Igbo Background Assignment

Before I begin I would like to thank Mr. Chamberlain for his speech and for sharing his views on colonization, many of which I’m afraid I disagree with. I would also like to acknowledge the honor of being able to stand before an organization as great as the Royal Colonial Institute.

It would be ludicrous to dispute the value of the British and European colonies. They provided direct monetary assets to the British Government and could be regarded as valuable possessions that defined the wealth of our great nation. These colonies were protected and maintained, first thought to be an eternal source of wealth. However, it appears the well has gone dry and the colonies were no longer a source of revenue. Having been a brilliant source of profit, it is a dismal matter to at last see this era come to an end. Over time, our nation has been regarded as the pinnacle of forward thinking and advancement. However, the idea of a new chapter of colonization introduced to us today is in all senses backward.

Supporters of this new colonial stage claim to colonize, capture and destroy in the name of liberty, happiness, and prosperity. They paint a savage picture of the native inhabitants of the colonial lands depicting them as mentally disturbed, subhuman beings, living in a hellish environment supporting a dysfunctional society. As a representative of the Igbo culture, currently under colonial threat in Northwestern Africa, I would like to present them as a sample of indigenous people in order to sway you into rethinking your approach to colonization.

The Igbo people comprise one of the most prominent and diverse ethnic groups in Africa amassing to around 15 million people. However, the Igbo people can hardly be regarded as a single people, made up of over 200 separate groups and dozens of different languages and dialects. Even their cultures differ slightly from one group to another. Therefore, under colonial rule, the Igbo people will most likely be combined leading to conflict and true dysfunctionality. They have occupied their land for over 2000 years proving their success as a society. They build machines, tools and develop simple mining and ironworking technologies contrary to popular beliefs depicting them as animals. The Igbo people live in autonomous villages ruled by their elders in a well-coordinated ruling system regulated by goodwill, mutual respect, and diplomacy. They also delegate different roles and chores in the community to the different age groups allowing for a functional and efficient manner of running their villages. Thus the Igbo define a society in all meanings of the word. The Igbo people even have values not yet established in British society. For instance, women are provided opportunities to progress and become a prominent individual and not just an extension of their husband. They also have religion, in fact, one similar to Christianity where they believe in a God, the devil, and a form of guardian angels. They have a judicial system punishing crimes and solving disputes.

Therefore, if advocates of a new colonial regime cite security, peace, and prosperity in addition to other societal benefits as the flagships of their colonization, then there is truly no need for them as the Igbo people and the thousands of other colonized peoples have already established a society, peace, security, and prosperity.