 Titled free-born males had the political and economic advantage. The Obi of Aboh was elected by 60 elders at one point, many of whom were titled. A similar trend occurred in Western  and Southern Igboland, in particular. In Abakaliki  titled freeborn elders were the major advisors. In the case of Aro in the Southeast, the Eze Aro was the eldest freeborn male tracing descent from the founder family and he certainly had more power than an Osu or Ohu or a non titled person.

At some point in my academic career I paid some attention to this issue and feel obliged to add my voice on this matter. 

As I understand it, OAA is not opposed to democratic equality but to the mythology that Igboland was a model in that regard. There was communitarianism, and communal land use and so on, but individualized ownership and   private property emerged in the context of surplus production.

Professor Gloria Emeagwali 

emeagwali@ccsu.edu

On Dec 10, 2020, at 16:56, 'Biko Agozino' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:



OOA

Obi does not mean Eze in Igboland and Eze does not really mean king, it means excellence as in Ezeji for a farmer who excels in growing yam and Ezemuo for a priest who excels in service to a shrine. The Obi means the home and every Igbo man has his own Obi. The Obi of Onitsha is only the Obi chosen by the other Obi in Onitsha to represent them in intergroup relations. No one sees him as the king or Eze of Onitsha. The Owelle was never subordinate to the Obi because the Obi has only one head and the Owelle has only one head, just like everyone else. Therefore the Obi and the Owelle are equal human beings along with everyone even if the office of the Obi is Primus Inter Pares or first among equals.

Now, you owe us an explanation as to why you are opposed to a democratic equality among all citizens as espoused by the Igbo. This is exactly what the Nigerian constitution, plagiarized from the US, promises to guarantee. If you do not like it, then renounce your Nigerian citizenship and go and become a subject under a monarchy of your choice. Most people will agree with the Igbo that democracy trumps feudalism. You are welcome to disagree with most people.

Biko

On Thursday, 10 December 2020, 02:47:31 GMT-5, 'Dr. Oohay' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Lucid piece.


Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

On Wednesday, December 9, 2020, 7:43 PM, 'Biko Agozino' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:

To be interred tomorrow:

The Author is Dead: Long Live His Work

The Author is Dead: Long Live His Work --> By Biko Agozino When literary theorists talk about the death of the author, they do not refer ...

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