The Problem with my People

             

  The problems with my people.

               by Okwo Romeon
The drive for this piece is bore out of constant questioning with my humble self to know why my people had being left behind with the basic things that should have make life meaningful for them.
Some time I wondered if we are truly participating in this processes of democracy or if,we are located in a particular place outside the boarder of the state and because of that we don't get consider in what ever plans the state is having for others.

Ok,let me assumed we being missing in action within the map of Benue state which is our major concern,I still can't get my thoughts fixed to why the Federal government would not remember a Federal  Constituency with a project in the last twenty years or more, is it that our politicians are the ones short-changing us as we say in local palace?,or the projects are not real given,and why is the people not even interested on what happen to them like some where else or is it that the people are not well informed on how to demand for their rights and follow up most these things or the situations is  not too bad yet to the point that the people should  start asking the questions?

I had ponder on some of this questions alone for a very long time now and I thought I should bring it to public discourse and see if I can get answers together with you who are my brothers,sisters and even those of you whom I had consider as friends of Igede with the good will toward our plights especially most of you that joined me in Oju or Obi to celebrate the  Igede-Agba yearly festival after considering the travails you go through on our roads any times you visit.
As the saying goes,"no man is an Iceland" but we the Igede's are the most displaced Icelanders now as the ubasic infrastructures to our towns that would have allow us connect parts of the state and the country had being wish away by the political disarrangements in the state.

My people die of unspeakable common accident along the gutter roads while going to support politicians that look away from theirs problems when they are eventually elected into political positions and even when they are out of such offices.
The mere sincerity of an Igede man had became a nightmare to himself as this richness is taken for granted.

And It seem, the elders in the villages are only satisfied in eating goat meat and drinks in funeral and prayed for the souls of their sons and daughters to rest in peace but become docile to find out what is the real problem that keep claiming theirs sons and daughters so cheaply every time.

Day by day,the world match into the twenty century with others tribes and leave us behind yet our elders has not find a reason why we must changed.We cannot continue to live in our perceived ways and hope to be in touch with real world,if we should belong to the new era,maybe, time to abrogate  some of the norms or beliefs system in Igede land has come .

I wouldn't have bore you with the brief history of this great people but as you can see,many out there never know deep well about this humble and wonderful nation called the Igede's.

And for the sake of this article,my attempt to explained the brief history of the people will be very shallow because I hadn't any opportunity to lay my hand on a clear printable documents to this cause yet, so my story is based on verbal tales.

I will be very happy if any of the Igede scholar out there can get any books across to me that will help me exploit the actual myth of our people as these my attempt is based on Igede folktales.
the purpose of these article is to see how the questions which I addressed here fine some profound answers either now or in future.
I may not be a good story teller but  I just hope this service the purpose of this write up.

Igede is a descendant of the Oral tribe in Agbonigede Owan South local government area in the present Edo state before moving to it present place of Benue state and partly some part of Cross River and Ebonyi state.
According to the story,the Igede as nation today emanate from the first son of the  second wife of the King of Ora kingdom in Agbonigede  in Edo state.

The lineage were said to be very humble and peaceful people not until their father die that the community began fermenting troubles against their mother.
Agba the first son of the second wife who later became the legendary father of the Igede nation tried to escape with his mother and the whole family as war eventually broken out between the kingdoms.

It was said,"Agba was a great hunter and a farmer and he went to farm on that faithful day when some women in the community came to borrow the wife earth-pot to fetch water from the stream,one of the wife was hesitant to release the pot as they was a perceived enmity between the family but because of  the humbleness and the kind heart of the wife ,she could not hold back their refusal to release the pot,so the pot was given out to the women to go and fetch water.

Like most women,on their way back from the stream,gossip started and unfortunately led to query and a fight between the women.
The borrowed pot was broken to pieces and that was the genesis of the crisis.

When Agba came back from hunting that day,he was brief of what happen and he approach the other woman husband concerning the issues but instead of resolving the issues with understanding,the man shoulder up and claimed Agba does not have the right to come to his compound to challenged him and the wife.

The encounter upset Agba,and he insisted with his wife that, they should be paid their earthly pot and they were not going to accept any new pot except the very one that was broken.

The rest were stories as it is said, the whole crises led to the exodus of the whole of Agba families to the present abode of the Igede land in Benue state after crossing through the great river Idah in Kogi state about twenty decades ago.
Agba continue it hunting prowess to the big forest of  Ogoja in Cross river state and then he got married again to others four new wivies which include:Ogbodu now Obudu,Ebeka now called Bekwara, Ebudume,known as Mbube  Eyelleka  popularly  known as Yala which constitute the majority tribes in  the present Ogoja region of Cross River state.this tribes make up the five Agba kingdoms which is the reasons the others tribes in Cross river State are called Agba families up till date.

Having tried to explained the brief history,now back to my questions.
Over the years,we the people of Igede had gotten all form of names calling because of our nature as a people,easy going,humble and  honest tribe which even befallen our history as the same sincerity was what led us to war that separate us from our ancestry home.


                     (Some of the Igede's  arrow-heads)

Over the times,our characters has not elevated our lands than other tribes that are surround us.our politicians are even the worse of it,its like our humble pasts had make some of them too milky,when others go up there to share the national cake back home,most of them had gone to the office to  played errand-big -boys -to a Masters.

Unfortunately,Igede nation had be short- changed both in state and federal level for a very long time,but that does not mean, our people are not blessed,we are the most educated people in ratio in Benue State,our daughters are seriously sort out for in marriage because of a special blessing attached to marring an Igede ladies,our men are darling to employers because of theirs honesty and integrity over the country,as of today,it is only in Igede land that not only parent but the whole community can sack a child or banished a son of the soil from the village if the source of his wealth is not traceable.all these and others make us happy as people because we believe that true riches lie in a man heart.

But the point is this,and the time is now here with us, and the questions is still,had our honesty real bring about the desire developments to our kingdoms,has the humble honesty of an Igede man not turn him to a laughing stock by our brothers who surround us?,

how do we describe a race with over many years of civilization but can not  have a single tart road to her major towns because the others tribes felt since we claimed to be  too clean or what so ever we should perish with our righteousness,or should we now cast away our flirty rag and do what others are doing?

How come we continually gave one man vote for twenty years and the man refused to build a single bore hole water to any of our community or how do we explained our #brotherhood to others tribes which sees us as only political currency during election and never mind the dust they drove to our towns and villages during elections for twenty years? Haba!
Why is our professors and Doctors only bookworm while in  some clans a single Professor had deliver the people.

Have our honesty not sent many of our young kids and elders to early grave? but should we change our skin to be like others? I can hear some body say "God forbid" or what should we do differently if there is need to totally eradicate or reduced the one-spot -circle - development we being through more than twenty years?

I m not saying my guys must steal or cut corners to bring development to our lands but my people must start asking the questions now,do the lobbying, organize theirs civil society groups to follow up theirs projects, negeotiate the community interest very well,vote for visionary politicians, and above all have a good mindset for the overall good of the land

Again, it is time to reach out, people must reached for trhe sake of our father land,we must reached out for the sake the generations.
We as people must cry out loud if our elected representatives can not do it for us,I believed I m doing my own here,so I expect every body to do his or her own,our humbleness and integrity should not being a liability but an asset that we must sell to the world.

Let the children hear this,let our brothers and sisters known this,the Igede we all long for one day is the Igede that rivers and mountains will not be a barrier for us to reach others either you are from Itakpa in Ito or from Oturukpo in Gabu of Cross river state,we must all rise as that future we hope for being now!
- [ ] Igede ka haha!!
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