THE THINK-HOME (AKU LUE UNO) PHILOSOPHY IN THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH: A HERMENEUTICAL INDICTMENT ON THE DIASPORA IGBO OF SOUTH EAST NIGERIA

Abstract

The Old Testament Book of Nehemiah is a national post-exilic reconstruction philosophical document credited to the P-strand of scribal redactors. It presents the picture of Nehemiah, one of the Jewish exiles carried away by the Babylonian conquerors of Judah, the Southern kingdom of Israel. While in captivity, (in diaspora) he prospered and attained a high executive position in government, a position which earned him much affluence, influence and connection. In spite of that state of well-being and comfort, he remained unfulfilled, because, he inquired (Hebrew, 1:2 , וָ×ֶש×Ö°×Ö¸×œÖµ× ) concerning his home and his people and was worried at the state of dilapidation of his country home. Moved by passion, he deployed all his wealth, influence and connection unto the reconstruction of the broken walls of his country home. Aku lue uno, a concern for development of the home base, is a philosophy that has recently started to receive an emphasis among the Igbo of South East Nigeria. However, while this philosophy is being hyped rhetorically, the reality on ground is that Igbo land of South East Nigeria is still in a state of dilapidation, full of evidence of the civil war, while the Igbo are visibly and actively involved in the development of other nations round the globe. The glaring absence amenities and investment-friendly climate has driven thousands of indigenes of the area to all parts of the world in search of means of livelihood, whether legitimate or illegitimate. Scores of such indigenes are using their ingenuities to boost the economies of foreign nations, while many are being exterminated annually for involvement in all sorts of shady deals including drug peddling. This paper hermeneutically explores the think-home (Aku lue uno) philosophy in the Book of Nehemiah and lends a voice towards the inculcation of this philosophy in the diaspora Igbo of South East Nigeria, as a way of halting the brain drain and stimulating local development.