About the Igbos

The Igbos1 of Nigeria are said to be one of the lost tribes of Israel from the tribe of Gad according to various sources, history, and research

 

 

 

the tribe of Gad according to various sources, history, and research. 2,3,4,5.

The Igbos are one of the ethnic groups in Nigeria, and have been very marginalized6 and deprived of many human rights as well as social amenities by the Nigerian government. As such, good roads, hospitals, schools, etc. are all inadequate and dilapidated in the south-east region of Nigeria where the Igbos predominately dominate.7

Many youths in the region have no jobs because there are no structures to provide jobs; consequently, many graduates are not able to be engaged with what they had studied. Many talented, industrious and technical people have no support from government.

Furthermore, as a result of the unconducive nature of the Nigerian state to the Igbos, many of them are found in different parts of the world working to survive, where they have been hard-working and a people of high determination. However, irrespective of the marginalization, the Igbos holds the economy of Nigeria through commerce. They are allegedly the most civilized and the most creative people in Nigeria. They very industrious and business-oriented people. Consequently, many of them are self-made and as such, the Igbo ethnic group is considered the most prosperous ethnic group in Nigeria. According to Chinua Achebe in his Why Nigerians hate Igbo: “The increase of the Igbos was so exponential in such a short time that within three short decades the Igbos had closed the gap and quickly moved ahead as the group with the highest literacy rate, the highest standard of living, and the greatest of citizens with postsecondary education in Nigeria”8 just as it was the case of the Israelites in Egypt.

The Igbos however, have been hoping to see if there would be a change, to see if the government would change their mischievous ways and do things right. But because of corruption, the Nigerian government is not ready to accept the truth and neither are they willing to do right. And the marginalization and intimidation of the Igbos continues.

Recent Developments

Recently, there has been an awakening among the Igbos. Having realized the present situation of things, it dawned on them that there needed to be a change. It became evidently obvious that they don’t want to continue to be marginalized and intimidated by the Nigerian Muslim government. As a result of this great awakening and revival for self-determination, many are converting back to Judaism and many are very zealous for the Lord as has always been the case, because only God can change their situation.

Furthermore, they are demanding freedom, considering that many of the natural resources, especially the oil the Nigerian state heavily relies on for her economy, is from the Igbo land, yet the south-east and the south-south are the least-developed parts of Nigeria. There have been several movements dating back from 1967 which led to the first three years of civil war in Nigeria (1967-1970)9 for the separation, having seen the difficulty of co-inhabitation with their Muslim counterparts. Since the Igbos are considered the Jewish of Nigeria, the volatility that exists between Israel and Palestine is perhaps more between the Igbos and the Muslim Hausa Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria.

Many Igbos are calling to be separated from the Nigerian state, and are calling for referendum, hoping to establish a new country called “Biafra.”  Presently, this movement is headed by Nnamdi Kalu, and his group the IPOB (The Indigenous People of Biafra), and has gained lots of popularity among the Igbos as every Igbo is considered the Indigenous People of Biafra.

IPOB has been peacefully demonstrating around the world as a non-violent group calling for referendum, separation and self-determination. In response, the formal military dictator of Nigeria, who is the current president of the country, deployed thousands of military troops to kill the Igbos, of which many have allegedly been killed since September 3rd, 2017, with many cities in the southeast including Aba under siege.

Prayer Points

1. Pray that God will bring peace and restoration in Nigeria and bring a complete restoration to the Igbo people.
2. Pray that the genocide that the Nigerian government committed against the Igbos in 1967-1970 will not happen again, because this Muslim president, Muhammadu Buhari10, a formal military dictator who ruled Nigeria, is up to destroy Christians.
3. Pray that God would give the Igbos the wisdom on how to go about these critical moments.
4. Pray that God would give those whose children, brothers, sisters have been killed the heart to take the loss.
5. And pray that God vindicate them and send them help.

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_Jews
2. http://forward.com/news/365443/african-lost-tribe-debates-dna-testing-for-jewish-roots/
3. http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/01/world/africa/nigeria-jews-igbo/index.html
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3bamqJmPNY
5. http://www.hebrewigbo.com/israel-igbo.html
6. http://dailypost.ng/2017/06/29/igbos-marginalized-reno-omokri/
7. http://www.authorityngr.com/2017/02/-The-reality-of-Igbo-marginalization/
8.http://thenationonlineng.net/why-nigerians-hate-igbo-by-chinua-achebe/
9.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Civil_War
10. http://ekwenche.org/igbos-hate-me-because-of-what-i-did-to-them-during-biafra-war.htm
11. http://www.hebrewigbo.com/gad.html