Definition: What Is A Mono-Linguistic Igbo Self-Determination?
Mono-linguistic Igbo self-determination refers to the collective aspiration and political demand by the Indigenous People of the Igbo Nation for the establishment of an independent, sovereign state—Ala-Igbo—founded primarily upon a shared Igbo language, culture, worldview, and political identity if the Igbos whose ancestral homeland is the present South-East region in the present Nigerian political arrangement cannot find justice by being treated fairly in line with the principles of equality in Nigeria. It is a remedial form of secession, grounded in international law, aiming to dismantle the colonial-imposed multi-ethnic federation of Nigeria, which has, since independence, systemically marginalised the Igbo people in the present South-East zone or region.
This conceptualisation emphasises not merely territorial autonomy or ethnic self-expression, but the reconstitution of political sovereignty premised on a unified ethno-linguistic identity—wherein the Igbo language serves not just as a medium of communication but as a cultural-political symbol of liberation, unity, epistemology, and nationhood.
- Merits of a Mono-Linguistic Igbo Self-Determination
a) Cultural Reclamation and Preservation
A mono-linguistic framework ensures the revitalisation and preservation of Igbo cultural practices, epistemologies, proverbs, rituals, and indigenous knowledge systems currently endangered under Nigeria’s dominant Anglophone, Eurocentric, and Hausa-Fulani hegemonies.
b) Political Cohesion
Unlike Nigeria’s artificial boundaries that fuse over 250 ethnic groups into a fractured federation, a mono-linguistic nation-state facilitates political cohesion, social trust, and civic identity—elements proven by empirical political science research to enhance democratic stability (Fearon & Laitin, 2003).
c) Economic Empowerment through Indigenous Innovation
Linguistically unified populations are better positioned to foster local entrepreneurship, intra-communal trade, and indigenous technologies. The Igbo apprenticeship system—hailed by the Harvard Business Review as one of the world’s most effective business incubation models—is an exemplar of economic systems that thrive within mono-linguistic environments.
d) Educational and Intellectual Sovereignty
Pedagogical research confirms that education delivered in the mother tongue significantly enhances learning outcomes (UNESCO, 2016). An Ala-Igbo state would thus facilitate epistemic sovereignty by designing curricula rooted in Igbo language and history, counteracting the epistemic violence of colonial education.
e) Remedial Justice
In accordance with the United Nations’ framework on the Right to Self-Determination (1970 Declaration on Friendly Relations) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Igbo nation—having suffered genocide (1967–1970), decades of systemic marginalisation, and economic exclusion—qualifies for remedial secession.
- A Critical and Evidence-Based Argument in Support
I. Legal Justification: International Law and Remedial Secession
Under Article 20 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, peoples have the “unquestionable and inalienable right to self-determination.” This is reinforced by the UN General Assembly Resolution 2625 (1970), which holds that self-determination may include the creation of an independent state where a people is subjected to systemic discrimination, domination, or a denial of meaningful internal self-government.
The Igbo people have met these thresholds:
• Genocide and Mass Atrocities (1967–70): Well-documented Biafran genocide, with estimates of over 2 million civilian deaths due to starvation and bombing campaigns (Achebe, 2012; Emefiena Ezeani, 2013).
• Continued Political Marginalisation: Only five states in the South-East zone versus six in all other geopolitical zones; under-representation in federal appointments; deliberate exclusion from security and economic policymaking bodies (Nwala, 2019).
• Infrastructural and Economic Neglect: Comparative analysis of federal allocations, national budgeting, and capital projects shows the South-East consistently receives the least investment (BudgIT Nigeria, 2021).
These facts constitute a prima facie case for remedial secession as a last resort where Nigeria has effectively closed all avenues for dialogue and future prospect of resolution is non-existent and internal remedies exhausted. Note that this is only actionable where and whenever the South-East Igbos are willing and able to do so.
II. Economic Logic: Viability of an Ala-Igbo Nation-State
a) Human Capital
The South-East boasts Nigeria’s highest literacy rate (above 80%, NBS 2022) and a globally dispersed diaspora contributing significantly to GDP via remittances. According to the World Bank, Igbo-dominant states contribute a disproportionate share to Nigeria’s informal sector GDP—despite infrastructural neglect.
b) Entrepreneurial Culture
Igbo society thrives on horizontal economic structures, communal ownership models, and cooperative capitalism. The Igbo apprenticeship system (Ịgba Boi), recently studied at MIT and Stanford, has created thousands of first-generation millionaires through micro-mentorship.
c) Natural and Infrastructural Resources
Ala-Igbo contains abundant natural resources: limestone, oil deposits, coal, and palm oil, alongside a growing agro-processing industry. With reinvestment and industrialisation, a sovereign Ala-Igbo could harness these for self-sustaining growth.
III. Academic and Intellectual Justification: Epistemic Liberation
Postcolonial theory underscores how colonial borders disrupted indigenous knowledge and imposed Eurocentric modes of being. A mono-linguistic Ala-Igbo nation-state would decolonise not only governance but also thought—allowing the Igbo worldview (ụwa-Igbo), ethics (ọfọ-na-ogu), and cosmology (chi-na-eke) to frame state policies, legal traditions, and educational systems.
In contrast to Nigeria’s continued marginalisation of Igbo language in curricula and media, an independent Ala-Igbo would elevate its language into academia, science, and governance. This is not unprecedented: nations such as Israel (with Hebrew), Norway (Nynorsk/Bokmål), and Estonia (Estonian) have successfully revived or standardised their native languages post-independence.
IV. Political Feasibility: A Rising, Irreversible Aspiration
The call for Ala-Igbo is not ephemeral. It is transgenerational and endures because Nigeria has persistently failed to implement structural justice. Recent youth uprisings, and consistent agitations, mobilisations against the South-East marginalisation(underrepresentation), and the resurgence of intellectual-nationalist discourse among Igbo academics and diaspora underscore that the idea of Biafra (which metaphorically stands for justice, equality and fairness)—reconfigured as Ala-Igbo—is not dying. It is rather evolving!
Unless Nigeria redresses the historic and continuing injustices—through equal state creation, proportional representation, regional autonomy, and infrastructural equality—the call for self-determination shall not abate. Indeed, it shall intensify and ultimately outlive the Nigerian state.
Conclusion: Towards a Just Future
The call for a mono-linguistic Igbo nation-state—Ala-Igbo—is more than an emotional appeal to identity. Since other component nations of Biafra are no longer willing to restore (see a separate earlier publication on these), let the South-East Igbos seek for their own preferred model of self-determination and the same applies to other former components. It is a rational, legal, economic, and ethical imperative. It is grounded in internationally recognised principles of justice, fuelled by undeniable historical grievances, and animated by a people whose resilience, industriousness, and cultural coherence are unparalleled in sub-Saharan Africa.
If Nigeria is unwilling or unable to provide justice, equity, and inclusion, then the pursuit of a sovereign Ala-Igbo (Igbo Nation) stands not as rebellion, but as resistance grounded in international law and moral conscience.
Uche Mefor is the Convenor of the Igbo-Biafra Nationalists (IBN) and the Indigenous People of Igbo Nation for Self-determination(IPINS).
