Magnus Eze, Enugu and Obinna Odogwu, Awka
A political economist, Dr Obiora Okonkwo, yesterday, urged the Igbo nation to return to the old structure of communalism in the renewed bid to develop the South-East region.
He made this submission while delivering a lecture titled: Ndigbo in Contemporary Nigeria: Social, Cultural, Political, and Economic Reflections, at the 5th annual Umunri Colloquium of Enugwu-Ukwu community held at the community’s civic centre.
He said: “We need to constantly interrogate ourselves in order for us to build a future that will work for the Igbo people.
“I believe that the sort of individualism that has replaced communalism in Igboland has left us at the mercy of development.
“This individualism has left us thinking more about the self than our communities. Note that the mansion you build today with your children in mind may be abandoned or sold by them at half the actual value when the time comes because they may not need them. Their consumption appetite will change with the realities of their own time.”