Nigerian Igbo Woman Narrates How Her Brothers Took All Inheritance When Their Father

Despite being the first child, Igwe said she and her five sisters were not given any part of the inheritance.

Onyinye Igwe, a Nigerian woman, has challenged a tradition in Southeastern Nigeria.

The woman challenged the tradition of giving parents' inheritance to only male children in parts of southeastern Nigeria, after her brothers took all the property their father left for them.

In her interview with BBC, Igwe said her father died two years ago, and since then, life has become difficult for her even though her father was a relatively wealthy man, who left behind houses, land and money in the bank.

Igwe said her father died without writing a will, so the duty of sharing out his estate went to his children.

Despite being the first child, Igwe said she and her five sisters were not given any part of the inheritance.

According to her, everything went to the three men in the family as is the custom among the Igbo people.

She said, “The men [her brothers] claimed all that our father had.

“They told us [women] that we are going to get married into another person’s home so we don’t have anything from our father. Because that’s the tradition, we didn’t fight with them."

Igwe said she could no longer afford to pursue her university education and now runs a small business selling cooked noodles in Abagana town in southeastern Anambra.

Another woman, Evelyn Onyenokwalu, the first child in a family of four said her only brother, though the last born, inherited the father’s entire estate, including the family house.

She said people had to help beg her brother before he gave her a single room in the family house with an order that she must always leave the door of the room open.

Posted: at 5-02-2021 01:51 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac

NA WA OOOO...

Posted: at 5-02-2021 03:04 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac

@Joromi thank you. Very wise thinking.

I pray GOD uses me to change Soo many act of wickedness called tradition. 

Posted: at 5-02-2021 03:49 PM (3 years ago) | Upcoming

Generally, Igbo tradition believes that a woman’s real home is at her husband’s. Therefore, she’s not entitled to any inheritance from her father’s house since she’ll marry off to her husband. But the male will marry into the family. This tradition is made worse if the patriarch or matriarch dies without a Will. However, some individual families are changing this tradition buy having the patriarch (or matriarch) prepare a will in advance before their demise.

Posted: at 5-02-2021 04:34 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac

What if those female children aren't married to anyone, so how do they address it?

Posted: at 5-02-2021 04:56 PM (3 years ago) | Upcoming

Believe it or not, there are Customary Courts in Nigeria that approves, recognizes and validates this Igbo tradition, as with other tribal traditions.

Posted: at 5-02-2021 06:33 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac