By Aniedobe
False and/or deceptive trade practices have become too culturally ingrained in our way of life that the government needs to enact laws to protect reasonable and unreasonable consumers alike.
Laws against false and deceptive trade practices are called consumer protection laws and are in the books in all civilized societies.
Nothing new about consumer protection as a concept but we need to embrace it as a modality for civilized living.
Oshi akalia. Igboland is infested with thieves in government offices, law enforcement, religious establishments and ndi dibia.
Time to Sheltox the infestation of ndi oshi di iche iche so that people can breathe small.
Oshi na esi everywhere.
So called nzama is oshi but I am concerned with oshi ana ezu na uno uka, na afia, nya na nke dibia.
Asi eji azu afia is not okwe, it is obtaining property by false or deceptive means. Oshi.
If someone passess off Abakaliki rice as foreign rice, that’s deceptive trade practice. Oshi.
If someone tampers with their fuel pump and short changes buyers, oshi.
If a pastor preaches that if you sow seed, God will make you rich, oshi.
If a dibia prepares okeite claiming that it spits out money, oshi.
If someone sells China parts as European parts, oshi.
If someone rolls back the odometer of a used car and sells to unsuspecting buyer, oshi.
The litany of false and deceptive trade practices in Igboland does fill many volumes.
Sure, buyers should do their due diligence.
Sure, buyers should beware.
Nevertheless, false and deceptive trade practices that an otherwise reasonable buyer or consumer usually detrimentally relies upon deserves protection.
When a pastor teaches that if you need promotion or pregnancy, you should sow seed, that is okwu asi. That preacher should be sanctioned.
God loves a cheerful giver and does bless givers and nongivers according to his inerrable wisdom. Very true.
If you want to be as rich as Dangote, donate one billion naira and God will make it happen. Asi asi. Oshi.
If you bring human head, your okeite will make you rich with astonishing proficiency, oshi.
We need to curb okwu asi eji azu afia in Igbo land. It is not izu okwe, it is stealing by false pretenses. It is a genre of torts called consumer fraud.
Hotel that lies about changing bed sheets, oshi.
Suya prepared with ozu mmadu, oshi.
Stealing should not be an art form whether practiced by preacher or practiced by trader.
False and deceptive trade practices grew and festered into the noxious and vexatious get rich by any means culture that fathered many ills in Igboland, including kidnapping.
We need to take back our society.
On that note, I want to appreciate Gov Soludo for being the first Igbo governor to go after ndi oke iti.
Pastors na ezu oshi in the form of tithe and seeds, sokwa. They should not be spared.
Okalia.
Feb 10, 2025
