Fence, Evil Symbol of Chaos in Igboland

Fence has existed since the dawn of man. There is nothing wrong with fence/fencing as it is the singular identifier of unique ownership and or spatial security of a tangible immovable asset. Igboland is not different in displaying this unique and positive index of human advancement. The purpose of this piece is to draw out the spectre of transformation haunting fence/fencing in Igboland since the end of Nigeria-Biafran War into a negative attribute that is currently scouring the social-scape of Igboland. It is important to stress that this transformation is mutating simultaneously in urban and extra-urban areas of the nation. 

Introduction

Fence is part and parcel of humanity wherever ‘solid’ earth exists either as land surface or ice. Fence (awarawa/mkparata) justifies boundary (oke) which in its demarcation defines right or share of ownership (oke). One doesn’t need to be an expert in property law or geography to appreciate both legal and spatial idiosyncrasies of private and communal ownership. Fence doesn’t in essence conflate security of ownership with its defence ab initio all things being equal. Nevertheless boundary (oke) with or without fence (awarawa/mkparata) expresses its essence in the respect others give to it i.e. to its rightful owner(s). This is the case in the conventions, constitutions and laws of many communities of Igboland. This respect was widely accepted almost without blemish until the end of Nigeria-Biafra War. There is no suggestion that infractions or disputes did not arise in the past, however it is the position of the writer that rule of law was entrenched that arbitration and resolution followed their course successfully as parties accept binding conclusions. Resolutions seamlessly ties with justice in those cases exhibiting different socio-economic context.

Typology

Boundaries come in different shapes and contexts in Igboland so are the fences that express them. Of course fence define boundaries on land, their spatialisation equally say something about the underlying social, cultural, religious, economic and ontological environment. One thing that is undisputable in Igboland is that linearity is not precedent in boundaries rather is just a part or aspect of it. Whether it is on inner land enclosing homes or outer land of gardens and farms complete quadrangles are rare.  The reasons behind these are complex however it is a simple replication of complexity revolving around ownership as a (dynamic) negotiated reality over time between one and one, all and all, one and all and all and one were applicable. Anyone who has partaken in annual demarcation of communal (farm) land will be in the best position to appreciate the non-trivial nature of compressed negotiation over time and space. Demarcation is complex, methodologically advanced, high valued and labour intense contrary to views shared by those who dismiss it as primitive and irrelevant.

Linearity of bounded space in quadrangles is shows youth, vigour, imposition, genocide, forceful dispossession and or violent overthrow of erstwhile owners or cultures. Take a cursory look at the sub-national boundaries of United States, Canada, Australia, parts of North Africa and Southern Africa for further knowledge and note that even irregular parts of these lands abut mostly seas and oceans. Contrast them with many parts of Africa, Asia, South America and Europe.

Fence on inner land was usually made of clay with average height of 4 feet maximum and covered with palm fronds which are replaced seasonally. These fences are not social barriers and do not infract social space because umunna/umunne freely communicate over it in clear unimpeded vision. This could enclose individual or communal holdings. Abandoned settlements (okpulo) testify to these spatial artefacts as well as many current settlements where internal conflicts have not dismantled them.

Personal and communal land boundaries are hardly quadrangles but irregular and indented bounded spaces mostly defined with sacred (Ebubeagu/Ukpoh) and boundary plants (Aboshi/Okpukpu Nkita). As stated earlier, linearity is intrinsic but doesn’t completely define boundaries even on donated plots.

Colonial interaction and advent of non-agricultural economy intensified complete linearity of boundaries/fences. There is nothing wrong with new ideas and innovation however emergence of quadrangle plots and boundaries took effect mostly on donated and public lands such as schools and churches. It is significant that these spaces are not fenced in most cases while their boundaries are deemed ‘sacred’ due to their public functions.

On inner lands Ogaranyas in various communities transformed their abodes with the new construction technology without hedging their bets on fences.  A cursory visit decades ago to a select few mentioned by Oriental Brothers in one of their epic songs observed majestic country homes with ease of visual and physical access. Late Dr K O Mbadiwe’s Arondizogu palatial home at its opening in the 1960’s had similar bearing. Nevertheless post-war oil economy and foreign remittances introduced and intensified linearity with height of cement fences on individual/private plots in Igboland rising to megaliths and fortresses fastened with coarse-looking ‘gates of hell’.  Of course with complicated dimensions and impacts!

Mutation of Confusion

The last 2 decades has seen huge increases in the erection of high cement fences around private and public plots in urban and extra-urban areas of Igboland. My attention is focused on extra-urban areas. At times one wonders the wisdom of hugging non-portable immovable good by those deemed very smart. Nevertheless these wouldn’t amount to much in themselves because contrary to European obsession with rights, there is no taste for visual pollution. The crux of these new privatisations of space is the motivation based on perceived fear of all sorts. It is significant that potential offenders for erectors of high fences include but not limited to close relatives within the same kindred and the same community.

While visual and physical limitations of communal space are acknowledged, the major problem for communities is the resulting gradual degradation of extra-urban areas social space emphasised by these fences (and their owners). The symbolic role of these fences is a strong message to keep out; the space is off-limit. It is a standing and perpetual symbol of enmity and apartness. This plays out beautifully in communities where distant households are easily accessible than prison-fenced fortresses within proximity. You only need to take a look at your community on Google Map to observe spatial patterns and suggest unique processes that gave rise to unique spatial experiences. Therefore these fences are not only defensive but reinforce daily projections of offensive on the public.

Kindred and communal relationships are transforming not as a result but on impact. The isolation projected by the off-limit homes is perceived as a partial renunciation of the community which strengthens over time. Isolation is not cool, not sexy and not evidence of advanced development. As an outcome the social space is balkanised and fragmented where erstwhile cohesion becomes scarce commodity.  The supposed identity of fence as symbol of affluence is rather myopic, deranged and absurd. On the contrary high fence exudes of fear, insecurity, fatalism, conflict, uppity and distortion of class consolidation.

Implications

There are positive and negative dimensions of high walled enclosures in extra-urban areas. Since these are mostly motivated by fear, the usually absent owners may extend their fear by creating employment locally in engaging young men/women on security duties.  This means that income, spending and saving is enhanced in the local economy as the number of these fortresses increase. Mind you, there is no statistics on the role of high walls on crime prevention in extra-urban areas. Of course there is no correlation to Nkwashi uzo anaghi achu mba agbara.

On the negative side most of the fortresses have low occupancy ratio at any given time of the year except during seasonal returns. For those residing in these large ‘prisons’ one can only imagine the psychological impact of staying in isolation in a large enclosed space. This is stark when one considers that as time proceeds only the weak and vulnerable will hold the forth. In case of emergency there is no evidence of how successful rescue can be executed be it fire, burglary, health complication and etc. Most of these tightly enclosed spaces/homes were not designed with attention to the elderly and those with disability. Just a show of wealth!

In a place where the state doesn’t exist, tearing of social fabric in the form of high-walled enclosed homes doesn’t/wouldn’t encourage rush of assistance from the outside. Anecdotal evidence has confirmed this experience in many communities in the last decade. It is difficult for victim to extract themselves and the good willed outsider cannot go in to rescue. Catch 22!

While there is a positive correlation between high-walled enclosed homes and high-income ownership, it is also evident that as current patterns indicates that these fortresses will be no more than holy sepulchres in the coming generations.  Unless communities are transformed into poles of economic development and improved economic activities dependent on high occupancy ratio. The current trend of increasing urbanisation of family life is likely to create local ‘absented’ properties.  This has the potential benefit of opening occupancy to some umunna in need on the condition that ownership cannot be contested. Another option is the continuation of intergenerational ‘war by other means’ by the children who choose to reside in situ with their increasing delinkage from umunna in their perception of fear and or seeing umunna as lightweight, underclass and inferior.

Conclusion

Transformation of built environment in Igboland has seen remarkable changes in the last 2 decades. Increased attention to high-walled homes in extra-urban areas is rather a reflection of individual preferences that manifest their fears, insecurities and vulnerabilities rather than their defence. Privatisation of space and its boundaries can peter out in few generations but indications show that the trend and its impact may continue positively and negatively. Obviously delimited social space in extra-urban areas doesn’t bode well for strategic community cohesion as it equally indicts institutions under whose watch these ugly experiences emerged. Nevertheless cohesion will increases irrespective of fence height so far high walls of human (umunna) suffocatingly embracing hearts and minds are broken down.

ReNewed African Recolonisation Front in Mali

Introduction

Last week beleaguered French President, Mr Francois Hollande signed-off French troops for active duty in Mali under the guise of humanitarian intervention against threat of terrorism. Parallel to this decision, he equally approved pacification of his compatriots with disinformation via raising domestic threat level to justify renewed intervention-investment in Africa. In a sense to continue the counterproductive projection of France as a great power in Africa which was commenced by the former president, Mr Nicolas Sarkozy.

Beyond the rhetoric in western capitals and on mainstream media, this is a serious move by various players whose common interests have little to do with Mali's strategic interest. We’ll show historical consistency indicating that a geopolitical settlement is afoot with clear losers and few winners. Mali provides a convergence of forces, time and space for continuing the recolonisation war of Africa in a complex array of relationships spread across political, economic and religious spectra.

Humanitarian Devaluation

While territorial integrity and sovereignty is unambiguous reality on the ground shows otherwise. Mali’s intensification of conflict in the last decade is a by-product of both environmental and culture-religious dynamics. On the one hand expansion of Sahara which not only decreases access to fresh water also reduces availability of arable land which increases pressure on nomadic and settled populations. This dynamic have been contained for centuries with minimal problems. On another level this part of the world is populated predominately by Muslims. Populations in these areas have been living there before the emergence of Arabs and or Islam.  The temperament of their religiosity possess unique progressive characteristics and dissimilar cultural niches compared to Arabo-Islamic dynamics.

The current upheaval was accelerated by United States direct violent campaign to recolonise Africa with the clinical destruction of Libya and murder of Col Gadhafi in 2011. Of course the usual suspects or remoras of the north led by France pretended being in the driver’s seat to decimate Libya. Libya was vehemently opposed to US AFRICOM programme which Col.Gadhafi understood trully and clearly as a tool of strategic destabilisation and recolonisation of the continent. The attack on Libya followed a consistent pattern where if US desire implementation of strategic initiative in Africa, State Department sublets action to erstwhile colonialists. Whether it is Congo in the 1960s, or Nigeria during Nigeria-Biafra War or apartheid South Africa during Angolan War of Independence; the pattern remain immutable. Sarkozy France found opportunity to compete with London for attention on the Capitol Hill in Cote D’Ivorie, Libya and now Mali. General De Gaulle must be rueing in his grave.

The curious twist in the Libyan debacle is the coalition of the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’. It is important to isolate the use made by NATO/US of so-called Al Qaeda to dismantle Libya in the name of humanitarian intervention. Now even the sands of Libyan Desert are mourning. Conventional weapons stores of Tripoli became free for all with the first impact unleashed in Mali. Strategic planners of Libyan destruction cannot be silly enough not to expect wider spatial consequences.

The assembly of like minds of the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ have quarried West Africa from the north for its mineral resources. A similar action is unfolding with no end in sight in East Africa with Kigali, Nairobi and Kampala doubling up as second fiddle for US interest at the cost of brotherly blood. What is interesting is the speed with which UN Security Council resolution was passed last week and France jumped into the fray. Why the rush? Do the so-called terrorists have military capacity to hold on to their current gains in the long term? There is no evidence that the so-called terrorists are being resupplied from unknown source(s). Mind you condition on the ground will not be concluded with aerial bombing alone, boots will be deployed and French body bags taken home later.

France is not in any way doing her own bidding rather responded to instruction from State Department while US 3500 troops are deployed to Africa non-stop training of various African armies. The irony remains that US is in the driving seat rather than in the ‘rear’. While US has pivoted her strategic initiative in Asia, she perceives Africa as another battleground for checkmating China. Beijing is fully aware. The long term implications are still hazy but history has shown that US has complicated understanding of Africa and doesn’t always get her way despite bombastic rhetoric. In any case avoidance of heavy footprint in African theatre allows Washington DC respite from restive domestic front while France jumps at the chance pushed or shoved. In the process meagre Malian infrastructure and resources will be inevitably decimated for new contracts to US and French firms.

It is inconceivable that one of the countries (France) that triggered a mess is called back to fix it. On the other hand the use of Saudi oriented Wahhabi religionists to destabilise Africa is taken note of. A universalist dogmatism that attempt to eliminate local idiosyncrasies and destroy distinct religio-cultural heritage is now repeated in Mali similar to Afghanistan where inhuman governance triggered mass terrorisation of populations and blowing up of ancient monuments by Taliban. The silence of many African capitals on this emerging pattern is instructive. The complex relationship that pins the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ in a common alliance of military significance is wreaking havoc on Africa. Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilisation thesis needs asterisk on this point.

While no war fizzles out quickly France will hang around for a while until ‘the job is done’ or to the satisfaction of Washington DC. On the other hand significant mineral resources under Malian bowels will be secured as war mongers have no interest in countries that produce broccoli. In summary Mali’s territorial integrity and sovereignty though compromised for decades is now full enhanced. From this point potential expansion of US military/strategic design will be gradually enforced to encircle West Africa from the sand to the coast.

Winners and Losers

In any conflict direct distinction is made between investors/profit makers and can-carriers as this conflict will not be different. It is easy to isolate a winner in the short term; United States. It is a nearly cost-free job done via proxies from the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ camps to project power and start implementation of strategic designs.

The next winner in this unfolding mess is China. The last decade or two has presented Beijing with unrivalled opportunity to watch rivals labour in self-destruction. While she remains cautious in her strategic meanderings, Beijing is careful not to be reminded of harsh historical lessons where African countries among others started her on the way to greatness with 1971 recovery of her UN Security permanent seat from Taiwan.  Beijing is aware of her investments in Africa and its fragile capacity as Libyan debacle testified. Nevertheless Beijing is determined to fight her wars by other means including but not limited to diplomacy but short of armed conflict. Beijing is playing for the long haul.

The primary loser is France. Deploying heavy military hardware and personnel across the continent more than once under 24 months in a reversing economy is short of strategic stupidity. Regardless of assurances, Paris will have to find the stomach to pay for her folly. More so if there is any pie to be shared; US interest dictates a winner-takes-all strategy.  It will be a miracle for Paris to sustainably justify unwarranted spending on defence while unemployment is rising on the one hand and tax receipts are falling.

Mali as a state or what remains of it is fully compromised as new internal forces will be joggling for positions towards reconfiguration of their polity. Initial contests will be between pro and anti-intervention/devaluation. Only time will determine if parity will emerge with Libya on the scale of destruction. There is chance that low level conflicts will continue even after US/NATO complete their mission as Cote D’Ivoire example plays out.

The biggest loser is ECOWAS whose lack of foresight, absence of leadership and total underwhelming of the situation only confirmed that regional groups of this calibre are simply cosmetic. Not even Nigeria whose foreign policy from inception acknowledged French encirclement acted honourably! Their raison d’etre is wholly compromised, lacking in strategic identity and is deformed ontologically.

Nevertheless there are opportunities from this event in the potential settlement of accounts between the two main geopolitical powers, US and China. In this conflict European powers or what remain of them have confirm their puerility and death keel. In the near future settlement US will be forced to confront China directly in Africa in the same manner it acquiesced in 1972 Richard Nixon summit with Chairman Mao. The trigger being acceptance that proxy war against Beijing via Vietnam was lost.

As Pliny, the Roman scholar/politician said of Africa, “Something new always comes out of Africa”. A positive new for the benefit of Africa and Africans is expected to turn round the corner of time after the reign of human intervention or rather human devaluation.



Weakening Extended Family Ties in Igboland

While economic and political issues take centre stage in discourses, social and cultural dimensions are not always given crowded attention. Nevertheless we are social in everything. The Christmas holiday opens another seasonal mass cities abandonment or rather short-term movement from the cities within and beyond Igboland to extra-urban locations in Igboland. This act by many can be summaries as family visits or revisitations to ancestral lands by individuals and members of extended families. The destination is held by extended families.

The focus of this paper is to draw out emerging pattern of weakening extended family ties, the context and timing of the emergence, potential contributors to the emergence and implications.

I have observed a gradual shift in the weight and expression of extended families in various parts of Igboland in the last 2 decades. While the bulk of the instituition remains in various forms there are new intrusions into its fabric with challenging niches. In addition it must be acknowledged that the concept of extended family is an old institution akin to Igboness. This is expressed primarily in the word, Nwanne/Nwanna. It is a unisex pronoun denoting brother or sister in a nuclear and or extended family. A qualifying adjective indicating possession or even gender doesn’t always clarify the geography as suggested in Nwanne m/Nwanna m, Nwanne m nwoke (male)/Nwanne m nwanyi (female). 

Gender qualification is unnecessary with Nwanna. This doesn’t in any way suggest diminished nuclear relationship against extended family relations. Everyone is entitled to knowing their origin however the sentiment for an experience greater than nuclear family is always overhanging. Anyway nuclear family is limited.

This currency of Nwanne/Nwanna relationship is always strong in perception and application until recently in Igboland and in the diaspora. Its application is stronger in the diaspora even though successful or mutually beneficial outcomes vary over time and space.

For various reasons the tenacity of extended families is on a gradual decline which has accelerated in the last 3 decades. There are increasing examples of extended families where communication gap within and between generations is as wide as Atlantic Ocean even in the age of information and communication technologies. The generations that seem to be less keen in maintaining extended family relationships are not isolated and premeditated but are schooled in the art by the preceding generation. In any case one can surmised that the generations that received the best from the ancients have unashamedly stabbed the body of value that made them. They are protagonists of intensive nuclearisation of family ties.

Reasons

Reasons abound for this gradual transformation. Economy cannot be dismissed. First of all the transformation of economy from agricultural to industrial and services mostly located in the few urban centre meant that young men and women travelled far from home to earn a living. In the process new relationships are formed (including with those of other ethnicity), new urban values are picked up, ancestral homes become point of seasonal visitation and even for children socialisation is mostly urban. In the days of limited communication technology, seasonal physical presence sufficed still at great cost for large families.

The second reason is lack of education. This has nothing to do with formal or academic learning. The evolution of economic structures and increased movement across distances was received as the new norm without constructed process focused on collective discussion of benefits and implications. A reactive disposition where actors are rather observers of their acts seem to be welcomed without hesitation. Of course in the case of ‘economy stupid’ he/she who pays the piper dictates the tune as attention is focused on him/her without dissent or intervention.

An important aspect to this development is bound to history. Violent penetration of Igbo heartland by Nigeria-Biafra War was not just a cathartic experience but an inter-generational pain wound up unceremoniously. Arid victory of the victor! It was brutal conclusion with pregnant consequences on the social, cultural and spiritual dimensions of Igboland. While no-victor no vanquished rang the air, dispossessed individuals and families sought survival and stability of one and all in a new economy. Though young and strong, most lacked basic skills required in the workplace so did the best in the ‘republic of hard labour’.

As hard labour economy grew and fell the ‘weak’ had little option but to return to the one place his/her rights are secure and indisputable. By 1982 Shagari administration introduced austerity measures, everything came back full circle. The finite communal and extended families land parcels in Igboland which were previously left to ‘others’ became focus of wider attention. Inter-generational and intra-generational clashes exploded across the land. Land disputes became headline news with unique circus of events which to all intents and purposes turned into a security issue with parties seeking protection, justice and revenge respectively ‘by any means necessary’.

As a result many extended families ended up in many courts of law wasting huge scarce resources as the local family courts buckled under pressure of compromise and or lost credibility. Irrespective of court verdicts, contaminated extended family relationships went downhill. Outcomes include increased isolation of nuclear families through limited interaction or what I refer to as factional interaction, terrorisation of private space i.e. high fencing, celebration of fear and reconfiguration of nuclear family modus operandi in the community. In the bid to ‘protect’ the family, the next generation were inadvertently schooled into ‘isolation’ tactics. Such schooling and behaviour emanating from it can be seen as continuation of conflict by other means.

The curious picture of this sad development which is very young is the fact that the previous generation and the ancients had peculiar structures for conflict resolution in the laws and constitutions. However it must be acknowledged that in the zeal to give opposing member of the extended family ‘technical knockout’, local and ancient structures were defiled, abused in rejection and relegated for the new valued legal structures in the proud bid to obtain justice with residual projection of power.

Implications

Weakening pattern is mostly denoted in those born post Nigeria-Biafra War and concentrated on those born a decade later. Like all new trends it is struggling to make impact at this stage and its future trajectory is uncertain however one thing is clear. The currency of weak extended family is sustained by maintaining urban residence, limitation of communication with umunnadi (kinsfolk) and limitation of physical presence in ancestral homes.  Nevertheless this success is one sided and complex because while ‘students’ of new isolation cannot be strictly censured, their isolation is always punctured when the need for extended family windfall is inevitable like marriage arrangements.

Isolation is an aberration. Fragmentation of extended families is a fatal consequence. The first impact is gradual loss of identity for ‘students’ firsts and then their children i.e. the 2^nd generation. The self-belief that achievement is sustained by isolation is delusional because core determinant of effort is underpinned by social capital in various relationships. While it is crucial to understand origin, it is dangerous to avoid other branches of a genealogy even in one’s age group. Such danger manifests in cases of emergency where dependable members of isolated nuclear families are absent to act with purpose when required.

Secondly the collective development of peoples including and not limited to extended families suffers from lack of input, resources and process. The hallmark of advanced and advancing communities is solidarity and dense social capital. It doesn’t only happen in China, Turkey, Brazil and United States.

Thirdly there is a confusion of this development with trend along western lines. This is another delusion. For countries of Western Europe where currently family, nuclear and extended are no longer priority; the transformation reconfigured family into a large concentration of networked relationship called state. In the state every individual or citizen is recognised, recorded (from conception to death) and has a place. This is the basis of Mussolini’s definition of state; everything in it, nothing against it and nothing outside of it. Of course this view has been muddle with violence and repression but bear in mind that no state tolerates dissent even the Vatican, hence every state is totalitarian.

In a political geography devoid of active state in the real sense, the highest collective expression of close relationship is the extended family. Even if the state becomes viable later, extended family provides another layer of richness for success of one and all. One can surmise that those caught in the ‘labyrinth’ between weak state and weak extended families have 2 options. Increase participation in extended family or hybridise into new network that cannot fulfil irreplaceable extended family functions.

A grave outcome is the emergence of absentee first sons or Opara gba aka ofo. This is a serious outcome in many nuclear and extended families where shoulders of responsibility have repudiate their erstwhile duties. Ofo knows who holds it and whoever holds it must deliver. Of course there are first sons who are present and inactive nevertheless this doesn’t diminish the scope, function and expectation on the office of Nwaopara/Okpara (first son).  Family name and honour is at stake in such circumstances within and beyond the community. Examples are many where extended families and communities have lost heavily as a result having an ‘isolate’ member in position of influence who buffers his/her community against progressive potential/outcomes of his/her position.

Lastly there is incentive that weakening of extended family ties will intensify not only for reasons of its inception but for the increasing gap between urban and extra-urban areas in term of economy, quality of life and fulfilment of aspirations. The expectation that technologies will accelerate increased interaction confuses the fact the technologies are not agencies rather depends on (human) agency to fulfil its functions. It is down to isolates to reactivate their agencies in rich networks of dense and reliable social capital of ageless distinction like extended families. This is an institution that has stood the test of time nourishing generations. It will be sad for it to be dismantled in one crazy generation.