Why Igbos Would Never Fight Any War Without Consensus & Proper Planning

By Anayo Nwosu

Before the Europeans invaded the Igbo land and made it their colony, the Igbo communities had engaged in one form of war or the other.

Nnewi for instance, fought countless external wars with its neighbouring towns, namely: Amichi, Awka Etiti, Igboukwu, Nnobi, Ukpor etc.

They also fought a handful of internal wars between one village and another, example: Otolo versus Uruagu and Otolo versus his brother Eze Ikwuabor etc.

Wars in Igbo land were fought by the youths of the town while the elders provided tactical and strategic support.

There could a need to hire war mercenaries and those from Ohafia, Abam, Item and Abiriba were every ready to sell their services.

The war mercenaries who fight for money were believed to have magical powers that enabled them kill their targets and deliver victory to their principals.

Except if invaded by surprise, no reasonable meeting of titled men and the elderly of an Igbo community would declare a war without proper preparation.

At that time, every Igbo community had a central military command headed by a super warrior known as Ogbufo. Directly below the Ogbufor or commander was other warriors who headed their platoons.

There were in the Igbo villages some renegades known as isiakpus who live at the borders with neighbouring towns who were allowed to engage in thievery. They were relied upon to lead the war from the front.  However, whenever an isiakpu become a menacing thorn in the flesh of his own kinsmen, he is killed quietly.

An Ogbufo or a war commander could become an Onuo Ora or field marshal if he successfully waged wars with all its neighbors undefeated.

Since the existence of my town and before 1905, when the British took control, Nnewi had only 5 Onuoras namely Ezeagha, Ezeoguine, Ezeenwe, Ezeonyejemeni and his son Ezeodumegwu who capitulated to the Major Moorehouse of British Expeditionary Forces.

The wars in Igbo land were financed through a mandatory taxation of all male adults. The married men or Mbiuno paid more than bachelors or Okokpolo.

Very wealthy men, irrespective of their ages, were exempted from participating in the war because "onye na-eweta ego nsi egbe adighi akwu n'ilu ogu" i.e "the people who bring the funds to prosecute the war should not be at the war front lest they are felled by bullets" This is because, their elimination would cripple the financing of the war efforts.

In the old Igbo communities, no one man was allowed to declare a war that would involve the participation of his community.

The decision to wage a war or to respond to an aggression was usually arrived at by a consensus.

The highest decision making organ in all the Igbo towns of old was the Nzuko ndi Nze na Ozo i.e. the council of the titled men and the elderly.

The council of Nze na Ozo were like the conscience of the town. They were expected to take a wholistic consideration before arriving at any decision.

At any time and up till now, there must be an allowance for "ndi kwuo na ndi ekwena" i.e. "that no man is stopped from expressing his opinion and that anybody could publicly express his dissent on any issue."

But, once the council of the titled men and elders chaired by the Obi or the Igwe took a stand on any issue including declaring of war, everybody would align.

Any agitation that alienates the titled men and the elders, and the very people who have the capacity to finance the procurement of gunpowder needed to fight the war, is only but a futile exercise.

Never again shall the Igbo race go into any war, no matter how impassioned we are, without proper stock-taking and appropriate assessment of our strengths, weaknesses opportunities and threats.

Only a person with "ikwu udo" or "suicide" tendencies would approach a fully armed armored personnel carrier (APC) with only a "mouth gun" or egbe onu!