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Saturday 30 November 2013
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Reasons We Rent Houses In Cities And Build Mansions In Our Villages –Igbo Businessmen
The one-storey building at Uga Village in
Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State belonging to Mr. Cosmas
Obiukwu is a beauty to behold. The duplex has all known modern trappings
of a building- fully equipped with gadgets like air conditioners,
swimming pool, a big Lister generator and above all, a big wall marked
off by an electric fence.
The building also has two security men,
one who guards the house during the day and another who monitors
movements around the compound at night.
Curiously, in spite of all these
provisions, the building is virtually empty. There is no life in the
compound as nobody stays in the building almost all-year round. The only
time that there is sign of life in the premises is when the owner and
members of his family visit home for one ceremony or another.
This is usually during festive periods
like Christmas or Easter and even at that, Obiukwu and his family have
never stayed more than a week on each visit.
In other words, in this massive
structure, except for the intermittent whimpering of insects and animals
as well as the whispering sounds from surrounding trees, there is no
significant human activity in the compound in a greater part of the
year.
Interestingly, Obiukwu, who owns this
edifice, occupies just one-bedroom flat at his Surulere, Lagos
residence. Besides his immediate family-his wife and three boys- he has
other “big squatters,” whose Lagos residence offers a kind of refuge. In
fact, one of the squatters, Obiukwu’s cousin, a banker in Lagos, also
has an unoccupied five-bedroom apartment at his Awka, Anambra State
hometown.
You would find them in virtually every
village in Anambra State; imposing edifices with what could be
considered stupefying perimeter fencing and costly gatehouses. These
are homes or villas, as they are commonly referred to locally, of
absentee owners, who though are indigenous to the villages, earn their
living in far flung places like Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and
overseas.
For most of the year, the homes are
locked, and in some cases, for many years as the owners hardly return to
live in them. They are inhabited by security guards who act like dogs
in a manger. In fact, some of the houses are completely uninhabited by
human beings and are open only to reptiles and rodents.
From Nmiata Anam on the Northern bank of
the Anambra River to Ogwuikpele on the southern fringes of Ogbaru along
the River Niger, the well anointed homes are not difficult to locate.
They indeed draw attention to themselves with their exotic looks and
well-chosen locations.
You might get it wrong if you think that
the home owners are well known political office holders and prominent
businessmen. No! Majority of them are young enterprising businessmen
toiling on the streets of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, South Africa,
Europe and other overseas countries to make ends meet.
There is a case of one young man, who
lives in Abuja but built an expansive mansion in his village at Nibo in
Awka South Local Government Area. He brought in a bishop from Abuja to
dedicate the house way back in 2008. But till date he has never passed a
night in that house, even though he has stocked it full with provisions
for visitors.
Such similar stories and circumstances
abound in the South-East. Cases and sights of large edifices lying
fallow, as it were, are common in many parts and communities in the
east, particularly in Anambra, Enugu, Imo and Abia states.
Again, such circumstances are not limited
to Lagos, across the country- be it in Kaduna, Kano, Niger or
Sokoto-many persons of Igbo extraction prefer to occupy small rented
accommodation where they eke their living to building houses in the
cities.
For an Enugu indigene, Mr. Eugene Ufele,
who plies his business at the Trade Fair Centre, Lagos, the development
is a reminder of the 1967-70 Civil War. According to the 48-year-old
businessman, 43 years after the war, his family has yet to come to terms
with the loss of their uncle’s property in Lagos and Port Harcourt.
Following the experience that befell his
uncle, he added that no member of his family, at least for now, would
think of building or owning a large property outside of their home
state. Therefore, for the Ufeles, they are still “viewing” the Nigerian
project with suspicion.
Ufele said he had no intention of building or even renting a ‘big’ house in Lagos.
“For what? Why would I even think of
building a house in Lagos, a place that is not my village? I don’t mind
that I am staying in a two bedroom apartment. I would rather use the
money to build a mansion in my village than a kitchen line in Lagos or
elsewhere,” Ufele said.
Ufele said he is not likely to forget
what is happening in the North where many Igbo citizens had to return
home ‘empty handed’ because of the crisis in the area.
“I am sure all of them built mansions in
those places. Now that they have come home, did they carry the mansions
on their heads? And now, these people don’t even have a ‘store’ in the
village, yet they went all out to build ‘skyscrapers’ in another man’s
home.”
Ufele said he believes in ‘one Nigeria’ but he cannot rule out the fact that ‘home is always the best.’
“I know I don’t live in the village but I
know I will retire one day. I am not ready to spend the rest of my life
in the city. Will I be sharing my father’s old house with him when I
retire? It is ideal for any normal Igbo man to build a house in his
village even before building in the city,” he said.
Some others who spoke to Saturday PUNCH,
said the insults they received in 1966 when they returned home from the
North and had no place to lay their heads forced them into taking such
steps.
President of the Igbo Youth Movement,
Rev. Elliot Ukoh, described the situation as not only a direct product
of the pogrom of 1966, but also a hangover effect.
“It also shows a lack of faith in Nigeria, as every year they (the Igbo) are slaughtered in their hundreds,” said Ukoh.
He said, “So, at the back of their
minds, they know that Nigeria will certainly implode and everybody will
run back home. So, they need to have somewhere to run to.”
He also said, “Nobody is killed in
Nigeria like the Igbo. A cartoon in Denmark resulted in the slaughter of
over 300 Igbo in northern Nigeria.
“There are several issues that have led
to the deaths of Ndigbo, which culminated in the need to return home.
Was it the beauty pageant article on a national daily in 2002, or the
announcement that the Independent National Electoral Commission had
announced Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as having defeated Mohammadu Buhari in
an election, among others?”
He added, “With all these, the Igbo long
realised that it is a wiser decision to first build a house in the
village, rather than build in another man’s land or waste the money
renting big apartments in the cities.”
A trader at the Main Market, Enugu, Mr.
Chimezie Okoli, said aside the experience of the 1966 pogrom, “There
were several other issues that made Ndigbo realise the need to have a
shelter at home first, before building on any other soil.”
He said, “Another major reason is to
avoid misunderstandings with relatives when you have to put up with
them, as the communal life of those days is fast becoming non-existent.
“Take the June 12, 1993 crisis as an
example, when most Igbo had to return home. Yet most of them had to
squat in homes of relatives and siblings, thereby often resulting to
quarrels and misunderstandings.”
He said, “We also build mansions not
because we are so rich, but because we must accommodate our parents and
siblings who are not yet financially buoyant to build a house.
“For instance, as the first son of my
family, I am currently building a house in my village in Ndiowu, Anambra
State. I would have loved to build a small house, but I am building a
duplex so that there would be enough rooms for virtually all my
siblings, and one or two close relatives.”
Interestingly, some abroad-based Igbo think alongside Okoli.
Such people as Saturday Punch discovered, even live in squalors, asylums and shelters abroad but have mansions in their villages.
Mrs. Iruka Nodim, a nurse who lives in Maryland, USA, told Saturday Punch
that she couldn’t think of getting a mortgage in the US but was better
off building a seven-bedroom duplex in her home town in Orlu, Imo State.
“In the US, my accommodation is very
small. There is no way I will suffer, make the money and spend it
abroad. I know I don’t intend to live in the US all my life. You might
see it as an ‘Igbotic’ mentality, but the truth is that I am a full blooded Igbo woman and that I live abroad will not make me change my roots.”
Mr. Anthony Okafor, a councillor at
Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, said he sees nothing
wrong with anybody building a mansion in his village even when he is not
inhabiting it. “The best thing should be in your village, including
your house.
“In Igboland, there is an expression, Akul’uno. It is a title as well as a saying. It means wealth has to go home.
“Culturally, it is believed that the
home in the village is the last place the man will be both in retirement
and in death, so it is obligatory for him to build himself a house to
his taste.”
He wondered why it should bother other
people why a man should build a house he feels is befitting of him. “Are
they complaining? It is wrong to say they don’t live there. If you are
not there, you may invite your relations to ‘warm’ the house for you. He
will go outside and one day come back home.”
Another indigene, Mr. Okechukwu Ogwu,
said building a magnificent house in the village gives a man a sense of
accomplishment. “Even if your father has a good house and you don’t have
your own in the village, your age mates will taunt you. Where do you
host your visitors during Christmas?” he asked.
Chief Alponsus Eze, an Onitsha-based
businessman said where a man is buried is vital to him. “The man
believes that ultimately, he will be buried there. If you build
skyscraper in London and you don’t have a house in your village, Igbo
people believe you don’t have a house,” he said.
But as Ukoh, Ufele, Nnodim and others
hold this view, some others see the idea of building large houses in
their villages from a different prism. In the thinking of Mr. Emeka
Iwuagwu, there can be no faulting the proverb that east or west, home is
the best. This, he said, explained why he first built a bungalow at his
Mbaise, Imo State hometown. He said building first in his hometown had a
socio-cultural implication. For instance, he notes that he stands in a
better stead of being considered for marriage than one who claims that
he has “unseen skyscrapers” overseas, just as it is a measure of success
among one’s peers.
Mr. Vincent Madu, a civil servant, said
it is expected of every Igbo on the attainment of manhood to have his
own house. “But it is not mandatory that you must make it exotic. As you
grow old, you discover that you do not really need the mansion, that
you had wasted money building it when you could have built a smaller and
more comfortable house,” he said.
Chief Rommey Ezeonwuka, proprietor of
Rojenny Games Village, Oba, whose state-of-the-art residence is complete
with a conference centre looked back at when he built the house in the
1970s and said he regretted it. “If it is now, I would not have built
this house. I would have built a simpler house. I was just a young man
then.”
However, Okechukwu Okwudili differs with
the Iwuagwu and the Ufeles. Okwudili, who owns a three-storey building
at Ikorodu, said he considers business interest first before embarking
on any housing project.
He said, “I wonder the kind of arguments
some people usually put up. If for example, I sited this building in my
village, do you think that my children will ever recoup the money I put
into it. It does not make any economic sense to build big houses in the
village only for rats and other rodents to occupy them.”
Interestingly, Mrs. Oluchi Anyanwu, an
architect, said that it is not always ideal to leave a house uninhabited
for a long period.
“It is only when you live in a house that
you would know if there is a leakage somewhere. The leaking roof would
spoil the POP, the walls would become damp and before you know it, there
would be foundation crack. Just like that, it would start looking like
dilapidated structure. Some of these people have leather chairs in their
homes. These chairs need airing. If you lock up your house for a long
period of time, you come back and you would find that the chairs have
peeled. Constant cleaning and dusting lengthens the life span of a
building.
“Natural air that brings in life wouldn’t
come into a house that is locked up. It would make the building to look
dead. You wouldn’t even know how rodents get into the house. You would
notice that any house that is locked up for a while has a kind of
unpleasant smell,” Anyanwu said.
Source: Punch
Iheanacho Must Grow Like Neymar Before Moving to Europe- Poropo
Kelechi Iheanacho has attracted interest
from top clubs across Europe after his impressive displays at the 2013
FIFA Under-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
The Golden Eaglets forward was named
the Most Valuable Player (Golden Ball winner) at the tournament after
scoring six goals, including one in the final, to help Nigeria make
history as the first country to win the competition for the fourth time.
Nigeria arrived in UAE as 1985, 1993 and
2007 champions, and Iheanacho’s heroics ensured that South America
powerhouse Brazil, who won the competition in 1997, 1999 and 2003, were
stopped from dominating the Under-17 World Cup like the senior World
Cup.
No team have won the senior World Cup
more times than Brazil. They hold the record with five tournament wins:
1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. They have appeared in every World Cup
since the tournament began in Uruguay in 1930.
And Iheanacho’s performances for the
Eaglets in UAE have drawn comparisons with Argentina superstar Lionel
Messi and Brazil’s Neymar at the same age since he helped the Eaglets
etch their names into the record books.
The Taye Football Academy star has been
linked with moves to Arsenal, Manchester City, Porto and Chelsea but
Canada ’87 FIFA Under-17 World Cup silver medallist Anthony Emedofu
says the in-demand player should follow the example of Barcelona teen
sensation Neymar who stayed back in Brazil, despite interest from top
European sides after he impressed at the 2009 FIFA Under-17 World Cup
in Nigeria and the 2011 South American Youth Championship in Peru.
Neymar’s nine goals in the Peru championship helped Brazil to win the competition for the eleventh-time.
“Iheanacho is highly talented and he
can be like Neymar, Ronaldo and Messi,” the Saudi’89 FIFA Under-20
World Cup silver medallist told our correspondent on the telephone
during the week.
“I’m very happy that big European clubs
are chasing a after his signature, but I think it’s too early for him
to move to Europe.
“Brazil didn’t allow the likes of
Barcelona and Real Madrid lure Neymar away from the country to
Europe when he emerged as one of the hottest properties in South
American football.
“Big European clubs were ready to pay any amount of money for him but the Brazilian Football Federation resisted them.
“As a result, Neymar was forced to stay back in his country to develop for four year (at Santos) before joining Barcelona.
“The Brazilian FA did what they did to
ensure that the player’s career was not ruined by European clubs who
will put him under much pressure to deliver.
“The Federal Government or the Nigeria
Football Federation should stop Iheanacho and other players who won the
World Cup in UAE from leaving the country for Europe now.
“They are very young to leave for
professional careers in Europe. They should stay in the country and play
for the likes of Enyimba, Kano Pillars, Enugu Rangers and Warri Wolves
to hone their skills.
“If they play regularly for their (domestic) clubs, they will develop better skills and attract interest from clubs in Europe.
“The players should only leave when they
are guaranteed first-team football by clubs in Europe and not their
reserve or feeder teams.
“We made mistakes in the past by allowing our players leave for Europe after winning the Under-17 World Cup.
“Some of the players were overage and they fizzled out immediately they got to Europe.
“It’s like someone repeating primary six when he is supposed to be a graduate.
“Where are the players who moved to Europe after winning the Under-17 World Cup in 2007?
“How many of them are playing for big clubs today?
“Macaulay Chrisantus joined Hamburg after he emerged as the top scorer at the tournament in South Korea. Where’s he today?
“Perhaps he would have been in the
Super Eagles today and be in our World Cup squad if he had stayed back
in the country to develop himself.
“Christian Benteke, Eden Hazard, Mamadou
Sakho, Danny Welbeck, Victor Moses (represented England) and Toni Kroos
played in the tournament and they are going to the World Cup. We won
the competition and we should have many of the players playing for top
clubs, but how many of them are in the Super Eagles? None.
“Our aim should be to develop players for the senior World Cup and not winning the age-grade tournaments.
“We can engage the players who won the
World Cup in UAE by arranging Under-19 competitions for them before
they move to the Flying Eagles.
“There should be more grassroots
competitions in the country. I featured in a number of competitions
where I was picked for the Under-17 World Cup in Canada.
“We also have to develop our coaches. They need to be current because the game is changing fast.
“The rich ones should go overseas for coaching courses and return home to organise seminars.
“Nigerians who had successful football
careers in Europe and emulate their Sudanese and South African
counterparts who bring foreign coaches to help develop the game in their
countries.”
Emedofu, who is popularly called Poropo,
backed the federal and state governments financial and material rewards
for the victorious UAE 2013 squad, saying the move would motivate the
players to give the country their best in future tournaments.
“By getting money and landed properties
from the government, the players will remember that they played for the
country,” the former Julius Berger and Udoji United winger said.
“That is why the players should stay in
the country and play for at least three years to grow like Neymar before
moving to Europe.
“They shouldn’t be in a hurry to leave
the country because they can be in the country and win tournaments for
the country and be rewarded by the government for their efforts.”
Poropo, who is a football coach
at the Edo State Sports Council, is backing the Super Eagles to make an
impact at next year’s World Cup in Brazil, saying Stephen Keshi boasts
quality players in his arsenal.
“The team must be applauded for qualifying for the World Cup,” the former Cyprus-based left-footer said.
“But we must work very hard to build a strong team for the World Cup. Keshi should stop inviting untested players to the team.
“Ivory Coast only invite players who are regulars in their clubs, unlike us.
“Keshi should have 25 players he is
focusing on for the World Cup and not invite any player because people
are clamouring for him to be given a chance to play for the country.
“If we prepare very well, we can make an impact at the World Cup.”
The 41-year-old says he has no regrets
over his inability to break into the Eagles and help the country win
titles like his teammates Nduka Ugbade and Mutiu Adepoju after the 1989
Under-20 World Cup.
The WAFU and CAF Confederation Cup
winner said, “The country had two great left-footed wingers in Friday
Elaho and James Etokebe, and they were better than me.
“I was one of their admirers and they
were in the national team on merit. Since I wasn’t good enough to
displace any of them, I wasn’t given the opportunity to play.
“Others who took over from them (Elaho and Etokebe) were better than me.
“But I’m proud of my achievements in the game. My greatest regret is that there wasn’t money in the game when I played.
“I played in Europe I wasn’t recognised
because I was playing in Cyprus. When I discovered that they (Cypriot
club) were exploiting me, I returned to Nigeria.”
The former Enugu Rangers star said he
would have been in the spotlight if he had got the right manager to get
him a club in England, Spain and Italy.
“I would have been popular like my Idol (Diego) Maradona if I had played true professional football in Europe,” Poropo said.
“I was like him: crafty. Unfortunately I didn’t have the right people to manage me.”
Poropo, who won gold and silver
in rugby for Edo State at the 2006 National Sports Festival in Ogun
State, began his football career in Benin, where he played for Marathon
and Samco Stars.
He travelled with Samco Stars to Sweden
and Denmark in 1985. He represented the defunct Bendel State at Kwara’
85 National Sports Festival and won gold before he was invited to the
Golden Eaglets in 1986 ahead of Canada ’87 Under-17 World Cup.
Source: Punch
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