OPINION
Ndigbo, 2023 and the ‘Gospel’ According to Hakeem
By Osmund Agbo
As I sat by the corner, fiddling with my phone while patiently awaiting Madam Yemisi’s ambrosia, this tall, ebony hunk of a guy waltzed in. He quickly surveyed the place and beelined, easing his modest frame into the chair close by me.
Hakeem is probably in his early thirties, personable and gregarious. You could tell he is from corporate America and most likely holding an influential position somewhere in town.
My love for Nigerian cuisine has led me to all kinds of culinary adventures and that was how I chanced upon this gem lost in the hustle of downtown Houston.“Hello”, I greeted, flashing a smile. “Osmund”.
“Oh. Hey Osmund. Hakeem here. How you dey?”, he said smiling back.
“Ibo, right?”
I answered in the affirmative, but not before letting him know that the correct word is Igbo.
Before long, we launched into a long session, interrogating the promises and realities of Nigeria. We bemoaned the economy in recession, condemned the incessant killings and banditry in the North-East, and cringed at the shooting of the EndSARS protesters at Lekki gate. Of course, we had to dabble into the politics of 2023. It turned out that Hakeem is the scion of a famous political family in one of the South-Western states and his late father was a federal minister in the Second Republic.
He believes that the time is long overdue for a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction but worried that the activities of the Indegenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is casting a dark cloud over it. “You can’t be seen fighting for secession and at the same time wanting to be the president of Nigeria”, Hakeem emphasized. He would not be the first to make that point.
As Nigerians begin to look beyond the train wreck that is the Buhari era, the question of sending an Igbo person to Aso Rock has become one of the hottest topics dominating many news cycles. The latest fad in our political commentary is to offer some sort of advice to Ndigbo, ranging from cautionary tales to reeling off a whole list of dos and don’ts. Some have even suggested that Ndigbo should bow their heads in supplication, like good servants, hoping to get noticed by the benevolent spirits. In a different take, IPOB and like-minded groups are fully convinced that belligerent posturing seems to be the only language the Hausa-Fulani oligarchs understand.
Of course, if one should go searching for honey, you expect to be stung by bees. What is rather bizarre is the suggestion that whatever sin IPOB is accused of committing, somehow translates to an Igbo transgression. IPOB, for sure, commands a considerable following, especially among disgruntled Igbo youths who are appalled by the fact of being confined to second class status in theirown country. That said, there has never been a referendum to determine if the demands of the separatist group reflect the wishes of Ndigbo. The people are incurably republican and many would shudder at the mention of IPOB speaking for them.
The last time I checked, the Yorubas were never found wanting just because the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) demanded an Oduduwa Republic during the early days of the June 12 struggle. The same goes for the Niger Deltans, when in February 23, 1966, Adaka Boro and his Volunteer Force declared a Niger Delta Republic. At every juncture in our nation’s history, there has always been agitation for secession by one group or another. In fact, prior to independence, Northern Nigeria was the first to dangle the carrot of secession from the Nigerian colony. That was why Zik addressed the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) caucus on May 12, 1953, giving the reason why they needed to stick with the union. The region was richly rewarded and the North received a great deal of concession thereafter.
Separatist agitation is a global phenomenon and not unusual in multi-ethnic, culturally pluralistic societies.
Another point often made is the noisy ebullience and superciliousness of the people, which tend to unsettle other ethnic nationalities. Granted that those are hardly sought after virtues, but truth be told, there is something in every culture or ethnic group which attracts and others that repel. On a flip side, some of those traits also turn out to be the fuel that powers the never-give-up and can-do spirit of Ndigbo. That said, Achebe in his book, The Trouble With Nigeria advised that “Igbos must learn less abrasiveness, more shrewdness and tact and a willingness to grant the validity of less boisterous values”.
Hakeem had theorized that what some see as the Igbo problem in Nigeria is a myth borne out of ignorance. Ignorance naturally breeds fear, since there is a tendency to be apprehensive of what we don’t understand. He observed that very few Nigerians of other ethnicity have had the chance to live in or even visited Igboland to experience the people first hand in their homeland and outside the sphere of business engagements. He narrated the story of how many years back, he was posted to Imo State for his National Youth Service. With all the dreadful things they heard about the place, his mum was hell bent on getting him reassigned to somewhere closer home. Hakeem, though nervous at the time, however insisted on going for the ride, just out of sheer curiosity. After a feisty exchange, with lots of going back and forth, his mother reluctantly yielded. Hakeem would later confess that the one year he spent in Nekede, a small town near Owerri, was the best time of his life. By his account, Igbos are the most under-appreciated and hospitable group of people in the planet.
It is an undisputed fact that Igbos, with their nomadic business lifestyle, tend to travel far and wide, settling down and setting up businesses everywhere, in a way that speaks to the national spirit desperately needed in Nigeria. More than others, Ndigbo are also more likely to embrace cultural identities different from theirs, be it in clothing, food or learning indigenous languages of their host city, sometimes even to the detriment of their native language. It’s not uncommon to find an Igbo born in Lagos or Kano who is fluent in Yoruba or Hausa but can’t even complete a full sentence in Igbo. Cosmopolitanism just happen to be their second nature.
The path of politics is strewn with betrayals and head spinning intrigues and Ndigbo should not be naïve to expect that the presidency will be handed down to them on a platter. The people have to first lay a solid groundwork, making a commitment to move past unbridled individualism, eschew unhealthy rivalry and play a politics of the collective. If we are serious about this project, our many semi-literate political jobbers whose claim to fame is only through thuggery and pay-for-vote scheme must self-isolate. Ndigbo would have to face up to the adversaries from within who are ever willing to mortgage the group interest in a whim.
Like Chidi Amuta prayed in his powerful essay titled, “2023: Igbos and the Politics of Moral Consequence”, let’s hope that our national history has a moral arc that will bend in the direction of justice and that such hope will triumph over our past experiences. Ndigbo, on their part, should realize that politics is a serious business. In business we are told, you don’t get what you deserve, you simply get what you negotiate.
As we were cleaning out the appetizers that consisted of chicken suya with roasted corn, Madam Yemisi emerged with a big bowl of smoky hot ewedu and gbegiri. I carefully surveyed the plate, making sure that all the “side attractions” were well represented and then quickly descended on it like a wounded Tiger. Hakeem looked at me and smiled.
“Ounje ajeye o”, I greeted.
“Yoo gba ibi re”, he responded, pleasantly surprised.
Yorubas always seem to have the perfect pitch for every occasion. I am guessing you may have figured that Hakeem is my new best friend.
By Folasade Akpan
For Mrs Schola Effiong, a 58-year-old confidential secretary in Calabar, managing diabetes in today’s economy feels like “climbing a hill that only gets steeper”.
Diagnosed in 2009, she said her monthly expenditure on insulin, tablets, laboratory tests and monitoring supplies now exceeds ₦150,000.
“You cannot stop taking the drugs, yet the cost keeps going up.
“Sometimes I do not have the money to buy some of them at the same time,” she said.
Her struggle mirrors the experiences of thousands of Nigerians at a time when experts warn that diabetes is becoming a major public health concern.
According to a 2018 national meta-analysis by Uloko et al.
, titled “Prevalence and Risk Factors for Diabetes Mellitus in Nigeria: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”, Nigeria’s diabetes prevalence stands at 5.7 per cent, representing 11.2 million adults.The authors defined diabetes mellitus as a metabolic disorder of chronic hyperglycaemia caused by absolute or relative insulin deficiency and associated with disturbances in carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism.
The study, which pooled data from numerous research works across the country, revealed wide regional disparities.
The prevalence rate was 3.0 per cent in the North-West, 5.9 per cent in the North-East, and 3.8 per cent in the North-Central, respectively.
The rates were higher in the southern part of the country: 5.5 per cent in the South-West, 4.6 per cent in the South-East, and 9.8 per cent in the South-South.
Experts say these patterns reflect changing lifestyles, rapid urbanisation and limited access to routine screening.
However, for many patients, statistics tell only a fraction of the real story.
Mr Offum Akung, a 57-year-old teacher in Cross River, said he had to ration his drugs because prices kept rising faster than his salary.
“I spend over ₦40,000 a month and still cannot buy everything on my prescription.
“I rely mostly on Glucophage now; when money allows, I add Neurovite Forte; diabetes management has become more difficult than the disease itself,” he said.
He appealed for government intervention, saying many patients were already “giving up”.
The Second Vice-President of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria, Mr Bernard Enyia, said the economic situation had pushed many Nigerians with diabetes into dangerous coping methods.
He said that he once managed his condition with about ₦70,000 monthly, but currently spends more than ₦180,000.
“Insulin has become something you pray for, while some people are sharing doses or skipping injections.
“Once you break treatment, the complications come quickly.”
Enyia, who lost his job as a health worker in 2017 due to frequent hospital visits, described the emotional toll as immense.
“It affects your finances, your social life, your marriage — everything. Many Nigerians with diabetes are quietly drowning,” he said.
Globally, concerns are also rising.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that more than 24 million adults in Africa are living with diabetes, a figure projected to rise to 60 million by 2050.
Marking World Diabetes Day 2025, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Prof. Mohamed Janabi, warned that rising obesity, lifestyle changes and weak health systems were fueling an “unprecedented wave of diabetes” across the continent.
He urged governments to prioritise access to affordable insulin, diagnostics and long-term care.
More so, pharmacists say they are witnessing the crisis firsthand.
The Senior Vice-President, Advantage Health Africa, Mr Adewale Oladigbolu, said many patients were no longer able to maintain regular medication schedules.
“People buy drugs today and skip them tomorrow because they do not have money.
“With non-adherence, they never reach therapeutic goals.”
Oladigbolu, a Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, said that locally manufactured metformin remained in high demand due to affordability, but insulin-dependent patients faced the harshest burden.
He stressed that diabetes care extended far beyond drugs.
“You need glucometers, strips, blood pressure monitors and regular tests.
“In countries where insurance work, patients do not think about the cost; in Nigeria, they pay for everything out of pocket,” he said.
He called for diabetes care to be covered under health insurance to reduce the financial burden on patients.
President of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria, Prof. Ejiofor Ugwu, described the rising cost of treatment as “a national crisis hiding in plain sight.
He said insulin, which sold for about ₦3,500 four years ago, presently costs ₦18,000 to ₦22,000 per vial.
“Test strips that were ₦2,000 now sell for ₦14,000, while glucometers have risen from ₦5,000 to over ₦25,000.
“On average, a patient now needs between ₦100,000 and ₦120,000 every month. Imagine earning ₦50,000 and being asked to spend twice that on one illness.”
He warned that between half and two-thirds of Nigerians with diabetes remain undiagnosed.
“We are seeing more kidney failure, more limb amputations, more blindness.
“These are late presentations caused by delayed or inconsistent treatment.”
Ugwu urged the Federal Government to urgently subsidise essential anti-diabetic medications and remove taxes on their importation.
“Most of these drugs are produced outside the country.
“Once you add import duties and other charges, prices become unbearable; subsidies and tax waivers could drop costs by at least 30 per cent,” he said.
He also called for expansion of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to cover a wider range of anti-diabetic medicines, glucose meters and strips — none of which are currently covered.
For many Nigerians, however, the struggle continues daily.
Across households, clinics and pharmacies, the message is the same: as Nigeria’s diabetes prevalence rises and treatment costs soar, more patients are slipping through the cracks — some silently, others painfully — while waiting for meaningful intervention.
In all, stakeholders say diabetes is a national emergency; people are dying quietly because they cannot afford medicine; hence the urgent need for relevant authorities to make anti-diabetic medications accessible and affordable.(NAN)
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By Dorcas Jonah
In the Nigerian culture, extended families and communities play a crucial role in care-giving, instilling values, and supporting the development of children.
This cultural heritage of community parenting emphasises shared responsibility in raising children.
But in contemporary Nigeria, this age-long practice is facing enormous challenges due to modernisation.
In scrutinising this trend, some parents are of the view that community parenting helps in instilling morals and curbing social vices among children and youths, while others believe it is outdated.
Some parents are of the belief that their children are their responsibility; so they do not tolerate others correcting their children.
By contrast, others say that community parenting, when done with good intentions, can help raise a better society.
Mr Peterson Bangyi, a community leader in Dutse Makaranta, said that community parenting was the bedrock of raising a child.
He said the adage: “it takes a village to raise a child”, remained a powerful principle in contemporary society.
According to him, by Nigeria’s cultural norms and values, a child is owned by everyone; therefore, the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and neighbours actively contribute to raising children.
“This approach fosters a sense of belonging and ensures children grow up with diverse role models.”
Bangyi said that the extended families practiced by more communities were the backbone of parenting.
“But modernisation has taken away this practice as most families do not want people to come close to their children,’’ he said.
Mrs Monica Umeh, a mother of two, emphasising on the importance of community parenting, said that it played significant role in shaping her upbringing as a child and young adult.
Umeh advised that when correcting other people’s children, it is essential to do so with love and good intentions, without any form of bitterness.
“I am a strong advocate of community parenting as long as it is done with love and good intentions.
“I believe no parent can single-handedly raise a child without the support of others,’’ he said.
Mr Temitope Awoyemi, a lecturer, said that community parenting was crucial and could not be over-emphasised.
He said that community parenting helped society in inculcating strong moral values in children and youths, adding that modern life could be isolating for parents.
Awoyemi said that strong community support networks had been shown to lower parental stress levels and promote a more optimistic approach to raising children.
“It also ensures that a child receives guidance and correction from various adults, providing a broader, more consistent moral and social baseline that might be missed by parents who are busy with work.
“Community parenting encourages collaborative, interdisciplinary support from various community members and agencies in addressing a child’s developmental needs comprehensively.
“It focuses on prevention of long-term problems and celebrating individual strengths,’’ he said.
Awoyemi said that as the society continued to evolve, community parenting could adapt to ensure children benefitted from both cultural roots and contemporary innovations.
Mr Fortune Ubong, a cultural enthusiast, attributed the increasing crime rate in Nigeria to lack of community parenting that had extended to schools, and government institutions.
According to him, community parenting remains the foundation of every child’s moral upbringing.
“Most parents are now focused on earning a living and improving their lifestyle, in the process abandoning their primary duty of molding and guiding their children; this is where community parenting plays a greater role,” he said.
However, Mrs Joy Okezia, a businesswoman, said that given the recent developments in the country, correcting a child should be the sole responsibility of their parents.
Okezia said that she preferred to correct her children herself as she knew them better than anyone else.
She also noted that with the rising insecurity in the country, intervening to correct a child could pose a significant risk to the person.
Mrs Ijeoma Osita, a civil servant, also shared Okezia’s view, saying that a child’s behaviour was shaped by their family upbringing.
She said that if a child was not taught to love and respect others at home, an outsider would have little impact in correcting such a child.
Osita emphasised that parents should in still in their children the values of love and respect regardless of their status or background.
According to her, a child brought up with good values is less likely to misbehave well.
She cited the Holy Bible, saying, that says: “Train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it’’.
Osita said that community parenting remained a vital aspect of Nigerian culture, promoting shared responsibility and resilience among families.
He opined that while modernisation posed challenges, blending traditional practices with modern strategies offered a promising path forward.
Observers say robust community connections are linked to better social-emotional development, academic achievement, and overall well-being for children.
They say that in modern society, amidst the digital world, economic instability, and busy work schedules, parents face pressures, making community support systems fundamental.
All in all, stakeholders are of the view that combining traditional community parenting with modern childcare – integrating technology, play-based learning, and skill acquisition – will produce well-rounded children.(NAN)
FEATURES
Victor Okoli: The Young Nigerian Tech Founder Building Digital Bridge Between Africa and America
Victor Chukwunonso Okoli, founder of Vnox Technology Inc. (USA) and Vnox Limited (Nigeria), is steadily emerging as one of the most promising new voices in global travel-tech. His mission is clear: bridge the technological gap between Africa and the United States, redefine global travel systems, and empower a new generation of skilled youths through innovation-driven opportunities.
In a statement issued in Onitsha, Anambra State, by Vnox Limited (Nigeria), the company emphasized Okoli’s growing influence as a Nigerian international graduate student contributing meaningfully to U.
S. innovation. His rising travel-technology platform, FlyVnox, currently valued at an estimated $1.7 million, is positioning itself as a competitive player in the global travel ecosystem.Okoli explained that Vnox Technology was founded to “train, empower more youths, create global employment opportunities, and drive business growth through our coming B2B portal inside the FlyVnox app.” The platform’s new B2B system aims to support travel agencies, entrepreneurs, and businesses across Africa and the diaspora—giving them access to modern tools, previously inaccessible technologies, and global opportunities.
Several young men and women are already employed under the expanding Vnox group, with more expected to join as the brand grows internationally.
Born and raised in Eastern Nigeria, Okoli’s early life exposed him to the realities and frustrations faced by international travelers and diaspora communities. After moving to the United States for graduate studies, he transformed those experiences into a bold technological vision—building systems that connect continents and create seamless mobility for users worldwide.
At the center of that vision is the FlyVnox app, a modern airline-ticketing platform built with global users in mind. Combining American engineering precision with African mobility realities, FlyVnox offers international flight search, multi-currency support, secure payments, transparent pricing, and a clean, intuitive interface.
Beyond FlyVnox, Okoli has built a growing tech ecosystem under Vnox Technology Inc., which oversees several innovative ventures, including: Vnox TravelTech Solutions LLC (FlyVnox App), VnoxPay (fintech), VnoxShop / Zyrlia (e-commerce)
VnoxID / Nexora (digital identity and smart business card solutions)
Vnox Limited (Nigeria) anchors African operations, media services, and talent development—ensuring the brand remains rooted in its home continent even as it grows globally.
Okoli’s work has broad significance for both Africa and the United States. He represents the powerful impact of immigrant entrepreneurship on global competitiveness—creating new jobs, driving innovation, strengthening U.S.–Africa commercial ties, and contributing to the development of practical, scalable technologies.
The statement concludes that Vnox Technology is a brand to watch. As FlyVnox gains international traction and the Vnox group expands its footprint, Victor Okoli stands as a symbol of a rising generation: African-born, globally minded, and building technologies that connect and serve the world.
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