World Igbo Congress

Last updated

World Igbo Congress (WIC) is a Houston-based sociopolitical organization that promotes the Igbo people's interests in Nigeria. [1] It focuses its support on economic and legal aid to the Igbo population, the victims of ethnic cleansing before and after the Nigerian Civil War, as well as the rehabilitation of Biafran War veterans. [1]

Contents

History

World Igbo Congress was founded in Houston, Texas, United States, to represent the general interests of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. [2] It serves as an umbrella organization for all people of Igbo descent who live outside Nigeria, primarily those that live in the United States. The organization was founded on 27 August 1994, following a meeting, in Houston, of prominent Igbo leaders from across the United States. In July 2012, WIC was granted "special consultative status" by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). [3] WIC was patterned after the famous World Jewish Congress, WJC.

In 1997, the World Igbo Congress Foundation (WICF) was established as WIC's project development arm. [4]

Structure

World Igbo Congress is listed in the open yearbook of The Union of International Associations, UIA, as an internationally recognized non-governmental organization. In a 2006 paper presented at the annual conference of the Igbo Studies Association, Dr. Ugorji O. Ugorji pointed out that many Igbo interest groups and organization affiliate themselves with World Igbo Congress. [5] Members of the organization retain their individual membership rights, hence, they vote and run for office on their individual merits and not as delegates of any affiliated organizations.

WIC states that its objective is to bring Igbo people and organizations in the United States together to focus on an established Igbo tradition of channeling initiatives for infrastructural development towards the homeland. [6] Like many other Igbo community development associations, WIC works to bring Igbo people together and to encourage brotherhood and development. World Igbo Congress indicates that it is building a modern hospital, in Igbo land, to help mitigate the problem of "medical tourism." [7]

Socio-political activism

World Igbo Congress's initiatives focus on encouraging good governance and accountable leadership in the Igbo speaking states of Nigeria. For example, WIC supported the new voting system initiatives (e.g. absentee voting) in Nigeria. [8]

Over the past two decades, WIC has continued to find ways to exert its influence on issues regarding ethnic divisions and conflicts that affect the welfare of Igbo people in Nigeria. One example of such influence came after a meeting it called in July, 2019. Following the conference, WIC criticized the state of insecurity in Nigeria; alleging that the clashes between nomadic herdsmen and farming communities have worsened the security situation. [9] However, some of its past attempts to foray into hot button political issues have not gone too well. One notable example was the 2015 appearance of Nnamdi Kanu at the WIC convention in Los Angeles, California. [10] In his speech at the convention, Kanu, the leader of the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, [11] publicly solicited the help of WIC in its effort to procure “guns and bullets” to fight the Nigerian government. [12]

World Igbo Congress has worked to bring both international and domestic attention to socio-political issues and government policies that are deemed hostile to the interests of Igbo people who are predominantly business owners, merchants, industrialists, and general entrepreneurs. [13] WIC has strategically aligned itself with international associations, including the various arms of the United Nations. Such alliances are used to bring other Igbo groups that advocate the cause of Igbo people into the network of international non-governmental organizations. [14] World Igbo Congress also helps new immigrants integrate into the Nigerian diaspora network in addition to providing support in navigating the U.S. job market. WIC also provides support to new immigrants that are transitioning and resettling in the United States. [15]

Criticisms

Not all Igbo people are on board with the idea of World Igbo Congress or its agenda. The long-running leadership fights and other activities that observers consider frivolous have been sources of constant criticisms. These fights affect WIC's ability to accomplish some of its stated objectives. One such conflict led to a 2016 lawsuit filed by Nwaguru. [16] The case, which challenged Eto on who had the right to act as the president of World Igbo Congress, illustrates many disputes that dragged from an unresolved 2014 chairmanship election. [17]

Observers note that the organization spends much of its resources on these disputes. Many are further aggrieved by other issues such as the failure to include younger Igbo people in the organization and its activities. [18] In a 2008 article, an Abuja-based lawyer, Ikechukwu Ogu, famously described World Igbo Congress as "a jamboree in a foreign land." [19] The 2019 convention in Houston, Texas, however, saw a peaceful election and a smooth transition to the new leadership. Observers are watching to see if the years of “World Igbo Confusion,” [20] as one critic put it, are finally behind.

Some critics also cite the confusion regarding identity. For instance, there are members of the Igbo ethnic group who are reluctant to fully participate. These are groups that claim to be Ika, Ikwerre, Ngwa, and Arochukwu, respectively. Their source of contention, they say, is that they speak their own unique dialect of the Igbo language, (dialects [21] ) and not mainstream Igbo; or that they have different geopolitical agenda. [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigeria</span> Country in West Africa

Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea to the south in the Atlantic Ocean. It covers an area of 923,769 square kilometres (356,669 sq mi), and with a population of over 230 million, it is the most populous country in Africa, and the world's sixth-most populous country. Nigeria borders Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west. Nigeria is a federal republic comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Abuja, is located. The largest city in Nigeria is Lagos, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world and the largest in Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Economic and Social Council</span> One of six principal organs of the United Nations

The United Nations Economic and Social Council is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization, specifically in regards to the fifteen specialised agencies, the eight functional commissions, and the five regional commissions under its jurisdiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biafra</span> Partially recognised country in West Africa (1967–1970)

Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the former Eastern Region of Nigeria, predominantly inhabited by the Igbo ethnic group. Biafra was established on 30 May 1967 by Igbo military officer and Eastern Region governor C. Odumegwu Ojukwu under his presidency, following a series of ethnic tensions and military coups after Nigerian independence in 1960 that culminated in the 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom. The Nigerian military proceeded to attempt to reclaim the territory of Biafra, resulting in the start of the Nigerian Civil War. Biafra was formally recognised by Gabon, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, and Zambia while receiving de facto recognition and covert military support from France, Portugal, Israel, South Africa and Rhodesia. After nearly three years of war, during which around two million Biafran civilians died, President Ojukwu fled to Ivory Coast in exile as the Nigerian military was approaching the capital of Biafra. Philip Effiong became the second president of Biafra, and he oversaw the surrender of Biafran forces to Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igbo language</span> Niger–Congo language of the Igbo people, mainly spoken in Nigeria

Igbo is the principal native language cluster of the Igbo people, an ancient ethnicity in the Southeastern part of Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igbo people</span> Ethnic group in Southern Nigeria

The Igbo people are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A sizable Igbo population is also found in Delta and Rivers States. Ethnic Igbo populations are found in Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea, as migrants as well as outside Africa. There has been much speculation about the origins of the Igbo people, which are largely unknown. Geographically, the Igbo homeland is divided into two unequal sections by the Niger River—an eastern and a western section. The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakubu Gowon</span> Military head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975

Yakubu Dan-Yumma "Jack" Gowon is a retired Nigerian army general and military leader. As head of state of Nigeria, Gowon presided over a controversial Nigerian Civil War and delivered the famous "no victor, no vanquished" speech at the war's end to promote healing and reconciliation. The Nigerian Civil War is listed as one of the deadliest in modern history, with some accusing Gowon of crimes against humanity and genocide. Gowon maintains that he committed no wrongdoing during the war and that his leadership saved the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigerian Civil War</span> 1967–1970 civil war in Nigeria

The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence from Nigeria in 1967. Nigeria was led by General Yakubu Gowon, while Biafra was led by Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka "Emeka" Odumegwu Ojukwu. Biafra represented the nationalist aspirations of the Igbo ethnic group, whose leadership felt they could no longer coexist with the federal government dominated by the interests of the Muslim Hausa-Fulanis of Northern Nigeria. The conflict resulted from political, economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions which preceded the United Kingdom's formal decolonisation of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963. Immediate causes of the war in 1966 included a military coup, a counter-coup, and anti-Igbo pogroms in Northern Nigeria.

Anarchism in Nigeria has its roots in the organization of various stateless societies that inhabited pre-colonial Nigeria, particularly among the Igbo people. After the British colonization of Nigeria, revolutionary syndicalism became a key factor in the anti-colonial resistance, although the trade union movement deradicalized and took a more reformist approach following the country's independence. The contemporary Nigerian anarchist movement finally emerged from the left-wing opposition to the military dictatorship in the late 1980s and saw the creation of the Awareness League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igboland</span> Cultural region in Nigeria

Igboland, also known as Southeastern Nigeria, is the indigenous homeland of the Igbo people. It is a cultural and common linguistic region in southern Nigeria. Geographically, it is divided into two sections by the lower Niger River: an eastern and a western one. Its population is characterised by the diverse Igbo culture and the speakers of equally diverse Igbo languages.

Nigerian Americans are Americans who are of Nigerian ancestry. The number of Nigerian immigrants residing in the United States is rapidly growing, expanding from a small 1980 population of 25,000. The 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) estimated that 712,294 residents of the U.S.A were of Nigerian ancestry. The 2019 ACS further estimated that around 392,811 of these (85%) had been born in Nigeria. Which puts the total Nigerian American population a little over 400,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Biafra</span> History of the flag of the Republic of Biafra (c. 1967 - 1970)

The flag of Biafra, used by the Republic of Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), consists of a horizontal tricolour of red, black, and green, charged with a golden rising sun over a golden bar. The eleven rays of the sun represent the eleven former provinces of Biafra. The rays are typically long and slender with the lowest rays being nearly horizontal and the remaining rays spread evenly between.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-Igbo sentiment</span> Ideology

Anti-Igbo sentiment encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards the Igbo people. The Igbo people make up all of south-eastern Nigeria and a part of south-south Nigeria's geopolitical zones. Igbophobia is observable in critical and hostile behaviour such as political and religious discrimination and violence towards the Igbo.

A series of massacres were committed against Igbo people and other people of southern Nigerian origin living in northern Nigeria starting in May 1966 and reaching a peak after 29 September 1966. Between 8,000 and 30,000 Igbos and easterners have been estimated to have been killed. A further 1 million Igbos fled the Northern Region into the East. In response to the killings some northerners were massacred in Port Harcourt and other eastern cities. These events led to the secession of the eastern Nigerian region and the declaration of the Republic of Biafra, which ultimately led to the Nigeria-Biafra war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igbo Americans</span> Americans of Igbo birth or descent

Igbo Americans, or Americans of Igbo ancestry, are residents of the United States who identify as having Igbo ancestry from modern day Nigeria. There are primarily two classes of people with Igbo ancestry in the United States, those whose ancestors were taken from Igboland as a result of the transatlantic slave trade before the 20th century and those who immigrated from the 20th century onwards partly as a result of the Nigerian Civil War in the late 1960s and economic instability in Nigeria. Igbo people prior to the American Civil War were brought to the United States by force from their hinterland homes on the Bight of Biafra and shipped by Europeans to North America between the 17th and 19th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igbo people in the Atlantic slave trade</span> History of the Igbo people in the Atlantic Slave Trade

The Igbo of Igboland became one of the principal ethnic groups to be enslaved during the Atlantic slave trade. An estimated 14.6% of all enslaved people were taken from the Bight of Biafra, a bay of the Atlantic Ocean that extends from the Nun outlet of the Niger River (Nigeria) to Limbe (Cameroon) to Cape Lopez (Gabon) between 1650 and 1900. The Bight’s major slave trading ports were located in Bonny and Calabar.

The Ngwa people are an Igbo group living in the southern part of Igboland. The Ngwa people are found predominantly in Abia State with a population of 314,840 in 1963. They cover 1,328 square kilometres (513 sq mi) and are the largest subgroup of Igbo people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigerian nationalism</span>

Nigerian nationalism asserts that Nigerians as a nation should promote the cultural unity of Nigerians. Nigerian nationalism is territorial nationalism and emphasizes a cultural connection of the people to the land, particularly the Niger and the Benue Rivers. It first emerged in the 1920s under the influence of Herbert Macaulay, who is considered to be the founder of Nigerian nationalism. It was founded because of the belief in the necessity for the people living in the British colony of Nigeria of multiple backgrounds to unite as one people to be able to resist colonialism. The people of Nigeria came together as they recognized the discrepancies of British policy. "The problem of ethnic nationalism in Nigeria came with the advent of colonialism. This happened when disparate, autonomous, heterogeneous and sub-national groups were merged to form a nation. Again, the colonialists created structural imbalances within the nation in terms of socio-economic projects, social development and establishment of administrative centres. This imbalance deepened the antipathies between the various ethnic nationalities in Nigeria ." The Nigerian nationalists' goal of achieving an independent sovereign state of Nigeria was achieved in 1960 when Nigeria declared its independence and British colonial rule ended. Nigeria's government has sought to unify the various peoples and regions of Nigeria since the country's independence in 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nnamdi Kanu</span> British-Nigerian political activist

Nnamdi Okwu Kanu is a British-Nigerian political activist who advocates for the secession and independence of Biafra from Nigeria. He is the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which he founded in 2014. The main aim of IPOB is to restore the defunct separatist state of Biafra which existed in Nigeria's Eastern Region during the Nigerian Civil War of 1967–1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous People of Biafra</span> Separatist group in southeastern Nigeria

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is a separatist group in Nigeria that aims to restore the defunct Republic of Biafra, a country which seceded from Nigeria prior to the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970). Since 2021, IPOB and other Biafran separatist groups have been fighting a low-level guerilla conflict in southeastern Nigeria against the Nigerian government. The group was founded in 2012 by Nnamdi Kanu and Uche Mefor. Kanu is known as a British Nigerian political activist known for his advocacy of the contemporary Biafran independence movement. It was deemed a terrorist organization by the Nigerian government in 2017 under the Nigerian Terrorism Act. As of May 2022, the United Kingdom started denying asylum to members of IPOB who engaged in human rights abuses, though the U.K. government clarified that IPOB had not been designated as a terrorist organisation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igbo nationalism</span> Political ideology related to the Igbo people

Igbo nationalism is a range of ethnic nationalist ideologies relating to the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. While the term is defined as seeking Igbo self-determination by some, others argue that it refers to the preservation and revival of Igbo culture and, for others, the development of Igboland stemming from the philosophy, Aku luo uno, which means "wealth builds the home".

References

  1. 1 2 Ogbaa, Kalu (2003). The Nigerian Americans. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 96. ISBN   0-313-31964-2.
  2. ↑ "World Igbo Congress Inc". World Igbo Congress. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  3. ↑ United Nations, (ECOSOC). "Application for Consultative Status and Request for Reclassification Received from Non-governmental Organizations" (PDF). United Nations. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  4. ↑ Ikpenwa, Albert Okechukwu (2011). Economic Emancipation: The Crisis of a Christian Value System and the Alienation of the Human Person in a Globalized Economy : Global and Nigerian Perspectives. Zurich: LIT Verlag Münster. p. 89. ISBN   978-3-643-90132-3.
  5. ↑ Ugorji, Ugorji (1 April 2006). "In Our Father's House: The World Igbo Congress and Cultural Identity". Igbo Studies Association. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  6. ↑ Uduka, Ola (2002). "The Socio-economic Basis of a Diaspora Community: "Igbo bu Ike."". Review of African Political Economy. 29 (92): 301–311. doi:10.1080/03056240208704615. hdl: 10.1080/03056240208704615 .
  7. ↑ Voice of America (10 May 2019). "Nigeria Losing $1B Annually to Medical Tourism, Authorities Say". VOA Africa Service. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  8. ↑ Oshitokunbo, Oshisanya, 'lai (2018-01-01). An Almanac of Contemporary and Comparative Judicial Restatements (ACCJR Supp. ii Public Law): ACCJR Supplement ii. Ikoyi, Nigeria: Almanac Foundation. p. 497. ISBN   978-978-51200-5-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ Huhuonline. "WIC Holds Convention to Discuss Insecurity, RUGA". Huhuonline. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  10. ↑ Freeman, Colin. "The Man Fighting for Independence of a West African Nation from a Flat in Peckham". The Telegraph UK. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  11. ↑ Gaffey, Conor. "What is Biafra and Why are some Nigerians Asking for Independence?". Newsweek. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  12. ↑ Ali, Manir Dan (30 November 2015). "Letter from Africa: Should New Calls for Biafra Worry Nigerians?". BBC. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  13. ↑ Salau, Gbenga. "Igbo Congress Says Poor Economic Judgment Causing Hardship in Nigeria" . Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  14. ↑ Working Group on Girls. "List of WGG Member Organizations". Working Group on Girls. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  15. ↑ Mangala, Jack (2017-07-12). Africa and its Global Diaspora: The Policy and Politics of Emigration. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 118. ISBN   978-3-319-50052-2.
  16. ↑ CASETEXT. "Word Igbo Congress v Nwaguru". Casetext Inc. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  17. ↑ LEAGLE. "World Igbo Congress Inc v Nwaguru". leagle.com. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  18. ↑ Falola, Toyin; Oyebade, Adebayo (2017). The New African Diaspora in the United States. Oxon: Routledge. p. 33. ISBN   978-1-134-83141-8.
  19. ↑ Ogu, Ikechukwu. "World Igbo Congress: A Jamboree in a Foreign Land". Codewt World News. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  20. ↑ Nwakamma, Odo. "World Igbo Confusion". allAfrica. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  21. ↑ Aremo, Bolaji (2012). How Yoruba and Igbo Became Different Languages. Ibadan, Nigeria: SCRIBO Publications. p. 5. ISBN   978-978-37195-6-9.
  22. ↑ Moses, A. Dirk; Heerten, Lasse (2018). Postcolonial Conflict and the Question of Genocide: The Nigeria-Biafra War, 1967–1970. Oxon: Taylor & Francis. p. 339. ISBN   978-1-351-85866-3.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.