TDThere is a message trending across social media: that prominent Igbo businessmen in Lagos must align with power for survival. That business comes before tribe. That no serious investor fights the hand that regulates his permits.
It sounds pragmatic. It sounds mature. It even sounds strategic.
But let us speak plainly.
Pragmatism is not the same as submission.
Strategy is not the same as surrender.
And survival is not the same as silence.
The Weight of Your Names
Men like Obi Cubana, Kennedy Okonkwo, E-Money, Stanley Uzochukwu, Cubana Chief Priest, Jowizaza, and Christian Okonkwo are not ordinary private citizens.
You are institutions.
Your visibility translates into symbolic authority.
Your endorsements signal direction.
Your silence communicates alignment.
You may see yourselves as businessmen managing risk. But to millions of Igbo youths watching, you represent aspiration, validation, and communal leverage.
That is not a burden you chose. It is one that success placed upon you.
The Ofeke Warning
In Igbo wisdom we say: “Efulefu na amaghi na oga echi Ozo; oburu na o chie Ozo, ogbaruo eriri Ozo ya n’ikpere.”
(Translated as: “A foolish man does not realise that he may take a great title tomorrow, if he does, he may wear its cord at his knees.”)
The metaphor is precise.
It is not about wealth.
It is about placement.
It is about dignity.
It is about knowing how to carry honour.
When influence is misaligned with communal consciousness, it becomes ofeke behavior — not because of poverty of money, but poverty of depth.
Business Survival vs. Communal Responsibility
Yes, Lagos is Nigeria’s commercial centre.
Yes, regulatory relationships matter.
Yes, antagonising incumbency carries risk.
But let us ask a sharper question:
At what point does strategic accommodation become visible capitulation?
At what point does “business survival” begin to look like political endorsement that weakens Igbo bargaining power nationally?
No one expects you to wage political war.
But neither should you lend symbolic capital to narratives that marginalise your own people’s strategic interests.
That is where the line is drawn.
The Danger of Ofeke—Elite Drift
History shows a consistent pattern in plural societies:
When economic elites integrate too deeply into dominant political coalitions without negotiating collective safeguards, their communities lose leverage.
Not immediately. But structurally.
Influence without protective intent becomes ornamental.
Wealth without communal anchoring becomes transactional.
Visibility without responsibility becomes noise.
That is how a respected title is worn at the knees.
A Call, Not Condemnation
This is not a call for hostility. It is a call for calibration.
Protect your businesses — but protect your symbolic positioning as well.
Build in Lagos — but remember Onitsha, Aba, Enugu, Owerri.
Network with power — but do not dismiss the aspirations of Igbo youths who seek structural inclusion in Nigeria’s future.
Be strategic, not submissive.
Be pragmatic, not performative.
Be influential, not ornamental.
Final Word for the Misguided Ofeke
Igbo culture has never condemned success.
It has always condemned misplaced honour.
Do not be ofeke in the theatre of power.
If you must wear the cord, wear it properly.
