THE CONTEMPORARY EMERGING CULTURE OF NDI-ARIRIO AS …

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THE CONTEMPORARY EMERGING CULTURE OF

NDI-ARIRIO AS AGAINST NDI-OGBENYE IN IGBOLAND

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Jude I. Onebunne

Abstract

In Igboland, the concept of community is very unique and basic. The crux

of this idea of communal living is implicated on the help and service we

render to each other especially Ndi Ogbenye as a result of communalistic

responsibility which we owe as we participate in the community well

expressed in the principles of communalism. The idea of community is

therefore based on the critical appreciation of belongingness as the African

Metaphysics of To Be that necessitates community sharing thereby making

the idea of begging and Ndi Aririo (beggars) foreign and odious. Ndi-

Ogbenye (the poor) in the Igbo worldview are people perceived as the

responsibility of the entire community. They are seen as Ndi-Ogbe-N’enye

(let the community provide). This practice was used by the Igbo people to

foster love, unity, communitarianism and communalism against different

forms individualism. Ndi-Aririo on the hand are simply and properly

understood as beggar who depend solely on others for survival and can be

seen as the opposite of Ndi Ogbenye because of the total dependence on

the community for everything. This paper critically analyses the

contemporary influence of ndi-aririo which has affected the formal

understanding of ndi-ogbenye in contemporary Igbo land. This study is a

concerted effort to identify, articulate and highlight the existence, the

causes and effects of Ndi-aririo as against Ndi-Ogbenye in Igboland. The

paper concludes that for proper participation in any communialistic

society, ndi-ogbenye as a concrete and existential part of belongingness in

the community of human is an acceptable concept in the Igbo African

society, while ndi-aririo are complete thorns in the flesh and therefore

should be criticized.

Keywords: Ndi-Ogbenye, Ndi-Aririo, Igbo, poverty

Introduction

The concept of Ogbenye in the Igboland is as old as the tribe itself. It is an age-long

practice used in assisting and fostering love, peace, unity and belongingness in the

Igbo community. Suffice to say that the concept of Ogbenye in Igboland has been

used over the years to maintain the extended family line. This is because, this practice

was used among the Igbo people to render help and provide for their brothers’ widows

and other relatives who are not up to the level of the others in the family. Through this

means, we encountered families covering up for families such that none went begging

or borrowing. As a tribe that appreciated and extolled communalism, it has therefore

Nnamdi Azikiwe Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 10 (2), 2018

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been a general belief among the Igbo people that all fingers are not equal and that life

can be well lived when we cover up for others. Through this means, the Igbo society

has been sustained and enriched more through the extended family system.

Ndi-Ogbenye etymologically comes from the three Igbo words: “Ndi” which

represents, the people, the family, and by this the extended family, “Ogbe” meaning

community, clan, kinsmen and “Enye” which is the act of giving. Ndi-Ogbenye

therefore means “Ndi-Ogbe-n’enye” which can be transliterated as those who are

sustained through the help of the community. On the other hand, Ndi-aririo is a

concept that represents a set of people who depend, pester and acts as parasites to the

community. This group of people depend solely on the community without making

any input in the sustenance of the community. This complete and total dependency is

totally unacceptable because no Igbo person is seen as a beggar but can be given alms

when he has nothing. In the contemporary Igbo society, the reverse is now the case.

Ndi-aririo has dominated Ndi-Ogbenye thereby defeating the general belief that an

average Igbo person is industrious, independent and smart.

Sadly, the concept of “Ogbe-n’ enye” has been hijacked by Ndi-Aririo which is a total

contradiction from Ndi-Ogbenye. Ndi-Aririo is seen as thorns in the flesh in the

community. They depend totally on the community for survival while making no

effort to become independent themselves. They neither contribute anything even their

time, energy nor assist those who have enough during the harvest period. More so,

what is been given to them is often squandered immediately without savings or

making plans to invest what have been given to them. Ironically, Ndi-aririo easily

fern annoyance when what they request for is not given to them as though they share

ownership with the rightful owners. They see the alms rendered to them as rights

instead of privileges; hence, they deserve whatever they ask for.

Ndi-aririo is the destroyers of law and order. They equally breed disunity in the

community. This is because; they sow not but want to reap bountifully. They are oft

en greedy, selfish and are never contended with what is been given to them. Ndi-

Aririo also sees those who refuse to give them as enemies, wicked and heartless

forgetting that they had not played their roles well. This new trend of Ndi-aririo as

against the long established practice of “Ndi-Ogbe-n’enye” is the onus of this paper

laying critical emphasis on the negative impacts of having Ndi-Aririo in our

communities which include; producing people with tainted images who are equally

seen as weaklings, distorters’ of law and order, breakdown of cultural norms and

communal unity among members of the community and breeding a lazy generation.

The Igbo People The Igbo people are located in the South-eastern part of Nigeria and are one of the

most highly populated groups in the Southern Nigeria. Their culture is diverse in

nature. A lot of this diversity stems from the fact that the Igbos are divided into

Eastern and Mid-western region by the Niger River.

While trying to trace the origin of the Igbo people, Nwala (1985) observes that:

The Igbo form one of the largest ethnic groups in

Nigeria. Like their neighbours, they belong to the Negro

Onebunne The Contemporary Emerging Culture of Ndi Aririo …

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race in Africa, and speak a language that belongs to the

Kwa group of languages found in west and central

Africa. Their language is Igbo with many local dialects

(p.15).

Culturally, the Igbos accord a lot of respects to the male head of the family, and also

to the elderly. It is ingrained in children from an early age to always respect their

elders. In Igbo land, one’s social status is depends largely on wealth and sometimes

the number of titles one has been able to acquire. The Igbo people classify members

of their community into three groups; the “nnukwu mmadu” who are the rich, the

“dimkpa” who are the middle class and sometimes warriors and the “Ogbenye” who

occupy the lowest social strata. This classification is vastly similar to most

classifications around the world.

Also, Igbo people hold birth and death at a very high esteem. When a child is born in

Igbo culture, the members of that particular community throw a naming ceremony

with the umbilical cord of the child buried under a tree approved by the mother. This

tree that harbours the umbilical cord of the child is believed to grow in accordance

with how successful the child becomes. Death on the other hand is equally used for

commemoration as opposed to the time of sadness. The Igbo people also use

music to the foster unity and communalism in the communities. This was performed

during hunting expeditions, moonlight tales, naming ceremonies, death ceremonies

and festivals. Music added beauty and colour to virtually every occasion the Igbo

people perform. With the help of various handmade instruments such as “opi” (flute),

“ubo-akwala,” udu” (a pot-like instrument) among others.

Ndi-Ogbenye in Igbo Worldview

Ndi-Ogbenye is an Igbo concept which is loosely translated as “Ndi-Ogbe-N’enye.”

Ogbenye is a word in Igbo language which means the poor. Ogbenye is a powerful

concept in Igbo land used to sustain the unity and preserve the peoples’ cultural

identity. Cultural identity is built through “the sharing of common history or common

culture, common pride in the past, and in some, the sharing of a common passion.

These societal bonds fruitfully achieved through one of the strategies which provides

for the poor and incapacitated can help to stabilize communities and ease the

psychological, economic and even social unrest that may arise if these Ogbenyes are

not taken care of. For instance, the Mexico PPA notes the paradox that while

indigenous communities of Oaxaca have the least materially, they are happy and less

fearful than non-indigenous poor people because they have a range of “traditional

communitarian institutions which provide them support in times of need.” This

practice was highly appreciated by Igbos in the pre-colonial era. Through this means

they had people that attended to the aged, widows and widowers, and the physically

challenged. Young people were advised by their parents to fetch water and firewood

for the aged and through this means, Igbo communities were sustained with the haves

living side by side with the have-nots.

Cultural identity is maintained through rituals, celebrations, and festivals and poor

people frequently mention participation in these events. The significance of this

cannot be overstated: for many poor people, social solidarity is one of the most


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important assets available to them. To maintain this solidarity and the emotional and

physical security it provides, people are willing to make considerable sacrifices and

will readily divest themselves of a wide range of material assets to ensure that these

social bonds are preserved. This was equally seen in Igbo communities where those

that are wealthier than others provided thing used to organize festivals and ritual. Ndi-

Ogbenye were only charged with the responsibility of helping in the preparation of

such events. Women for instance assisted in cooking, fetching water while the men

did the major errands. To this effect, all were seen to be important and indispensible

as everyone had one role or the other to play.

Ndi-ogbenye sometimes borrows money or farm produce from the wealthier once

which they often use to start up something. Achebe in Things Fall Apart portrayed

this attribute of the rich helping the poor to get established through the character of

Okonkwo and Nwakibie. Nwakibie was wealthy man known in the whole of

Umuofia. He had barns filled with yams and other farm produce. Okonkwo as a

young man whose father was regarded as a weakling and an Efuruefu pleaded with

Nwakibie to borrow seed yams and start his own farm. Through this means, Okonkwo

was able to rise to the position of the wealthy class in the society. Ndi-ogbenye in the

Igbo world view are not seen as totally independent but are seen as people who need a

little assistance to rise to the expected demands of the community.

Concept of Ndi-Aririo

It is a known fact that cities across the world are confronted with diverse and complex

problems which have socio-economic and physical implications for city dwellers.

These problems as experienced by cities of less developed countries are enormous and

multidimensional in nature. One obvious manifestation of these problems, especially

in Igbo land and other parts of Nigeria, is Aririo; that is the act of asking people for

money, food, clothes or other items (Jelili, 2006). Aririo as a concept is a social

menace which has a negative implication not only for economies of the cities, socio-

physical environment but also for the people involved. Ndi-Aririo is an Igbo concept

loosely translated as “Beggars.” According to Egeonu (1988), the increasing

population of beggars in Nigerian cities constitutes an eyesore or environmental

nuisance and health hazards, particularly those carrying infectious and contagious

diseases. Kennedy and Fitzpatrick (2001) define begging simply as asking passers-by

for money in a public place. However, this definition is not comprehensive enough to

reflect all activities of the beggars. For instance, beggars may approach people not

necessarily for money alone but also for food, clothes etc and this activity may

not necessarily take place in public places, it may take place anywhere. The

definition of begging as provided by Wikipedia (2009) presents begging as

requesting some-thing in a supplicating manner with the implication that a person

who is begging will suffer emotional, psychological and or physical harm.

Fawole, Ogunkan and Omoruan (2011) underlines a more recent type of begging now

trending in Igbo land and Nigeria as a whole is the perpetually sick ones; these ones

always suffer from diseases, like cancerous growths on visible parts of their bodies,

which they wear like a badge of honour. At most strategic roads, many with some

form of diseases are carried and put at the centre of the road with men and women

with people some of who are family members that beg on their behalf. Some are even


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controlled by godfathers who are entitled to a ‘cut’ of their money in return for

‘protection’. The godfathers are also responsible for costuming i.e. fake wounds on

appropriate parts of your body; for the lame, wheelchairs, wheelbarrows or

skateboards; for the blind, they assign a child to lead you around and collect the day’s

earnings. In the observation of Esan (2009), some beggars use insults, profanity, or

veiled threats in aggressive panhandling. The Caucasian colour beggars from Chad

and Niger Republic who now dominate most part Nigeria and even the Eastern part

go as far as intimidating their targeted donors into giving alms by “clinging” unto

them

This act of begging has found its root even in the Public service in Nigeria. Today

each office you go into either at the federal, state or local government level, there are

Nigerians who indulge in one form of begging and the other. It is fast becoming an

embarrassment across the country when on approaching a supposed security officer;

he politely asks what you have for the boys. It is either they are poorly paid or they

are not satisfied with what they are doing. A situation like this cannot bring the best

out of these men on uniform or in sensitive position in the country. Every office you

enter in the country today, someone somewhere will expect you to perform before you

leave and if you fail to, they will boldly ask, ‘Oga, what do you have for the boys?’

this is an unethical behaviour of most men of Immigration, Police and other agencies

at the front desk. They do not care about the image of the country not to talk of their

own self-respect and dignity which has been thrown to the wind and sold for a pot of

porridge. Sadly enough, those in authority do not care nor take notice of this

abnormally. At most road junctions across the country where you have policemen as

well as other agencies on duty, some are more interested in begging. Those who fail

to pay their offering as it is popularly called are often times subjected to rigorous and

excruciating search and maltreatment.

Aririo as Prayer to God

Aririo as prayer is a form of entreaty made from an inferior being to a superior being.

Igbo people before the coming of Christianity had their traditional gods who were

believed to provide, protect and solve their problems. It was equally believed that

there was nothing that one ask from these gods as long as those thing were just that

were not granted them. To this effect, prayers were offered to each god responsible

for solving a particular problem. There was the god of fertility, the god that healed

sicknesses, god of procreation, god of vindication among others. Each of these gods

were seen to have played their respective roles. The Igbos having seen these gods as

all knowing made prayers and supplications to them at one point in time or the other.

However, with the coming of Christianity, most people shifted their reliance and

prayers from such gods as Afijioku, Okuku, Agbara, etc to the Christian God known in

Igbo as “Chineke” or “Chukwu.” They therefore, made constant prayers in form of

appreciation, seeking forgiveness and making request to God. They rely on God to

provide, protect, and support at every given time. Furthermore, aririo is a form of

prayer which indicates total submission, reliance and trust on a supreme and spiritual

being which the Igbo people do not joke with. Also, begging in this aspect is not seen


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as wrong and unwelcomed because the people do not relax and watch God perform all

the jobs for them but provide an avenue through which their gods acted upon.

Aririo as Begging

Another aspect of Aririo is that of soliciting help from man. Broun (2010) said

begging is an anti-social behaviour observed in almost all nations of the world

especially in developing nations. It involves asking for what the beggar does not have.

This is however the aspect that this study tries to criticize as a trendy lifestyle which

does not represent the true Igbo concept of seeking helps. Aririo made to man is seen

as an act of laziness and dependency. Aririo in this aspect may range from house to

house begging to street begging. House to house begging is a situation whereby

someone goes to the house of either a fellow kinsman or stranger to seek help either in

food items, clothing, money or even other forms of favour. On the other hand, street

begging entails coming out to the street, often times in a highly populated area to beg.

Street begging in the opinion of Wikipedia (2010) is a practice whereby a person

obtains money, food, shelter or other things from people he/she encounter in public

place by request without return. From Chukwulobe (2011) street begging is seen as an

act of stopping people on the street to beg for assistance which could either be in the

form of giving money or food. It often occurs for the purpose of securing a material

benefit, generally for a gift donation or charitable donation (John, 2010). From

Balogun (2012) A street beggar is a person who relies on the financial graces of

strangers without providing food or services in return, though it is just as much work

as a wage job.

Begging can come in different forms:

Active Begging: These types of beggars move from place to place with soliciting

money, gifts. They move from house to house, worship places, markets, and even in

the motor parks with the accompaniment of a family member.

Passive Begging: This type involve in person either sitting or standing in one place

with songs or receptacle entreating donations. Passive begging is the contemporary

way of begging where we have beggars at a situated spot in the community. People

come there to offer help to them.

Aggressive Begging: This technique is one which harsh words and intimidations are

used in soliciting help. These categories of beggars are often the lazy once that in

most cases are healthy but choose to beg. They are usually very greedy and never

contented with what is being given to them. In lonely place, these set of beggars can

rob or harass someone who has come to render help to them. It is an extreme form of

begging where people use force to beg.

Why the Existence of Ndi-Ogbenye and Ndi-Aririo

There are personality traits in man that can compel or hinder him from begging. These

personality traits was summarized by Sigmund Freud in his tripartite theory where he

highlighted the reasons people acted the way they did. These three traits are “id,”

“ego” and “superego.” The “id” is the primitive and instinctive component of

personality. It consists of all the inherited (i.e., biological) components of personality

present at birth, including the sex (life) instinct – Eros (which contains the libido), the


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aggressive (death) instinct, even the desire to either accept to beg or not. The “id” is

the impulsive (and unconscious) part of our psyche which responds directly and

immediately to the instincts. The personality of the newborn child is all “id” and only

later does it develop an ego and super-ego. The “id” remains infantile in its function

throughout a person’s life and does not change with time or experience, as it is not in

touch with the external world. The id is not affected by reality, logic or the everyday

world, as it operates within the unconscious or subconscious part of the mind. The

“id” operates on the pleasure principle (Freud, 1920) which is the idea that every

wishful impulse should be satisfied immediately, regardless of the consequences.

When the “id” achieves its demands, we experience pleasure and when it is denied we

experience ‘displeasure’ or tension. According to Freud (1923), the ego is “that part

of the “id” which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world.”

(p.25)

The ego develops to mediate between the unrealistic “id” and the external real world.

It is the decision-making component of personality. Ideally, the ego works by reason,

whereas the id is chaotic and unreasonable. The ego operates according to the reality

principle, working out realistic ways of satisfying the id’s demands, often

compromising or postponing satisfaction to avoid negative consequences of society.

The ego considers social realities and norms, etiquette and rules in deciding how to

behave. The ego is concerned with devising a realistic strategy to obtain pleasure. The

ego has no concept of right or wrong; something is good simply if it achieves its end

of satisfying without causing harm to itself or the id. Often the ego is weak relative to

the headstrong id, and the best the ego can do is stay on, pointing the id in the right

direction and claiming some credit at the end as if the action were its own (Freud,

1923, p.15).

If the ego fails in its attempt to use the reality principle, and anxiety is experienced,

unconscious defence mechanisms are employed, to help ward off unpleasant feelings

(i.e., anxiety) or make good things feel better for the individual. The ego engages in

secondary process thinking, which is rational, realistic, and orientated towards

problem-solving. If a plan of action does not work, then it is thought through again

until a solution is found. This is known as reality testing and enables the person to

control their impulses and demonstrate self-control, via mastery of the ego. The

superego incorporates the values and morals of society which are learned from one's

parents and others. It develops around the age of 3 – 5 during the phallic stage of

psychosexual development. The superego's function is to control the id's impulses,

especially those which society forbids, such as sex and aggression, stealing and other

social vices. It also has the function of persuading the ego to turn to moralistic goals

rather than simply realistic ones and to strive for perfection. The superego consists of

two systems: The conscience and the ideal self. The conscience can punish the ego

through causing feelings of guilt. For example, if the ego gives in to the id's demands,

the superego may make the person feel bad through guilt. The ideal self (or ego-ideal)

is an imaginary picture of how you ought to be, and represents career aspirations, how

to treat other people, and how to behave as a member of society.


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This tripartite theory of Freud has a role to play when discussing why people fail.

That is why in the Igbo society, while some people such as ndi-ogbenye, earn honest

means, ndi-aririo who depend only on what their society can do for them and not

what they can do for their society keep being torn in the flesh of the society where

they are found. Some people who have high ego, subjecting themselves to begging is

always a difficult thing. In the cultural Igbo world view, it is believed that Igbos are

not beggars but can seek alms from time to time. More so, many people are propelled

to beg for cultural, economic and social reasons and even religious reasons.

Culturally, in Igbo communities, it is a culture that people do not eat alone but leave

some for the less privileged. This is why we have the people known as “ndi-ogbe-

n’enye.” They survive with the help of philanthropies who derive pleasure in assisting

other. In the Igbo community, when one goes to the farm to harvest any farm produce,

he is not expected to harvest everything but to intentionally reserve some for the ndi-

ogbenye.

Socially, it is an age-long belief that all fingers are not equal. This is why in more

advanced nations where we have the bourgeoisie and proletariat existing side by side.

The Proletariats who are a class of wage labourers employed by the bourgeoisie to

produce goods and services—and the bourgeoisie—the ruling class that owns the

means of production and extract their wealth through appropriation of the surplus

product (profit) produced by the proletariat. This proletariat which is a recognized

concept in more advanced world can be likened to ndi-ogbenye. This is because, they

get their pays at the end of the labour and through this they are able to sustain

themselves. Economically, it is equally true that there are people who are richer than

others. These people in the Igbo society are the once who are expected to help the

poor or less privileged. The pre-colonial Igbo community had men who donated

foodstuffs, huts, barns, and cowries to the widows, widowers, aged, and orphans.

Through these freewill donations, they were able to remain at the level their “chi” has

destined them to remain.

Religiously, Igbo people had always been charged by their gods to render help to the

needy especially the aged and orphans. This is why, no one harvest entirely what he

cultivated. A portion must deliberately be left for “ndi ikpa-ubi” who are people that

ransack the farms after harvest season. Those who have many seed and cash crops

makes room also for the provision of Ndi-Ogbenye. Coming to the Christian God,

there are also commands to provide for the needy and poor. It is a command to bring

in first fruit harvests to the house of the Lord so that there will be meat in the store

house. The store house is by extension a place where the needy and the servants of

God feed from. We equally have famine, drought and lack of finance to start up can

propel one to beg. Some people who were living in abundance have been reduced to

ndi-ogbenye because of one natural or man-made disaster or the other. Lack of money

to procure land and other farm products has also left a good number of people at the

level of “ogbenyeness.”


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The Concept of Communalism in the Igbo Worldview

Asouzu (2013) presents the reality of Igbo sense of complementarity in his

Ibuanyidanda philosophy. He argued for the lack of self-sufficiency of an individual

to attend to his barrages of needs. Rather individuals find more meaning in life within

the community of interdependency, collectivism and mutual coexistence. In his

words:

The individual is not self sufficient but has many needs

which he cannot supply to himself. Hence, human beings

agreed to submit voluntarily to a system and were bound

to live in unison and solidarity. Through deep

experiences as creatures, human beings realized their

insufficiency and dependency. They discovered that they

need each other to live a contented life. These

experiences of life gave recourse to the idea of

complementarities as a measure to survive the challenges

posed by other vicissitudes of life. Inter dependency,

inter-relationship, collectivism and mutual coexistence

form the basis for Igbo life pattern. (Asouzu 2013,

p.403)

Igbo communalism is primarily portrayed in living together and sharing things in

common. This is the bedrock and the result of the wonderful relationship prevalent in

the Igbo- African community as well as the purpose of the existence of the Igbo

community in particular and of the Africans in general. This is in line with Asouzu’s

development of the philosophy of “Ibuanyidanda” philosophy as an authentic

traditional Igbo life pattern which has survived till today. “The concept Ibuanyidanda

is drawn from the Igbo language and has as its nearest English equivalent the idea

complementarity in the sense of “njikọka” (togetherness is greatest) “Igwebụike”

(strength in togetherness)” (Asouzu, 2007, p.11).

Communalism implies good spirit and preservation of age-long belief of love, unity

and oneness. To this point, the concept of Ogbenye as the preservation of communal

spirit means that it is the responsibility of the “ogbe” (village) to “nye” (give) “ndi na

enweghi” (those who do not have). This is in line with Asouzu (2007) assertion that:

The community constitutes the point of orientation for

almost all human activities and determines human life

even if these societies were committed to the insight of

mutual complementary relationship between units within

any given framework, we see them tending towards

extreme measures in view of undermining this

commitment (P.350)

From the above, it is seen that what actually energizes communalism are the concepts

of extended family (Ime-nne) kindred (Umunna) village (Ogbe) and clan, because at

these levels, people live together and share responsibilities. This is because, the Igbo


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society is communal and not collectivistic. Igbo people lay more emphasis on

communal relationship among members of the family, community, village and clan

than on the autonomy of members; as one is not considered separated but a member

of a mystical body where he can only live life in full. Communalism urges all to be

their brothers’ keepers. Communalism further breeds other concepts like “Uwa ezu-

oke” the world is incomplete and “Onweghi onye ozuru” meaning nobody is perfect

necessitates collectivism in the life of an Igbo person

Without complementarity, human life would be

unbearable isolated struggles that easily lead to self

abandonment. We can now understand why the

traditional Igbo never cease to sound the clarion call to

complementarity and solidarity in times of crisis

(Asouzu, 2007, P.105)

This assertion by Asouzu means that the Igbo people live their lives complementing

one another. Hence, the concept of “EBUB” egbe gbere, ugo ebere loosely translated

as “live and let’s live” and “Ubuntu” meaning “I am because we are.” According to

Nze (1989) “the relationship existing between the society and the individual in a

communalistic society is analogous to that existing between a mother and her embryo,

each is connected with the other through the Umbilical cord (p.4). This means is that

the individual cannot detach himself from the community. Thus, as he and strives to

gratify his personal needs and expand his abilities, he sees all his efforts and

aspirations as aimed at maintaining, preserving and sustaining his relationship with

other members of the community of which he is a part of. Communalism is fraternal

in the sense that it symbolizes a form of life of a people whose different members are

held together by some parental link. Nobody can detach himself from his community

because the community is the vehicle through which all activities are accomplished.

Hence, solitary individual is an absurdity in Igbo communalism.

Ogbenye as an Extension of the Philosophy of Belongingness According to Onebunne (2018) “Belongingness is a fundamental quality in

understanding being. No being can be understood in terms of its completeness but in

relation to other beings” (p.31). It is the human emotional need to be an accepted

member of a group; be it family, friends, co-workers, a religious group and cultural

group. The Igbo community holds the concept of belongingness so highly that they

coined expression like, “onye aghala nwanneya” meaning, no one should forsake his

brother, “igwe bu ike,” “mmadu bu ibe ya” among others.

Ndi-ogbenye as a recognized concept among the Igbo people was established as a

result of the desire to assimilate all into one autonomous community; one do not have

to live alone and there is a general belief that our actions have impact either positively

or negatively on others. Hence, there is mandate to live rightly and justly. Through the

philosophy of belongingness, Igbo people feel indebted to another. That is the major

reason ndi-ogbenye is an acceptable concept among the people.


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Ndi-Ogbenye as against Ndi-Aririo

As noted above, ndi-ogbenye are people who live out their lives through the help of

the community. They depend on the “ogbe” community, village or clan where they

find themselves for survival. Ndi-ogbenye equally give to their community. They

assisted the haves in domestic chores, farm work and transporting goods from the

farm to the house and market. Culturally, Igbo people are not known to be beggars but

givers, not borrowers but lenders. The idea of giving in pre-colonial Igbo land was a

means through which the people shared their common interest and exhibited not

sympathy but empathy to the have-nots. Ndi-Ogbenye was never criticized but their

presence were appreciated in the community. The sense of Ogbenyeness in the

traditional Igbo society was never a lack but people who had rights in the wealth of

the community. This is because of the general belief that all fingers are not equal and

to sustain the community, there has always been need for complementality of the

haves and the have-not. Ndi-Ogbenye assisted in helping the people that had during

the planting season to cultivate and transport farm produce from the barns and houses

to the farm thereby, making active members of the labour force. They equally

repeated same during the harvest period. Families who experienced bountiful harvest

employed the services of Ndi-Ogbenye in harvesting, transporting or dressing the farm

produce. By the close of the day, they were given enough to feed their immediate

families and live well. During harvest season, people do not harvest all in the farm but

leave some for Ndi-Ogbenye and this gave room to the acceptable concept of “Ikpa-

ji,” “Ikpa-ukpaka,” and all forms of “Ihe ana-akpakpa.”

Culturally, it is not regarded as a sin, a crime or stealing if a fellow kinsman goes into

the farm which has previously been harvested by the rightful owners to take the

remnants of what is left in the farm which will feed him at that particular time. Most

of the time, farm produce were generally collected from those whose crops may have

yielded bountifully and distributed to Ndi-Ogbenye. But this concept has been

replaced to ndi-aririo; a group of people in the family who depend solely on the

family or community for survival. The difference between these two concepts is that

while ndi-ogbenye contribute to the community where they find themselves, ndi-

aririo do not. Ndi-aririo believe in receiving and not giving and often times are never

contented with what is given to them. Aririo has serious implication for the city and

national economy as beggars are not economically productive in any way since they

contribute nothing to the economy. It leads not only to social relegation of the city but

also to that of beggars who are also stigmatized. Ndi-Aririo constitutes a social threat

to the Igbo communities and the Nigeria nation as a whole. This is because, an

average Igbo person is not meant beg but perceive as an independent. In the

contemporary Nigerian society and in the South-eastern part of the Nigeria, Ndi-

Aririo portray a bad image to outsiders or strangers. Some criminals hid under the

guise of “onye aririo” to perpetuate their evil deeds. They are at times used as

instruments by mischief makers, who use them to vandalize public properties and

utilities built with nation’s resources. The nefarious activities of those fake beggars

such as criminals, area boys” and thugs constitute one of the sources of civil unrest to

the city dwellers. To this end, ndi-aririo are liabilities to the community where they

are found but the ndi-ogbenye are productive parts of the family and community.


47

Conclusion

Aririo (begging) is not an acceptable concept for any family, clan or community that

want to survive and more forward. This is because, ndi-aririo are parasites and

contribute nothing to the growth of the community unlike ndi-ogbenye who live

complementing the efforts of the haves through their assistance and willingness to

perform any duty allocated to them as long as such tasks is moral and ethical. The

influx and total reliance of ndi-aririo over ndi-ogbenye has slowed the growth and

development that most Igbo communities would have experienced and left them at a

level of profligacy and parsimony. This new trend must be frowned at and not

allowed to persist and all who have hidden under the influence of “ogbenye” to

perpetuate evil, disorder and breed contempt in the Igbo community.

Recommendations

To reduce the influx of ndi-aririo and encourage ndi-ogbenye, the following

recommendations:

1. People should be empowered and not only give them food that will satisfy

their immediate needs.

2. Igbo people need to return to the period when they bore one another’s burden

and were one another’s keeper

3. Igbo people should return to their communal ways of life.

4. The Igbo people should equally extol the spirit of belongingness.

Jude I. Onebunne

Department of Education Foundation

School of Education

Federal College of Education (Tech) Umunze

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