He (Obasanjo) could have added that the Igbo still approximate direct democracy despite Obasanjo's attempt to truncate it by imposing traditional rulers on the radically republican Igbo in 1976 when he was a military dictator - Biko Agozino
Historically, there was no Igbo but Ibo in the beginning of colonized Nigeria. The first tribal union in Nigeria named Ibo Federal Union was formed by Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1943, of which he was the president. The name of the union was changed to Ibo State Union in 1948. There was no ethnic tribe called Igbo in Nigeria in 1976 when Obasanjo was a military ruler and he could not have attempted to impose traditional rulers on the ethnic group known as Ibo then because traditional rulers in Ibo land predated Obasanjo's military regime. It is a wish for history to attribute anarchy that existed among the Ibo who lived in small enclaves as cannibals, when the British colonialist arrived, to Ibo radical republicanism. In the Northern and Western parts of Nigeria, there were traditional rulers through which the colonialist could govern but, in the East, there was no organised form of ruling. So, the British created warrant chiefs and imported red caps from Morrocco to distinguish them as representatives of the Ibo people in the British administration of Nigeria. Warrant Chiefs were eventually transformed into Igwe, Eze and other forms of Kings without Crowns but red caps in Ibo land. It was after 1980 that the spelling of Ibo changed to include the alphabet *G*, thenceforth spelled Igbo.
Unknown to him (Obasanjo), his surname is pronounced 'Obusonjo' by some Igbo, meaning: it is evil? - Biko Agozino
Names and words that are beautiful in a language can mean or be twisted to mean something horrible in another language. The word WÈRÈ in Yoruba language means lunatic but it can be twisted to mean OWERRI the capital city of lunatics in Imo State. The word IGBÓ in Yoruba language means forest or bush and a person claiming to be of IGBO tribe in Yorubaland can easily earn the epithet, ARÁ INÚ IGBÓ, meaning a bush man. I once met a Caucasian who wanted to act racist with me, but when I told him that his name in my mother tongue means chicken anus, he withdrew into his shell like a snail.
S. Kadiri
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of OLAYINKA AGBETUYI <yagbetuyi@hotmail.com>
Sent: 01 February 2021 23:43
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>; Yoruba Affairs <yorubaaffairs@googlegroups.com>
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Biko: Obasanjo's Interview and theIgbo Question
Sent: 01 February 2021 23:43
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>; Yoruba Affairs <yorubaaffairs@googlegroups.com>
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Biko: Obasanjo's Interview and theIgbo Question
Biko smuggled in his pet inaccuracies like Obasanjo imposed traditional rulers on Igbo village republicans in 1976. This was after the Igbo have willingly accepted to be part of the larger Nigerian republic in 1963.
He also wilfully distorted Obasanjo's point that those Igbo who were not born during the civil war seemed more embittered than those alive during the war, to mean that those Igbo were the most bitter set of Nigerians today. HE Obasanjo never made the latter claim.
Biko should know that HE Obasanjo is among the most incurable optimists about project Nigeria, in spite of adversities and should not expect him to subscribe to any referendum about the future of Nigeria.
OAA
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
-------- Original message --------
From: "'Dr. Oohay' via USA Africa Dialogue Series" <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Date: 01/02/2021 20:33 (GMT+00:00)
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com, Yoruba Affairs <yorubaaffairs@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Biko: Obasanjo's Interview and theIgbo Question
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
On Monday, February 1, 2021, 11:49 AM, Toyin Falola <toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:
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