The Igbo Intellectual Tradition: Creative Conflict in African and African Diasporic Thought

351 Pages·2013·2.14 MB·English

by  Gloria Chuku (eds.)

The Igbo Intellectual Tradition
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The Igbo Intellectual Tradition
Creative Conflict in African and African Diasporic
Thought
EditedbyGloriaChuku
ISBN 978-1-349-45691-8 ISBN 978-1-137-31129-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137311290
theigbointellectualtradition
Copyright©GloriaChuku2013.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2013 978-1-137-31128-3
Allrightsreserved.
Firstpublishedin2013by
PALGRAVEMACMILLAN®
intheUnitedStates—adivisionofSt.Martin’sPressLLC,
175FifthAvenue,NewYork,NY10010.
WherethisbookisdistributedintheUK,EuropeandtherestoftheWorld,
thisisbyPalgraveMacmillan,adivisionofMacmillanPublishersLimited,
registeredinEngland,companynumber785998,ofHoundmills,
Basingstoke,HampshireRG216XS.
PalgraveMacmillanistheglobalacademicimprintoftheabove
companiesandhascompaniesandrepresentativesthroughouttheworld.
Palgrave®andMacmillan®areregisteredtrademarksintheUnitedStates,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
TheIgbointellectualtradition:creativeconflictinAfricanand
Africandiasporicthought/editedbyGloriaChuku.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Igbo(Africanpeople)—Intellectuallife. 2. Igbodiaspora—Intellectual
life. 3. Intellectuals—Nigeria. I. Chuku,Gloria.
DT515.45.I33I4242013
001.1096332—dc23 2013004530
AcataloguerecordofthebookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
DesignbyIntegraSoftwareServices
Firstedition:August2013
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Tomyfather,MaziTennysonOkoliChuku(Nnawuenyi)
DonC.Ohadike
Igboheroesandheroines,whohelpedshapethecauseofIgboculture,
history,andstudies.
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Contents
Preface ix
NotesonContributors xi
Maps xiii
Introduction 1
GloriaChuku
1 OlaudahEquianoandtheFoundationofIgboIntellectual
Tradition 33
GloriaChuku
2 NnamdiAzikiwe:TheTriumphofKnowledge 67
JohnOriji
3 MbonuOjike:AnAfricanNationalistandPan-Africanist 89
GloriaChuku
4 BishopAnthonyNwedoofUmuahia:Faith,VisionandMission 119
JudeAguwa
5 KennethDike:TheFatherofModernAfricanHistoriography 137
GloriaChuku
6 AdieleAfigboandtheDevelopmentofIgboandNigerian
HistoricalStudies 165
GloriaChuku
7 PiusNwabufoOkigbo:APragmaticEconomistandan
IntellectualGiant 193
GloriaChuku
8 BenNwabuezeandAfricanIntellectualTradition 223
PhilipAka
viii • Contents
9 ChinuaAchebeandtheDevelopmentofIgbo/AfricanStudies 249
RaphaelNjoku
10 NwanyibuifeFloraNwapa,IgboCultureandWomen’sStudies 267
GloriaChuku
11 HelenChukwuma:TheInimitableAdvocateforAfrican
Women’sEmpowerment 295
ChristineOhale
SelectedBibliography 311
Index 337
Preface
Theideasthatgavebirthtothisanthologyformedmorethan12yearsagowhen
Don C. Ohadike and I organized two panels at the 44th Annual Meeting of
African Studies Association (ASA) at Houston, Texas, in November 2001. The
panels were entitled “Igbo Scholars and the Making of the Intellectual Tradi-
tions of the African Diaspora: From Olaudah Equiano to Boniface Obichere”
and “IHaveTwo Countries—Africa andtheDiasporas: Iconsof ModernIntel-
lectualTraditionsofAfricaandtheDiaspora.”Thepaperspresentedfocusedon
thecontributionsofseveniconicIgbopersonagestothedevelopmentofintellec-
tualtraditionsinAfricaandtheAfricanDiaspora.ThesepersonagesareOlaudah
Equiano, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Kenneth Dike, Mbonu Ojike, Boniface Obichere,
Flora Nwapa, and Pius Okigbo. The initial goal was to publish the papers in
an anthology with the same title as that of the first panel, but the momentum
generated by the project at the ASA conference quickly dissipated due to enor-
mous professional and familial demands on the contributors. Sadly, Ohadike’s
prematuredeathinAugust2005compoundedthesituation,butatthesametime
strengthened my resolve to tackle the challenges of bringing the book project
to fruition. In an attempt to revive interest in the project, I organized another
panel at the 51st Annual Conference of the African Studies Association held in
Chicago,Illinois,inNovember2008,entitled“IgboIntelligentsiaandtheMak-
ing of African Intellectual Traditions.” The four papers at this panel were on
NnamdiAzikiwe,MbonuOjike,AdieleAfigbo,andIgboscientistsinBiafradur-
ing the Biafra–Nigeria War of 1967–1970. They were presented by colleagues
whowerenotpartoftheinitialpanels.Invitationsweresubsequentlysentoutto
aselectnumberofscholarswhodidnottakepartintheaboveconferences.The
inclusive chapters, therefore, represent the revised papers of the panelists in the
threepriorpanelsandthoseofafewsolicitedcolleagues,whowereamenableto
projectrequirementsanddeadlines.Multidisciplinaryapproacheswereadopted,
representingthecontributors’expertiseandtheversatilityoftheirsubjects.
Our goal in publishing this book is that it be used to celebrate the
achievements of Igbo scholars of varying professions and their contributions