Memo to the Attah of Igala

I greet you, respectfully, Your Royal Highness, The Attah of Igala.  You will live long on the throne of our ancestors to lead the Igala people. I write with heavy heart but with concern for the affairs of the Igala Kingdom. Gaabaidu.

What troubles me is that our people are not united; the level of zealotry in Igala land is nerve-racking. Is there anything you can do about it? The Igala are not as pluralistic as the Zuru people in Kebbi State.

The Igala is being colonised, declustered and civilised gradually and to think that the Igala was never dominated by any group in Nigeria then it becomes a matter of concern. The Yoruba have been able to protect their identity, why shouldn’t the Igala.  The Igala should take a cue to protect its rich heritage if they must be taken seriously.

Makinde vs Adelabu: Confusion as APC, PDP celebrate Appeal Court ruling in Oyo

Most Igala youths do not know their history. The ancestral names of the Igala people are not protected but are mislaid and promoted with pride by the Igala people who cry every day of suppression.

Where are the mighty sons and daughters of Igala land to provide Kogi with well-channeled leadership?  Everything rises and falls on leadership, good and bad. Should we continually blame people for all of our woes? Nowhere in Igala land has fantastic bridges and good network of roads. Nothing to show that the Igala seek progress and development.

Even famous places such as Idah, Ankpa and Dekina are in the sticks of development. My village in Agaliga-Efabo, Imane district is nothing to write home about, the village doesn’t have a single hand pumped well for drinking water. No paved road.

The capital of Kogi, Lokoja is no different from some Local Council Secretariats in many states. The state deserves something better. One upsetting trail is the love of the Igala to deal with women. I know of two brothers in the city, who banished their elder sister, a widow from going near their late father’s palm trees to harvest palm seeds which she flailed for palm oil to sell and survive with her children.

The Igala are not politically active. Government money in private hands is not the concern of Igala people. At get-togethers, instead of discussing developmental issues in Igala land and for the need to contribute money for the digging of boreholes, sponsoring of the poor in tertiary institutions, building of town halls, power lines, helping widows, protecting the girl-child, private enterprise, HIV/AIDS thorn in our side, calling absent politicians to order, the emphasis is on contribution so that they can take your corpse home for burial. How can that be the major aim of the Igala people at conferences in the city?

Religion does not discourage development but the cultural element of a people can prevent the advancement of those people. The Igala people should be interested in details not just story-telling. Can you help change this tide for the development of Igala land?

Gaabaidu, this letter is with respect. God protect your reign. Our ancestors guide you.

Simon Abah,

Abuja

Nigerian Tribune