Colonialism and the Igbo Struggle With
Climate Change
Ikechukwu Anthony KANU
Climate change has severely compromised the livelihoods of people that are overwhelmingly dependent on the natural environment, particularly those in developing countries that are usually the least able to cope with the associated social and environmental risks. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region most vulnerable to climate change since warming will be greater than the global average, and agriculture, mainly rain-fed, is the primary source of subsistence for rural communities. A cursory glance at available literature reveals that several researches have been done on climate change in Africa, but with no clear-cut attention on the consequences of colonialism and neo-colonialism on climate change among the Igbo of South Eastern Nigeria. This paper, therefore, studies the impact of colonialism on the Igbo struggle with climate change. It discovered that the colonial period in Igboland was marked by the alteration of indigenous methods of mitigating ecological disasters. Colonial powers also extracted natural resources for their economic benefits, often with little or no regard for the local environment. With neo-colonialism changing baton with colonialism, the exploitation of the environment through the activities of former colonial powers and multinational companies still endures. This research tells the story of the Igbo experience of climate change in relation to colonialism. While the historical and hermeneutic methods of inquiry will be used for the analysis and presentation of data, the Igwebuike theoretical framework would be employed for the understanding of Igbo eco-spiritual traditions and the connection between colonialism and the Igbo struggle with climate change. The paper, therefore, establishes a nexus between the activities of the colonial powers and the present ecological crises in Igboland.
Keywords: Igbo, Nigeria, Colonialism, Neo-colonialism, Climate change, Ecological crisis
