Unlike what is being observed today, the Mbube people in the past lived communally and shared in close affinities of lineages, family, blood, marriage, and kinship. But with the implosion of modernity and party politics in Mbube, many of the ways of life of the Mbube people are being replaced with what is perceived to be the modern ways of life, and party politics has risen to become like what is described by Chinua Achebe in Things Fall Apart, the knife that is putting the people of Mbube asunder.
The tradition and unity of the Mbube people today are being threatened by suspected modernity and party politics. In recent times, the people of Mbube, due to their political affiliation and the quest by many individuals to position themselves in the reckoning within Mbube, Ogoja, and Cross River State, are experiencing a rise in divisions across communities, families, and political parties. Many who are seen as arrowheads of their communities, though in face value, are speaking for themselves rather than for their communities. Individualism seems to be the priority today rather than the traditional communalism we grew up with. For example, in the open and since the emergence of the Hon. Peter Agbeh Odey PhD as deputy governor, Mbube seems to be United, but deep inside and across communities, the divides in classes of education, politics, professions, urban and rural (Mbube dwellers), and more especially across the dividing line of Mbube East and West, one will see so many divisions and suspicious holding sway.
It is common knowledge that in most communities of Mbube, some traditions are no longer in vogue. Moreover, the emergence of civilization has led some communities to abandon the Mbube ancestral traditions that gave them their identity as a people. The thing is that when Mbube believed and practiced traditional communalism, there was so much breeze of peace and unity blowing across Mbube. But today the reverse is the case: as many Mbube sons have risen to alter the traditional methods they grew up to meet.
Traditional communalism emphasizes collective well-being over individual interests, fostering social cohesion through shared resources, mutual support, and a strong sense of interconnectedness within a community. In it, members share responsibilities, resources, and celebrations, embodying the spirit of brotherhood and solidarity. The individual’s sense of self is deeply tied to the group; “I am because we are” reflects the idea that one’s existence is a product of their relationships with others.
Decisions and actions are made with the common good in mind, striving for harmony and the satisfaction of every community member.
Family and social networks extend beyond the immediate household, creating strong bonds and a robust support system. Communalism is often built on principles of morality, love, and fraternity, guiding the behavior and interactions within the community,
Mbube today is getting stretched apart unlike the way it was before. There’s a need for stakeholders to embellish the platforms that are anchoring Mbube on the part of progress and development. The leadership of the Mbube epoch organizations needs to create proactive agendas that should incite Mbube minds on the need to prioritize collective contribution towards Mbube growth.
*Isaac Audu Ogoja Jnr aka Joe-Agbor.
