Who keeps inventing these Igbo traditions on the internet? Because some of the things y’all confidently attribute to Igbo culture, I have NEVER seen or heard in my life. Most of you have learnt more about Igbo culture from Nollywood and X than from actual Igbo communities, and it shows. An Ijaw girl who probably hasn’t even lived in any part of Igboland is now telling us that “Umuada is powerful” is a useless phrase. Wonders!!! 😭 @TDeisine, Honestly, I don’t really blame you. I blame my loudmouthed, foolish, empty-headed, unaware and uninformed Igbo sisters who have probably spent their entire lives outside the shores of Igboland. Some have never even stayed in their communities for a full month, yet they speak the loudest when dragging Umuada, an institution they have never interfaced with. I have had the opportunity to attend Umuada meetings, so I have firsthand experience of their role in our communities. This doesn’t mean every practice is beyond criticism, but you cannot dismiss an institution you barely understand based on assumptions and internet gist. I see what y’all do on X every day. You pick one Igbo cultural practice after another and ridicule, misrepresent or downplay its essence. Meanwhile, other ethnic groups have their own controversial practices, even worse than the ones they’re trying to poke at. Many of these are misogynistic practices, but somehow, we hardly hear about those. Yet y’all suddenly want to form "woke" when it comes to Omenala/Odinala Igbo! I have mostly looked away and refused to give attention or energy to most of these posts because these things don’t reflect my lived experience or actual reality. But it seems keeping quiet has emboldened ignorant people to speak with so much confidence about things they barely understand. Igbo women are among the most pampered and empowered women in Africa, yet some of our foolish sisters are the loudest in diminishing the role of Umuada and Igbo culture while branding themselves "wicked feminists." I call them "ndị ife na-eme na isi" because they’re shallow lots who don’t even understand the feminism they claim to practise. And rightly, as Chimamanda said, some of these women mistake misandry for feminism. Laughable! Now, on inheritance: yes, some traditional settings restrict inheritance of the "ancestral Obi" when there are male heirs, but that does not mean Igbo women never inherit land or property at all. I know of a family in my community with only twin daughters. Both inherited their father’s ancestral lands, and one even built a house in his Obi. My own mother inherited land and other properties from her late father too. When a father has the capacity, he can share his property among his children. Wealthy fathers give their daughters shares too. You cannot take the circumstances of a poor father with a few plots to share among his sons and turn that into a blanket indictment of Umuada. In some Igbo traditions, a woman’s share is believed to be in her husband’s home. So if inheritance is your concern, the conversation should also address inheritance in your father’s or husband’s family rather than blaming Umuada for every situation. And please, if buying drinks for Umunna and Umuada is your modern-day problem, tell whoever is coming to marry you to marry you on credit...as in hire purchase! 😂 Now I understand why some of our people in this generation are so disconnected from their roots. Y’all think wearing Akwaete, Akwa Ocha and Isi Agu and making noise about some supposed Igbo hangout automatically makes you grounded in Igbo culture and traditions. You knuckleheads need to go outside and touch real grass! And to my Ijaw sister, resist the urge to speak authoritatively on things you have no clear knowledge or in-depth understanding of. This ignorance is too loud for comfort. Next time you speak on another people’s culture, do proper research, get your facts straight, and don’t make a fool of yourself. T for Thanks ✌️