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The Dawn of Igbology

 

Prof. Jon Ofoegbu Ukaegbu

1. The Man

In his study of humanity and society, Professor Ukaegbu Fada Jon Ofoegbu Ukaegbuhas become an exponent of Afro-vision which propagates Afrikan Originality and Identity. As a consequence of this societal commitment, he has proven himself an eloquent Pan-Afrikanist in the Afronoid context and a faithful Pan-Humanist in the larger human family. Dr. Ukaegbu presents Pan-Afrikanism as Afrikan brotherhood while Pan-Humanism stands for the universal brotherhood. In an attempt to concretize his profession of philosophical realism, Prof. Ukaegbu focused on his Afrikan experience and Igbo background. Due to his attention to the Igbo world, he has become a champion of the cause of Igbonization, and has emerged as an avowed Igboist and a protagonist of Igboism.

Fada Jon Ofoegbu Ukaegbu hails from Umueze Enyiogwugwu, Mbaise in Igboland West Afrika. Professor Ukaegbu is a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Umuahia. As a Biafra war veteran, he survived the bloodiest war in modern Afrika. His experience of the genocidal war against Biafra made an everlasting impression on him. He earned his Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees from the Pontifical Urban University Rome and the Pontifical University of Salamanca, Spain respectively. He joined the Staff of the Faculty of Philosophy at the Bigard Memorial Seminary in Enugwu, Igboland in 1991. From 1992 to 1995, he served as the Dean of Studies. He is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of the Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Medgar Evers College and in the Humanities Department of the Hostos Community College, both of the City University of New York. Dr. Ukaegbu is so fluent in the Spanish language that he delivers lectures in Spanish at the Maria Eugenio Hostos Community College in the Bronx. He teaches Anthropology and Social Science at the Medgar Evers College. At the same time he is engaged with some pastoral work and serves as the current chaplain of the Blessed Tansi Society in the Americas. Fada Jon is the Patron and co-founder of the Obinwanne Ndi Katolik Igbo in New York.

By training, he is a Theologian, a Philosopher, Cultural Anthropologist and Social Scientist. His effort to blend theology with philosophy and anthropology gives rise to the theory of Cultural Communion which serves as a stepping stone to Spiritual Communion.

His research on cultural symbolism from a philosophical perspective is en route to the birth of Symbolic Philosophy. Fidelity to his research projects has helped him emerge as a strong advocate of Intellectual Honesty which promotes Intellectual Freedom, especially in Afrika. One of the fruits of his research on cultural symbolism is his political theory on Cultural Government. This theory presents Cultural Government as a “
Deus ex machina” (Saving grace) which is supposed to be in partnership with Civil Government in the new world order of the third millennium.



Fada Ukaegbu is a community-oriented person and serves as a Board member of a series of Corporations that promote the Igbo agenda. He is co-founder and Secretary General of the World Igbo National Catholic Council, Inc. He is equally the Director of St. Vincent Benevolent Society, Inc.


2. On Igbology

Original and renowned world civilizations like Egyptology are associated with river deltas and basins. Just as Egyptology deals with the Egyptian Civilization and Heritage, and owes much to the Nile delta, so does Igbology focus on the Niger Delta Civilization and Heritage. In other words, Igbo civilization is a gift of the Niger in the sense that Egypt is said to be a gift of the Nile. As the earliest and oldest world civilizations developed around river basins and deltas, so did there develop a vibrant and dynamic cultural heritage and civilization around the Niger Delta.

Ancient Igboland is caved in by the Atlantic Ocean in the South, the Cross River in the East, the River Benue in the North and the River Niger in the West. The major difference is that the Igbo live on both sides of the River Niger until it empties into the Atlantic. The geographic nature of the Igbo culture area was blessed with natural resources and protection in the sense that Igboland was never invaded by any foreign power until the British colonial conquest of 1914. This peculiarity makes it possible for Igbo culture area to conserve an original or primordial pattern or model of authentic Afrikan culture.

Igbology is a discipline and a scientific title for what is commonly called Igbo studies. In this new dispensation, there is an honest and calculated effort to render a scientific approach to the study of Igbo Civilization and Cultural Heritage. As it is in the case of any other world civilization under study, topics to be researched upon in the Igbo culture area would fit into all classes of disciplines in the natural and social sciences. The collective data in Igboland will serve in the Humanities, Philosophy, Cultural Anthropology/Ethnology, Sociology, History, Religion, Political Science, and History.

When Archimedes discovered the principle of the lever in physics, he exclaimed: “Damihi locum, et terram movebo”. –“Give me a place, and I will move the world”. A recent research project on Igbo Cultural Symbols reveals that Symbols form the base or foundation of any possible scientific or human intellectual endeavor.

 

 

 

 

 

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