The Great Perpendicular lines between the Igbos and the Hebrews

Two lines that intersect and form right angles are called perpendicular lines. The symbol ⊥ is used to denote perpendicular lines. In Figure , line l ⊥ line m.

It have become very obvious that the Igbos have a lot of similarity with the Jews of Israel , a careful study of the two culture, norms and values draw same trait that must be genetically connected .

Even in terms of historical experience they both share a lot in common . we shall focus on constructing a mathematical equilibrium between the Igbos of Nigeria and the Hebrews of Israel.

                                             THE NAME

 It is note worthy to emphasis that igbo have diverse way of pronouncing it and some of the most ancient way of pronouncing the name is EBOE , EBO , IBO HEBOE and as recent as 1960s it was pronounced and written as IGBO/HIGBO.

From this simple name mathematics we can safely deducted that HEBREW and HEBOE share same name pronunciation in spite of the difference in spelling which is understandable.

However, this research is not exclusively limited to name we are going to also study the cultural ,customs and historical norms.

Historically, the  Jews suffered one of the most worst genocide in human history with the massacre of over 6 million under the Nazi Germany similarly, the Igbos also suffered the greatest genocide in Africa with the lost of over 3 million people during the Nigeria Biafra war of 1967-1970, this is a gruesome and devastating lost of human live and dignity

The igbos are great travelers and business men and women just like their Israeli brothers so in practical terms the most hard working Enterprising tribe in Africa are the igbos . they have suffered the glory and suffering same with the Jews.

There is a widespread belief among Igbos — the third-largest ethnic group in Nigeria — that they are descendants of the tribes of Israel. Many of them are passionately Zionist. Their precise number among the 175 million people in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is not certain, but ranges somewhere between 60 and 65 million.

Their claim to a Jewish lineage and their support for Israel are interesting in and of themselves, but even more fascinating is that during the last 30 years or so there has also been a movement among some Igbos to match their tradition of Jewish descent with the practice of rabbinic Judaism, the learning of Hebrew, and the fostering of connections with Jews abroad.

To Igbo Jews, the Jewish practices they have begun embracing in the past few decades are not those of a foreign religion or culture, but rather their own. They see themselves as ba’ale teshuvah: Jews returning to Judaism and to the traditional observances of their ancestors, which were lost due to the Igbos’ long exile from the Land of Israel and due to the introduction of Christianity to Igboland.

This view is enlarged upon by Dr. Caliben I.O. Michael, head of the OBGI Israel Heritage Foundation and its Abuja synagogue, in his 2011 “Our Roots: Igbo Israel Heritage.”

“The Igbo nation is part of Israel,” Caliben affirms, despite its widespread loss of Jewish practice. He chose to name his foundation OBGI, which is Igbo spelled backwards, in part to indicate that Igbos “are no longer what we used to be.” European and Christian influences have altered Igbo society, he contends, and its members must now “rejuvenate the latent/dormant Hebrew souls of the Igbos to reflect their real essence.”

The Torah ark in Abuja’s largest Igbo synagogue, Gihon, is flanked by the flags of Nigeria and Israel. On one of the synagogue’s walls, prominently displayed beside framed artwork depicting the Ten Commandments, is a handwritten English prayer: “Grant us the privilege to worship you in Yerushalayim [i.e., Jerusalem].”

Igbo Jews hope one day soon to be able make pilgrimages to Israel. In their efforts to assert their Judaism and Jewish identity in Nigeria, they look to the Jews of Israel for inspiration and solidarity.

Ifeduba ThankGod T ( A political scientist Bsc writes in from Anambra state. Nigeria)