The Igbo Question and Political Jiggery-pokery in Nigeria: A Multi-dimensional Marginalization Analysis

Abstract

This study examined what has seemingly become a deliberate strategy of denial against Igbo
people in the Nigerian state. The marginalization debate has attracted serious tension in Nigeria
to the extent that it has dominated national and international discourse in the political and
scholarly domain. Both content analysis and descriptive statistical techniques were utilized for
the analysis, while data presentation and interpretation were done using simple percentages and
tables. The study identified salient issues for a better understanding of how the Igbo in Nigeria's
political space are relegated to the background deliberately. To address these challenges, this
study outlined policy alternatives concerning how the Igbo could be accommodated and
reintegrated into the mainstream of Nigeria's politics, where the safety, happiness and joy of the
Igbo would be complete while living with other ethnic nationalities. It then suggested a different
approach that would guarantee equality in the allocation of power and resources among the
geopolitical zones. These would eliminate the existing marginalization of the Igbo race in
Nigeria.