I Am An Igbo Poem by Felix Emeka George

I encounter problems daily,
Convincing people about my igboness.
My detractors readily
cite my growing up
in the west,
married to westerner
And working a decade in the north.

They accuse me of speaking pidgin Igbo
But whatever I missed
in my growing years,
detracts nothing from
how I feel as one.

I resolved never
to introduce myself,
'detribalized'
Because eagerness to detribalize,
constitutes mainly to the pool of saboteurs, today.
Who avoid their kith-linage like a plague?
Yet never accepted by those they seek to impress.

Do I need to forget that,
to be taken seriously
In the assembly,
In the Congress
A base is necessary,
A state of origin
Statement of indigeneship
That you have been given life by an ethnic extraction.

A clarion declaration
'I am Igbo'
If I can't go forward,
I can atleast go rearwards
Especially if the key to the future lies in the past

By: Felix Emeka George
Copyright: 31 March 2017
'All Rights Reserved'