The Igbo Concept of <i>Ojemba enweghi iro</i> in the Migration of the Igbo Indigenes

Ugo Aniga

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19

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The Igbo Concept of Ojemba enweghi iro in the Migration of the Igbo Indigenes

Ugo Aniga

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 11, Issue 3)

Received: 16 January 2023 Accepted: 13 February 2023 Published: 27 June 2023

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Abstract

Migration is a common thing among the Igbo whose age long concept of Ojemba enweghi iro ‘A traveller or a migrant does not have an enemy.’ plays a central role in their belief that one must travel or migrate to survive. Achebe, in No Longer at Ease tells the story of Obi Okonkwo who travels to England and on his return, his people come with music and dance to welcome him at the Sea Port because it is a remarkable achievement that their son has travelled and returned from the white man’s distant land. The Igbo migrants under an association, stay as a family knowing that a bunch of broom is more difficult to break than a stick of broom (a popular proverb in Igbo land). Technically, the Igbo see migration as a temporary self-exile knowing someday, they will return to their communities. Achebe’s Things Fall Apart account of Okonkwo’s exile to his maternal home for seven years after which he returns with his family to Umuofia is tantamount to the contemporary diasporic spirit of the Igbo nation. Simply put, migration for the Igbo nation is a culture; a culture that has been for centuries in view of the fact that the Igbo people are adventurous and believe in the belief of Ojemba enweghi iro. Ojemba enweghi iro preaches openness and uprightness so that the migrant and his hosts should be in peace for business to take place. The paper will therefore, build its argument on the present concept and arrive at conclusion after interrogating available literatures.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 11, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19
Page(s)	152-158
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Ojemba enweghi iro, Igbo Culture, Migration, Achebe

References

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[2]	Achebe, C. 2000. Home and Exile. Oxford University Press.
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[4]	Afigbo, A. E. 1981. Ropes of Sand (Studies in Igbo History and Culture). University Press Limited, in Association with Oxford University Press.
[5]	Akporobaro, F. B. O. and Emovon, J. A. 1994. Nigeria Proverbs: Meaning and Relevance Today. Department of Culture, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
[6]	Aniga, U.S. 2017. Hermeneutics of Okonko Social Practices in Conflict Management in Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria. A doctoral thesis submitted to the Institute for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
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[9]	Ember, C. and Ember, M. 2006. Cultural anthropology. Prentice Hall.
[10]	Emenanjo, et al 2011. A Unified Standard Orthography for the Igbo language cluster (Nigeria). Monograph series no 242. CASAS and CBAAC.
[11]	Garuba, H. 2015. Postcolonial Modernity and Normalisation. Reading Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God in the Present Tense. In Ogude, J. Ed. Chinua Achebe’s Legacy: Illuminations from Africa. African Institute of South Africa.
[12]	Green, M. M. 1964. Igbo Village Affairs. 2nd Edition. Frank Case and Co. Ltd. 10 Woburn Walk, W.C.I.
[13]	Heider, K. 2001. Seeing anthropology. Prentice Hall. Chapters One and Two.
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[15]	Isichei, E. 1977. Igbo Worlds: An Anthology of Oral Histories and Historical Descriptions. Macmillan Education Limited, London and Basingstoke.
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[17]	Madu, P. O. 1996. African Symbols, Proverbs and Myth: The Hermeneutics of Destiny: Studies in African and African American Culture: vol. 3. Peter Lang Publishing, Inc, N. Y.
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[20]	Risager, K 2006. Language and culture: global flows and local complexity. Multilingual Matters.
[21]	Senayon, O. 2015. Chinua Achebe: The Paradox of Exile beyond the Tropes of Migration. In Ogude, J. Ed. Chinua Achebe’s Legacy: Illuminations from Africa. African Institute of South Africa.
[22]	Senayon, O. 2019. The Monotony of Natural Agency: Human Evolution as Diaspora Discourse. A Lecture delivered at the Fourth Edition of IAS-CODESRIA Staff Seminar Series, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
[23]	Tomasello, M. 2003. The new psychology of language cognitive and functional approaches to language structure. Lawrence Erlbarn Associates.

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Ugo Aniga. (2023). The Igbo Concept of Ojemba enweghi iro in the Migration of the Igbo Indigenes. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 11(3), 152-158. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19

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Ugo Aniga. The Igbo Concept of Ojemba enweghi iro in the Migration of the Igbo Indigenes. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2023, 11(3), 152-158. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19

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Ugo Aniga. The Igbo Concept of Ojemba enweghi iro in the Migration of the Igbo Indigenes. Int J Lit Arts. 2023;11(3):152-158. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19,
  author = {Ugo Aniga},
  title = {The Igbo Concept of Ojemba enweghi iro in the Migration of the Igbo Indigenes},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {11},
  number = {3},
  pages = {152-158},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20231103.19},
  abstract = {Migration is a common thing among the Igbo whose age long concept of Ojemba enweghi iro ‘A traveller or a migrant does not have an enemy.’ plays a central role in their belief that one must travel or migrate to survive. Achebe, in No Longer at Ease tells the story of Obi Okonkwo who travels to England and on his return, his people come with music and dance to welcome him at the Sea Port because it is a remarkable achievement that their son has travelled and returned from the white man’s distant land. The Igbo migrants under an association, stay as a family knowing that a bunch of broom is more difficult to break than a stick of broom (a popular proverb in Igbo land). Technically, the Igbo see migration as a temporary self-exile knowing someday, they will return to their communities. Achebe’s Things Fall Apart account of Okonkwo’s exile to his maternal home for seven years after which he returns with his family to Umuofia is tantamount to the contemporary diasporic spirit of the Igbo nation. Simply put, migration for the Igbo nation is a culture; a culture that has been for centuries in view of the fact that the Igbo people are adventurous and believe in the belief of Ojemba enweghi iro. Ojemba enweghi iro preaches openness and uprightness so that the migrant and his hosts should be in peace for business to take place. The paper will therefore, build its argument on the present concept and arrive at conclusion after interrogating available literatures.},
 year = {2023}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Igbo Concept of Ojemba enweghi iro in the Migration of the Igbo Indigenes
AU  - Ugo Aniga
Y1  - 2023/06/27
PY  - 2023
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DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 152
EP  - 158
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19
AB  - Migration is a common thing among the Igbo whose age long concept of Ojemba enweghi iro ‘A traveller or a migrant does not have an enemy.’ plays a central role in their belief that one must travel or migrate to survive. Achebe, in No Longer at Ease tells the story of Obi Okonkwo who travels to England and on his return, his people come with music and dance to welcome him at the Sea Port because it is a remarkable achievement that their son has travelled and returned from the white man’s distant land. The Igbo migrants under an association, stay as a family knowing that a bunch of broom is more difficult to break than a stick of broom (a popular proverb in Igbo land). Technically, the Igbo see migration as a temporary self-exile knowing someday, they will return to their communities. Achebe’s Things Fall Apart account of Okonkwo’s exile to his maternal home for seven years after which he returns with his family to Umuofia is tantamount to the contemporary diasporic spirit of the Igbo nation. Simply put, migration for the Igbo nation is a culture; a culture that has been for centuries in view of the fact that the Igbo people are adventurous and believe in the belief of Ojemba enweghi iro. Ojemba enweghi iro preaches openness and uprightness so that the migrant and his hosts should be in peace for business to take place. The paper will therefore, build its argument on the present concept and arrive at conclusion after interrogating available literatures.
VL  - 11
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Ugo Aniga

Department of Philosophy, Don Bosco Institute of Philosophy, Ibadan, Nigeria

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APA Style

Ugo Aniga. (2023). The Igbo Concept of Ojemba enweghi iro in the Migration of the Igbo Indigenes. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 11(3), 152-158. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19

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ACS Style

Ugo Aniga. The Igbo Concept of Ojemba enweghi iro in the Migration of the Igbo Indigenes. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2023, 11(3), 152-158. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19

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AMA Style

Ugo Aniga. The Igbo Concept of Ojemba enweghi iro in the Migration of the Igbo Indigenes. Int J Lit Arts. 2023;11(3):152-158. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19,
  author = {Ugo Aniga},
  title = {The Igbo Concept of Ojemba enweghi iro in the Migration of the Igbo Indigenes},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {11},
  number = {3},
  pages = {152-158},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20231103.19},
  abstract = {Migration is a common thing among the Igbo whose age long concept of Ojemba enweghi iro ‘A traveller or a migrant does not have an enemy.’ plays a central role in their belief that one must travel or migrate to survive. Achebe, in No Longer at Ease tells the story of Obi Okonkwo who travels to England and on his return, his people come with music and dance to welcome him at the Sea Port because it is a remarkable achievement that their son has travelled and returned from the white man’s distant land. The Igbo migrants under an association, stay as a family knowing that a bunch of broom is more difficult to break than a stick of broom (a popular proverb in Igbo land). Technically, the Igbo see migration as a temporary self-exile knowing someday, they will return to their communities. Achebe’s Things Fall Apart account of Okonkwo’s exile to his maternal home for seven years after which he returns with his family to Umuofia is tantamount to the contemporary diasporic spirit of the Igbo nation. Simply put, migration for the Igbo nation is a culture; a culture that has been for centuries in view of the fact that the Igbo people are adventurous and believe in the belief of Ojemba enweghi iro. Ojemba enweghi iro preaches openness and uprightness so that the migrant and his hosts should be in peace for business to take place. The paper will therefore, build its argument on the present concept and arrive at conclusion after interrogating available literatures.},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Igbo Concept of Ojemba enweghi iro in the Migration of the Igbo Indigenes
AU  - Ugo Aniga
Y1  - 2023/06/27
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 152
EP  - 158
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231103.19
AB  - Migration is a common thing among the Igbo whose age long concept of Ojemba enweghi iro ‘A traveller or a migrant does not have an enemy.’ plays a central role in their belief that one must travel or migrate to survive. Achebe, in No Longer at Ease tells the story of Obi Okonkwo who travels to England and on his return, his people come with music and dance to welcome him at the Sea Port because it is a remarkable achievement that their son has travelled and returned from the white man’s distant land. The Igbo migrants under an association, stay as a family knowing that a bunch of broom is more difficult to break than a stick of broom (a popular proverb in Igbo land). Technically, the Igbo see migration as a temporary self-exile knowing someday, they will return to their communities. Achebe’s Things Fall Apart account of Okonkwo’s exile to his maternal home for seven years after which he returns with his family to Umuofia is tantamount to the contemporary diasporic spirit of the Igbo nation. Simply put, migration for the Igbo nation is a culture; a culture that has been for centuries in view of the fact that the Igbo people are adventurous and believe in the belief of Ojemba enweghi iro. Ojemba enweghi iro preaches openness and uprightness so that the migrant and his hosts should be in peace for business to take place. The paper will therefore, build its argument on the present concept and arrive at conclusion after interrogating available literatures.
VL  - 11
IS  - 3
ER  -

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