How Ndi Ìgbò Built Wealth Through The Imu Ahia – The Igbo Apprenticeship System

The Igbo Apprenticeship System, Nnewi: The ingenuity of Ndi Ìgbò has inspired a lot of studies into the intricacies of their being and heritage. Their unique ideologies stand miles apart from the universal system. The Igbo people’s ideologies are enmeshed in business, hence their relation to life with a business approach. Ndi Ìgbò believes that ‘Uwa bu Ahia’, which means that ‘the world is a marketplace’ where everybody comes to trade their stock and then vacates when their market has finished. This belief suggests continuity in the Igbo sphere. Ndi Ìgbò are renowned for their success and acumen in the commercial world.

Ndi Ìgbò are found mainly in the southeastern part of Nigeria. The effect of history on Ndi Ìgbò has caused many of their indigenes to scatter in every region of the world. Ndi Ìgbòs are known for their ability to thrive and survive anywhere they find themselves. Before the British colonialists invaded Igboland, Ndi Ìgbò engaged in trade across the nation. Both their men and women are blessed naturally with the gift of seamless trading and business.

A Concise History Of The Igbo Apprenticeship System

The Igba boy/umu ahia Igbo apprenticeship system has been the bedrock of Igbo society and has been practiced among businessmen, before and during the colonial era. However, it would gain momentum after 1970.

After the Biafra war, the Igbo were dislodged from other parts of Nigeria to their Eastern Nigeria homeland. Their properties, businesses, jobs, and life savings in the banks were confiscated by the Nigerian government headed by Gen. Gowon. Not only did they lose the war, but they also found themselves excluded from the mainstream of all the economic sectors of the Nigerian economy.

The sad event of 1967 – 1970 stripped the Igbo of almost everything they had before the war and consequently forced them to crawl back into their shell, with no other option but to start again. The Nigerian government offered every Igbo family 20 pounds, regardless of what they had in the bank before the war, to start their life afresh.

Also, due to the paltry capital and exclusion from the financial sector, they could not benefit from the indigenization policies of the 1970s that transferred ownership of many foreign-owned businesses to Nigerians. Based on this, Ndi Ìgbò took their fate into their own hands, without zero expectations or help from any benevolent government.

They returned to petty trading as a meager means to sustain their livelihood. The Igbo culture forbids idleness of any kind, especially among men. This unwritten law, therefore, aids their ability to flourish amidst marginalization. They formulated a brotherhood mantra, “Onye aghala nwanne ya” (Be your brother’s keeper), to preach ‘togetherness’ in the hearts of all Igbo.

Those who were able to restart their lives as traders and artisans took in young boys whose families couldn’t afford the continuation of their education, as apprentices. This system metamorphosed into an economic boost strategy that favored not just Ndi Ìgbò, but the Nigerian economy.

The system was mutually beneficial to the master and the apprentice. The Igbo apprenticeship system served as a motivation for the rational economic decision to enhance the lives of Ndi Ìgbò who were just recovering from their loss, and as a support system for less privileged young boys. Apprenticeship offered them sustenance, the opportunity to acquire new usable skills, and the hope of becoming self-employed while reducing the financial burden on their families. This business model created by Ndi Ìgbò is known as “Imu Ahia/Igba Boy.”

The invention challenged many countries and academic institutions to learn more about this business model to inject it into the mainstream to increase more employers of labor.  The system is now an intrinsic part of the Igbo culture, and they (Ndi Igbo) customized and adopted it to tackle economic challenges as they arise.

The Imu Ahia/Igba Boy system is unique to Ndi Igbo, even though other nations now adopt the system. The system is traditionally male-centric, as the term “ịgba boy” implies, albeit informal. While there are a lot of arguments differentiating Imu Ahia from Igba Boy, they both achieve the same aim – wealth creation, and wealth transfer.

Meaning of Imu Ahia And How Ndi Igbo Built Wealth With The Igbo Apprenticeship System

This system as observed by Ndi Ìgbò is a business scheme adopted after the Biafra War to create wealth, skills, and development among Ndi Ìgbò. It is a scheme where an apprentice(s) serves a master for a stipulated period between 5 to 8 years and, at the end of his service tenure, gets settled by the master with some cash and business support to start his own business, after which the “boy’ returns the favor to a ‘less privileged family’ as well, and the cycle continues thus.

There are things to note about this Igbo business system. The system supports retirement, continuity, skills acquisitions, human investment, brotherhood, vocational education, management education, etc. The nature of the master’s business often determines the type of apprentice he hires. While some choose to hire their ‘boy’ during or before secondary school, some prefer those with at least a secondary school certificate. Ndi Ìgbò believed that boys still in the age of secondary school are in their formative years and could be trained to function in any business.

The first stage of this scheme is finding/picking an apprentice. This search could be tasking because the master has to pick a boy from a reputable background. Sometimes, the apprentice could be referred to the master while he does the necessary assessments, and other times, he may ask people to help him find a boy from a decent family. The master, after all the necessary routines before taking the ‘boy’ to the city, receives blessings and encouragement from the boy’s Umunna and family.

Usually, the apprentice is made to live with the master, so he could be closer to the master and assist the master’s wife, and family with chores. The nurture/practice stage follows immediately after the boy has settled in with the master’s family. Within the first few years, often 3 years or less, the apprentice is made to learn about his new environment, the goods, market, customers, etc.

He is sent on easy errands while the master monitors and guides him. In situations whereby the master has other ‘boys’, his learning process would be faster as he learns from his senior mates, too. Then, with advancement in time and improvement, he is equipped with exclusive ‘information’ in the business. He is then allowed to handle bigger tasks and given access to know the business cash flows.

The master uses experience to discharge duties to him in portions. During this period, his loyalty and sincerity are tested by the master. As he continues to impress the master, his relationship with the master grows. The master may at this point involve him in other of his businesses (if he has any). After the stipulated years of apprenticeship are completed, the apprentice is settled with cash and sometimes goods, a shop, and even an apartment, to assist the ‘boy’ stand on his own.

This cash infusion, however, does not break the master-servant relationship between both parties.  The master may also choose to assist the apprentice with the importation of goods, to reduce customs duties for him. When the apprentice succeeds in gaining his ground, he builds his own family and repeats the cycle. The master, too, would need a new apprentice to replace the former. This wealth creation cycle continues thus nonstop. This business system is proven to work and the endless testimonies are still today being witnessed all over Nigeria and beyond.

The Igbo Apprenticeship System capitalizes on human structure and investments with an objective focus on wealth creation. Any infrastructural investment that involves human development with conscious effort is possible to work. Ndi Ìgbò understands this better than every other ethnic group. Even though some believe the illusion that this system has gone extinct, the truth remains that the Igba Boy/Imu Ahia system remains effective in Igboland, and among the Igbo wherever they go. The success of this system has today encouraged a lot of foreign and local institutions alike to sponsor research on the Igba Boy system to remodel it to fit into the current world business trajectory.

This Piece Was Written By Chidera Oti and Edited By Chuka Nduneseokwu

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