Let me congratulate the Nigerian government for the efforts the nation has put to bring our young people studying in Ukraine home. While we continue to wish for an improving nation, moments like this should challenge everyone of us: you can say anything you want about home, home remains home.
In the Igbo Nation, we name our daughters “Nneka” [mother is supreme]. There is a reason for that. In ancestral Igbo, when you lose your land, your kingdom and your kinsmen cannot help, the last hope is your mother’s land. Interestingly, your mother’s people have an unalloyed obligation to help you. As a result of that, men pay special attention to mothers because when everyone abandons you, you remember your mother’s land.
In your mother’s land, you are Nwa-ada [child to our daughter] and by tradition, you assume immediate ascension, even well ahead of most men of that land. How do you know? Go to Obi (the temple) as elders gather, and before any meeting starts, a wine is offered.
Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 16 (Feb 10 – May 3, 2025) opens registrations; register today for early bird discounts.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and invest in Africa’s finest startups here.
Before the lead elder (usually the most senior) begins to do libations, he will ask “do we have any Nwa-ada here”. If there is an Nwa-ada, the person is acknowledged immediately. And when they begin to serve the drink, the Nwa-ada despite his age will drink well ahead of the indigenes of that land. Yes, he drinks with the elders and by tradition, his security is absolute and guaranteed while in the mother’s place.
(In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe brought this tradition when Uchendu gathered his entire family, including Okonkwo; a man belongs to his fatherland and stays there when life is good, but he seeks refuge in his motherland when life is bitter and harsh. Many have called Nigeria the motherland!))
Nneka. NigeriaKA. We need to make Nigeria better because that is our home. As I watched those young people descend from the aircraft, you should be proud that in the time of need, your nation answered. That is what it is all about, even in the imperfection of that nation.
Many have called Nigeria a “motherland” – more than words!
The second batch of Nigerian evacuees from Ukraine arrived, on Friday evening, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
They arrived on a plane owned by Air Peace, one of the airlines billed to airlift Nigerians returning from Ukraine. The plane took off from Poland, where the Nigerians had fled to following the war in Ukraine.
“The journey was very stressful but we take joy because we are saving lives, rescuing our compatriots, our future because these are our children. We all did it with excitement…,” Akinremi Bolaji, the director of consular and legal services, ministry of foreign affairs, told journalists at the Abuja airport.
According to Mr Bolaji, there were 180 adults and three infants aboard the aircraft.
---
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA (Feb 10 - May 3, 2025), and join Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe and our global faculty; click here.
We need to educate our young people properly too, actions such as this may be taken for granted, but it’s very huge, it’s what shows that you have a home!
Nobody can claim to have done enough for Nigeria, no one is even close, but the way we talk about and treat this country of ours, it doesn’t show any sense of gratitude; the entitlement mentality is making an average Nigerian to forget that he/she has a responsibility towards Nigeria.
When a child of poor father starts comparing his dad with that of a wealthy father, you question his upbringing. Nigeria doesn’t need to measure up with the biggest nations before you appreciate it as your own, her challenges are enormous, and that is where you also need to demonstrate your capabilities.
Nigeria keeps challenging all of us, what are you willing to do for Nigeria? This question should be keeping each and everyone of us awake at night.