THE IGBO GIANT STRIDES AGAINST ALL ODDS

Posted by Unknown On Monday, April 20, 2015 2 comments

By Patrick Dele Cole
Nearly fifty years ago, it is said that people in Enugu, Nsukka,  Ngwo, and Abakaliki had little clothes to cover themselves. In 1947, the District Officer prohibited nude people coming to the Ogbete Market in Enugu. Yet, in 20 short years the Igbo were the number one traders in textile. The Onitsha Market was brimming with it. People came to buy from all over Nigeria. In Broad Street, the only competitors in textile trade were those we called Syrians – who were probably Lebanese.
Igbo-areaAll ethnic groups in Nigeria had some clans who were suspected of cannibalism. I have no first hand knowledge of this. But Enugu, Ngwo, Abakaliki, some parts of Abia near Umuahia, and near Obowu  in Imo State were similarly suspected. If it was so, it did not last long because the Criminal Investigation Division (CID), and the District Officers (DOs) and native administration soon put a stop to it, as they did among some Ijaws, like the Okrika, who were similarly suspected.
The British Government had found that the “Indirect Rule” system did not work in the East, as it had done in the North and the West, mainly because the later had kingship institutions. Where these institutions existed, it was easy for the British to rule through the District Officer (DO) who passed on directives to the Obas, Chiefs, Bales, Emirs, etc. The DOs were the unseen hand that controlled the local administration. But because the Igbo did not have kingship or chieftaincy that ruled over a larger area, the British, in 1931, through the Warrant Chiefs Ordnance of that year, tried to establish territorial kingships or chieftaincies. Hence, the need to create “warrant chiefs” who were supposed to work like their counterparts in Yorubaland and Hausaland. However, it did not work.
The Igbo now claim that the acephalous nature of their people meant that they were genetically democratic. Therefore, their Age Grade System continued, even under the kingship dispensations. Thus, they continued to have the “Elders”, who worked with their “kings”; whilst the “Youths” continued to operate as the law enforcement personnel, until the modern policing system displaced them, and the Native Authority Police took over that task from the”Youths”.  Some anthropologists and linguist have described the Igbo as autochthonous- so unique have their culture been that it must be indigenous.
The Founder of the Yoruba Dynasty was Oduduwa, who migrated from Egypt. The Hausa/Fulani claim they came from Arabian in the Middle East. The Igbo have a vague idea of being Jewish- one of the lost tribes of Israel. All stories of origins of different peoples round the world are folkloric and mythical. So, we cannot dismiss the Igbo claim of Jewishness out of hand. One thing is certain, the Igbo have a great deal of empathy for the Jews, who have been persecuted over the centuries, by Europe and Asia; the Igbo sublimate and claim that they too have been persecuted for centuries.
Just as the Jews have vanquished their oppressors, so the Igbo believe that they would triumph over all comers who persecute them. The Igbo identify with Jewish success as an inevitability regardless of what obstacles may be thrown in their way. They are God’s chosen people. This is an extremely powerful tonic for the survival and great foundation for success. No other ethnic group in Nigeria is so armed for struggle of efficient development.

Trusted employees
The slave trade affected most of West Africa.  The chiefs along the coast soon became procurers or middle men in this odious trade.  Many of those sold off were their own people captured from many slave raids in the interior of Nigeria.  This is where the story of the Igbo and the Ijaws of Bonny and elsewhere began.  Bonny was a major slave trading port; its deep water shores made it unnecessary for European slavers ships to venture into the interior.  The Bonny (Igbani Ijaws) sold slaves and even had a most lucrative empire.  One Bonny chief went to England and bought a steamship fully outfitted with an English captain, officers, and sailors to bring him back to Nigeria.
Such business needed trust worthy lieutenants. These the Bonny chief found among the Igbo slaves who became his trusted employees.  The “Civil Servant Employees” became trustees.  The Igbani chiefs, however, were not over trusting. They did not want the Igbo to learn their language for fear of being overthrown or appealing directly to their gods.  The Igbani,therefore, decided to learn Igbo to better communicate with their trustees; while keeping Igbani as the royal language to be used only by the Chiefs among themselves.  In a little while, the Chiefs became proficient in some kind of Igbo better described as pidgin or patois Igbo.  After the slave trade the Igbo remained in Bonny, inter-married and continued to speak this bastardized Igbo, so pervasive had the Igbo influence been that the patois Igbo became the lingua franca.
Unfortunately the Chiefs and people of Bonny started losing touch with their own language. Today, Igbani is losing ground to Igbo; whilst the study of Igbani has been reintroduced in schools and it is beginning to pick up.
The Bonny, the Okrika, and the Kalabari are, to a large extent,bilingual- speaking an Ijaw dialect and Igbo just as the Abua, the Egeni,  the Ikwerre of Isiokpo, and the  Igbo in Oguta, Imo State,can speak Kalabari and their own language. There is even a Kalabari beach in Oguta, Imo State.
There are Igbo speaking peoples in Rivers State- the Ikwerre, the Etche, the Andoni, etc, and in Delta – the people from Asaba right through to the outskirts of Benin – through Isele-Uku, Ogwashi-Uku, Agbor, Boju Boju Owa, Obiaruku,  Abraka, etc.  We would have to place these people within the Igbo linguistic family.  But there are distinct behavior patterns which differentiate these various groups from mainstream Igbo.
Among the Ikwerre, Ahoada, etc, the chieftaincy practices have tended to veer more towards Kalabari, Ijaw than the mainland Igbo. In Delta and Edo, the Igbo cousins have a chieftaincy profile more like Benin (Edo) than the acephalous Age Grade System of the Igbo.  This superficial observation is strengthened by the Yoruba claim that the Asagba of Asaba, the Obi of Onitsha, and the Olu of Warri were grandsons of Oduduwa. (The Edo, on the other hand, counter claim that Oduduwa was a son of the Oba of Benin and therefore the Yoruba are Edo). There is a definite relationship between the Benin Kingship and the Yoruba kingships: The Benin the Itsekiri kingship, the Lagos kingship, the Badagry kingship, the Urhobo and Isoko kingdoms and even the Benin Republic kingship are all inter-related.  The relationship is not necessarily one of subjugation. In fact, in many cases, there was no such subjugation. Rather, the relationship has been familial. But the Oba of Benin has a special position in Asaba, Lagos, Warri and nearly all the large kingships in Edo.  Any student of history will soon discover the close and confusing relationship between the kings of France, Britain, Spain, Italy, Holland, Austria, etc. Many of the kings of Britain could not speak English even as late as less than 200 years ago! These close ties did not stop the wars for over 300 years among the kings of Europe.
Do the Igbo then have a central core of worship – which, therefore, mentioned kings and chiefs and Obas have?  One belief is that, though autochthonous, they have a core of religious beliefs which were maintained through the itinerant mystics or spiritualists- the Aro – from a place known as Arochukwu.

Central feature
Closely allied to this is that the source of all Igbo and their spirituality is from a village called Nri. I have no idea how much of this is a general belief among the Igbo. But if people claim that they are genetically democratic, then you may not be surprised if quite a few do not accept this interpretation.
The kola nut is a central feature in Igbo land.  I have never understood why this is so except to guess that if people speak the same language there must be a single symbol that unites them; and, for the Igbo, it is the kola nut.  It appeals to the individual soul, to the collective soul, to the unseen spirits that capriciously rule or ruin our lives; it is a symbol of welcome, a drama stage to concentrate all thoughts.  It is non-threatening – a simple nut to be divided according to divination, speech, manners and conduct.  It is never rejected, except to declare war. [But the above can also be said of the Kola among the Urhobo, the Isoko, etc.].  The closest and best answer to why the kola is that central is that the eating and breaking of kola is a near eschatological experience.
I think that we tend to underestimate the extensive influence of contact for many years.  Some symbols are easier to assimilate than others. The Ijaws, for example, have no kola culture, yet they have been close to the Igbo for over 500 years.
Among the Igbo there are other spiritual places in Ogbunike, etc. But, as I have said, many do not push these new tourist resorts beyond Nri which itself is problematic for an acephalous people.
The Igbo live in a family homestead surrounded by the family farm which may be large or small depending on the number of people in that family.  Thereafter, another family has its plot of land and farm and so on.  There are few Igbo urban centers.  This small cluster will live near a stream for water and there are market days where goods and services are exchanged. There are four important market days and these market days are used as calendars for when one thing or the other is to be done. But, again, Onitsha  is a large native Igbo town.
There is a village square for meetings, announcements, etc.  But the nearer the Igbo are to people of other or even similar culture, the villagers become bigger (i.e. they are more urbanized than the Igbo).  The Yoruba live more together in villages and go sometimes far distances to their farms.
The social structures of the Igbo are based on Age Grades, especially in the bigger conurbation or cities, such as Onitsha,Awka, etc.  The Igbo have always been clever people, and took very quickly to missionary education and other aspects of Westernization.
The Onitsha Igbo
The Onitsha Igbo are made up of three ethnic groups- the Igala who followed the River Niger downstream from Lokoja to Onitsha, the Edo who came from Benin and the Igbo who lived in villages surrounding Onitsha. The amalgam of these three ethnic groups made up Onitsha which itself had off shoots in Obosi and environs. Because of early European contact the Onitsha Igbo went to school early and embraced Christianity- protestant and Catholics. Onitsha is still a major education hub in the east of Nigeria with many prominent schools- the most famous Dennis Memorial Grammar School, Christ the King College, Holy Rosary Girls School, Christian seminaries and teachers training colleges.
This early introduction to education and commerce stood the Onitsha Igbo head above other Igbo, producing the first Igbo doctors, lawyers, professors, etc. The colonial service employed Onitsha Igbo – leading to their dominance in the professions, the judiciary, politics, etc.
It is, therefore, no accident that Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Justice Anyeagbunam, Chuba Ikpeazu, Ofodile, Prof. Chike Obi, Aje Asika, Sir Louis Mbanefo and a host of others were from Onitsha. So dominant were they that at one time, the upper echelons of the civil service, permanent secretaries, and leaders in the profession in eastern Nigeria, etc were all Onitsha people. There was a back lash when other Igbo people thought the dominance too pervasive and started asking for Onitsha Igbo to move out of positions.
It took a long time to get some in Eastern Nigeria balances. The Onitsha Igbo discriminated against other Igbo as uncouth and unpolished people and would not associate with them preferring their daughters to marry any one else except their non- Onitsha Igbo. As a child I often heard Onitsha Igbo drive away other Igbo children who came to play with their own children  (sa, nwa onye igbo pu a eba  – get away you child of an Igbo man), the Yoruba of Lagos have the same feeling for the so-called Ara oke -Yoruba from the hill, the Saros of Freetown for people from the hinterland- (up – country people) the Parisians for all those outsiders not from Paris etc.
Apprentice system.
Today, they have perfected the apprenticeship system.  A successful car dealer, motor spare parts dealer, or mechanic, or trader in electronics, drugs – medicines and other pharmaceutical goods, or transport owner, etc., would have young boys,sometimes as young as 10 years,who have been to school for a few years.  The young boys are apprenticed to such car spare parts dealer, or a patent medicine shop owner, or a transporter.
The apprentice is supposed in the 10 -12 years he works for his boss to know every spare part in an automobile (3000), the name and use of every drug sold in the patent medicine store, etc.  After a long time, the owner of the store or transporter would give a substantial amount of money to the apprentice to start his own business in electronic, spare parts, medicines, etc else where.  This is the classic way the Igbo do business; and it has benefited them well.  They are able to easily beat competitors because of superior knowledge of the product, accessibility and a burning desire to succeed quickly.
Today, there is a virtual Igbo monopoly of spare parts trade (usually Nnewi people), local “pharmacies”, and transportation.
The young man who used to be an apprentice bus attendant would soon grow to own a fleet of buses which will need spare parts, etc.  The intercity luxury bus business is 70% in Igbo hands.  They are also transporters for goods and small vehicle transporters.  The car hire business is perhaps 60% in the hands of Igbos.
The Igbos ventured into the sale of electronic appliances many years ago, paying exorbitant rents for cramped up spaces in Broad Street, Lagos, which then was busy and noisy as one loudspeaker sought to out do the other.  The then Lagos State Governor moved them to Alaba Market which today is the largest electronic market in Africa.  Other ancillary and supporting businesses soon followed – apart from radios, TVs, etc, the market now sells washing machines, refrigerators, freezers, microwaves, etc.  It is the centre of pirated music and video films. Given the opportunity, the Igbo has incredible drive to make a success of any venture.
The biggest property developers in Lagos and Abuja are Igbo.  They seem to have a sixth sense for these things.  They were first to really believe that Abuja will succeed as the capital city of Nigeria.  They moved into Abuja with a vengeance.  Most of the malls in Abuja are Igbo owned. They were willing to pay the price needed for land and permits; and went at it as only the Igbo can do.  Other ethnic groups have estates but nothing compared to what the Igbo have.  Yet other Igbo branched out into estate development for sale and establishing myriads of hotels.
Marriage among Igbo
All these frantic activities must take a toll on social life.  Many Igbo billionaires are self educated, having come up through the apprenticeship system.  It means that the girls in Igbo land stayed back to go to school, even though, at the beginning, like most Nigerians, they regarded education of women as a waste of time and money since the young girl will soon marry and leave the family.  Thus, today, there is a preponderance of Igbo girls at school, who currently far out number the boys in both secondary and tertiary institutions.
Bride price in parts of Igbo land used to be expensive.  Non-Igbo suspected that the girl’s family was calculating how much they spent on her education and expected the husband for recompense.   In the early 40s and 50s, bride price was so high that the Eastern House of Assembly legislated on it!!  The girls today fear high bride price for it scares away suitors and now have started to revolt against it.  How do these girls pay for tuition?  Sometimes parents help, relatives help and there is a good dose of self help.
Marriage custom of Igbos is similar to that of many other ethnic groups. For example, that marriage is not just a union between individuals, but one between families, who, in fact are, sometimes,the initiators, and actually arrange the match-making between the spouses.  Today this is not so common.  But the other processes remain largely unchanged. When a suitable spouse has been found, people are sent to ask questions about the spouse’s pedigree – is there disease in the family, any witches or wizards or unkind and wicked people, how fecundious have the women been, etc (Aju-ese?)
On receiving satisfactory responses to these questions, a delegation from the family of the husband-to-be is then sent to the girl’s family to ask for her hand in marriage; and her family,at some stage, would have to ask her for her consent. The bride price is then haggled over. On reaching a consensus, the proposed groom is supposed to supply drinks, etc., for four market days (Eke market days).
You may shorten the period by bringing everything in one day.  After consultation, including reports on the groom’s family, his standing in society and wealth, a date is fixed for the marriage.  To show the bride’s consent publicly –she would take a glass of wine (often palm wine) to the groom to drink in public during the traditional marriage ceremony.
Thereafter, the parents bless the couple and festivities begin.  If the marriage is unsuccessful, the dowry is returned; but not if the couples have a male child.
The Igbo  take marriage seriously, probably more so than any other ethnic group in Nigeria.  Many non-Igbo girls want to marry Igbo men because of this myth that an Igbo man knows how to look after his wife and family.  Many of the semi illiterate billionaires marry graduates and they insist that their children get the best education which they had missed.
Trial marriage
Every December, thousands of Igbo travel home, especially in areas where Christmas is robustly celebrated. During these holidays, marriages are arranged, couples introduced, etc.  One variant of Igbo courtship that is rapidly gaining ground is that of trial marriage. It is really an extension of the custom of knowing the family one is marrying into. Many Igbo bachelors from the U.S flock home every Christmas to see who they can marry while resuming the family bonds which living overseas may have somewhat loosened. Where a successful introduction has been made, the young lady and prospective husband agree to go back to the U.S and live together for some months to see whether they like each other enough to stay married (usually for three to six months), at the end of the period,a decision is made to continue with the ‘’marriage” or to terminate it.

Sometimes, the girl would go to the city where the ‘’husband” is working in Nigeria – usually Abuja or Lagos again on trial basis to make sure the marriage is successful.
In the old days, the girl would have gone to stay with the parents of the prospective husband for a while for the groom’s parents to assess her. These are simply variations of the theme of arranged marriages. Where the experiment does not work, there is no shame or bitterness, whatever was paid in dowry is returned and the ‘’marriage” is dissolved.
The Igbo economy
Nnewi, in Anambra State, is now the manufacturing capital of Nigeria.  It has several manufacturing factories, several breweries, soft drinks, bottled water, etc, food processing plants, vehicles assembly plants, etc., including the making of generators, and a host of other items. Nnewi has overtaken Ikeja as the industrial hub of Nigeria.
The Onitsha market remains the largest market in Africa, selling practically everything: There are Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese traders in the market. The banks in Onitsha carry the largest amount of cash than any other city. There is an airport in Asaba, capital of Delta State. The Niger Bridge is the main transport artery between East and West, and perhaps even large parts of Middle Belt and some parts of northern Nigeria. Just south of Onitsha is Awka, the Anambra State capital. There are plans to dredge the River Niger, build a second Niger Bridge, and a cargo airport in Anambra State. Thus, within an area of a few kilometers to Onitsha, the major market, there is the industrial hub, Nnewi. Also, the administrative capital of Anambra State is 20 kilometres from Onitsha. Nnewi is 10 kilometers from Onitsha.  Our planners have to be (compare the axis between
New York and New Jersey) blind not to see the potential of a conurbation axis between Asaba/Onitsha; Onitsha-Nnewi, and Nnewi–Awka.  A small investment of building 10-lane highways between these three towns will give the biggest industrial and financial fillip for Nigeria; not just for Igbo land.
The Igbos, who live in these areas, have, amongst themselves, the richest individuals in Nigeria.  Oraifite has over 10 billionaires; the best known of which is Sir Emeka Ofor.
Anambra State governor, the other day ,called a meeting of 50 people and 25 of them were billionaires. The rest were no slouches.
The Igbo, sometimes, are too polite for their own good.  Each time a politician goes to Anambra State, he makes the promise to build a second Niger Bridge or to dredge the Niger.  The Igbo feel that people say these things because they think they are fools.  They ask whether the Federal Government built the ports of Lagos for Lagosians? Was the 23 kilometers Third Mainland Bridge built for Lagosians?
A bridge across the Niger is a development of infrastructure that would yield benefit for all Nigeria.  Why does the Federal Government need a special loan or bond to build the bridge?  That they do not openly say this in public is perhaps an element of the sublimation of their persecution complex.
Culture
The Igbos are proud of their culture. But are also willing to participate in other peoples cultures, and, more importantly, to adapt foreign culture to their own.  For many years, the black people in the United States had been insulted by being regarded as having no culture.  Many changed their names in the belief that this would identify them with Africa; they preferred to be called African-Americans, and took names like Kobe, Jamal, Hussein, etc, little realizing that these were Islamic names, not African names. No matter, the point had been made that Mr. X was African-American and his name was Jamal Juba.  About 15 years ago, two cultural tends burst out on the African scene – a distinct music genre, distinct dancing genre and distinct theatre genre.  The U.S. has always been open about its debt to Africa in term of music – jazz, pop culture, ghetto dancing and music, etc. The Yoruba and other Africans contributed to this, not only Igbo. But in the past few years, the young African musicians had taken on world pop culture and Africanized it, dominated it and now own it.  There is no Igbo mega star like Fela- so massive was this genius.
However, young men and women are hitting the world stage with beats that cannot have grown from any where else than in Nigeria, and a lot of it, due to Igbo. Hand in hand with this musical explosion. African drama was re-born but, this time,using new techniques to attune old theme – the advent of Nollywood – which in 10 – 15 short years -is now the third largest movie industry in the world. Igbo influence, both in new music and in Nollywood, is substantial.
It was generic, and should remain so. But it may die if it imbibes government contagion.
Nearly everything shown in Nollywood about Igbo kingship, princesses and princes, etc., is an exercise in the producers’ imagination.  The cultural basis is there; but the manifestation is poetic license of the producers, and rightly so.  Nollywood is not a cultural course: it is entertainment within the imagined context of Igbo culture.

The Biafra war
It is impossible to write about the Igbos without writing about the Biafra war. It is futile to go into the pros and cons of the war. The war affected Igbos, as it did other Nigerians. The Igbos felt that they had something precious to contribute to Nigeria; but the civil war deprived them from contributing, and Nigeria from accepting Igbo contribution. They lost a war they felt was unjust. They lost property every where, especially in Port Harcourt. But they learnt how better to handle other Nigerians. They channeled their sense of loss into more productive avenues. They now believe in Nigeria; but also believe anything can happen and hedge their bets and build large houses in their villages should any other war break out. They have a mixed feeling for – yet believe that it is now their turn to rule Nigeria.
Some Nigerians, including some Igbos, believe that the eventual break up of Nigeria is a matter of time, unless some fundamental changes are made soon in the political arrangement. The Igbo believe in meritocracy because they are supremely confident that they would prevail.
An apocryphal story goes something like this: If you do an examination with an Igbo man and he has better result and beats you, he will nod as if to say that is natural, that is as it should be. But if you beat him, he would ask you whether the examiner is your brother or who leaked questions to you.
The Igbo lost a lot of houses in Port Harcourt. Lately an old wise Rivers man seeing the Igbo contribution to Abuja and Lagos wondered whether the Rivers State Government should not invite Igbo back to Port Harcourt to do their magic on housing and the economy in Rivers State.
The practice of young men and women living together before marriage is unknown in all African cultures including Igbo. Hollywood’s portrayal of this practice is non-Igbo and due more to Western acculturation than any thing traditional as a girl may go to her husband’s house after the payment of dowry and the consent of her parents, herself.
Inheritance, even “kingship” and property legally does not go to the children but to the eldest brother of the deceased who, by custom, is now supposed to look after his brother’s wife and her siblings.
SOURCE: VANGUARD
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Nsukka traditional ruler sets enslaved villagers free

Posted by Unknown On Friday, August 29, 2014 0 comments
    nsukka-slaves-free
  • How jealous king isolated victims because maiden rejected his amorous advances
For over 200 years, the people of Amachukwu and Anioma villages in Ugbene Ajima Community, Uzo-uwani LGA, Enugu State lived in isolation and bondage, forced on them by a jealous king, whose sexual advances were rejected by a village maiden.

Trouble began for the people when a beautiful maiden from Anioma village rebuffed the sexual advances of an old traditional ruler. The jilted lover reportedly took a vengeful action, barring the maiden and her people from marrying from the community or sleeping in other people’s houses. That ancient decree remained irreversible and was subsequently transmitted to future generations, plunging everyone born in both villages in perpetual slavery.Successive rulers kept this obnoxious decree sacred. Not even the cry for justice by the younger generation of children born in these villages would bend the rule. By mere geographical accident of birthplace, those born in Anioma or Amachukwu were like damned souls cursed by the gods, as they inherited the pariah status of their parentage right from their mother’s womb.
But their agony ended on Saturday, August 9, when the new traditional ruler of the town, Igwe Bartholomew Aluma, Okwu na Oke 1 of Ugbene Ajima, led his cabinet members and elders of the town to denounce this unjust tradition and revoke the communal ban on the affected villages.
The event was a memorable day for the elders, women, youths and children of the isolated villages. Some of the elderly men among them, who had lived like lepers all their years, broke down in tears of joy. Their excited wives and daughters danced freely in the village square, singing songs of freedom for a dream come through. Even children lost in the euphoria of the historic celebration jumped about in wild celebration that had eluded them in the community for decades.
Our reporter gathered that the struggle for freedom began many years ago, but none of the efforts was successful. A renewed effort commenced in November last year with secret meetings of Pastor Anayo Odimkpa, ASP Paul Ogbonna and Pastor Anthony Onodi. Their negotiation with notable personalities in the community to revisit their case seemed like fetching water with a basket, yet they never gave up the agitation. And when the matter was brought before Igwe Aluma’s cabinet, he gave a listening ear to their cry for justice. Although the names of these key players may not ring out loud in the world like that of the famous icon, Dr Martin Luther King Jnr, generations of children in Amachukwu and Anioma villages would venerate them as true heroes that pulled down the prison gates.
Investigation by our reporter revealed that the two villages were formerly called Amaiseke, a name derived from a local python, Isieke, venerated in the community by pagans. But a Christian revolution led by Anayo Odimkpa, in collaboration with members of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Nigeria, in October 1996 demolished the Isieke shrine, and subsequently led to the renaming of the two villages to Amachukwu (City of God) and Anioma (Good Land). The revolution also opened the enclosed life of the isolated villagers and watered the seed for the liberation struggle.
While declaring the two villages free, Igwe Aluma said his cabinet and leaders of thought in the community, after much consultation, unanimously decided to revisit the historical injustice suffered by the two villages. He said it took him a long time to investigate the matter. He explained that during his investigation, he wanted to find out whether any member of Ugbene community bought a slave in the olden days and left him in any of the two villages, but sadly that was not the case. Rather, he confirmed that the isolation suffered by the two villages started hundreds of years ago when a certain traditional ruler in Ugbene Ajima lusted after a beautiful maiden from Anioma and wanted to sleep with her.  But the luscious lady, indentified as Nwagbogoeze Ejigioku, reportedly turned down the amoral advance, an act that was adjudged sacrilege in days when traditional rulers were revered as the mouthpiece of the gods.
The king’s wrath burned like hell, and he later spilled it on the entire village where the woman came from, with the declaration that the lady and her people would henceforth become slaves for ages to ages, never to marry anybody from the area. And when the people of Amachukwu cried foul over the unjust punishment of their relations, the traditional ruler decreed isolation on them for questioning the gods.
Even the gods wept for the injustice against the two villages but nothing could change the decision of the king. Investigation by our reporter revealed that the gulf of separation between them and other members of Ugbene community widened with years, such that subsequent generations regarded them as slaves. Although some young men in Ugbene, in their youthful adventure, secretly dated beautiful ladies of the two villages, the romance never exceeded the fun of the bedroom. Ladies from the two villages were never considered worthy of marriage. In fact, such relationships were hidden from other members of the community, lest the culprits incur the wrath of elders.
To say the least, an impenetrable wall separated the two villages with their kinsmen with whom they earlier shared common paternity before the unfortunate incident. Communal brotherhood was totally ruined by one man’s lust for the flesh, stamping a mark of rejection on many families and generations of innocent children.
Reversing the curse turned out to be historic moment in the annals of the community. In the public square of Anioma, Igwe Aluma shared kolanuts among the elders, Ozo title holders in the Ugbene community, who made a uniform declaration that the people of Anioma and Amachukwu villages will no longer live in isolation or be regarded as slaves. Each of the elders also picked a stone from the village square to bear witness that the pronouncement was binding on all members of the community.
While overruling the earlier decree, Igwe Aluma said, “From today henceforth, you are free to marry or have an intimate relationship with any man or woman in Ugbene community. You are free to mingle and sleep anywhere in the town. Nobody should be treated or regarded as outcasts again in our community.”
The former Attorney general of Enugu State, Dr Michael Ajogwu (SAN), who witnessed the event, commended the bold step taken by the community. He explained that the proclamation by Igwe Aluma and his cabinet has restored the people of Amachukwu and Anioma to their rightful position as true sons and daughters of the community and cancelled permanently whatever that was done in the past.
The former attorney recalled that the people of Efuru Idoha in Nsukka suffered a similar fate many years ago, when beautiful maidens were claimed forcefully by the local deity to serve as slaves in its shrine. He said he offered legal assistance during the battle to destroy the deity, adding that the destruction of the deity liberated the people held in bondage, allowing them to relate freely with other members of Ukehe town.
Ajogwu, who hailed from Abbi community in Uzo-Uwani LGA, also recounted another case in his hometown, where some people were ostracised for the past 100 years. He said he mediated in the process that led to the liberation of these people, allowing them the liberty to relate freely and acquire traditional title (Onyishi Ekaya) as other families in the community.
One of the victims, Paul Ogbonna, described the feeling of alienation by other members of the community as worse than hell. According to him, he suffered rejection, humiliation and mockery in the hands of other people in the community.
“This started even before I was born. During my own time, I experienced this rejection in so many ways that left me surprised and shocked. We suffered discrimination and neglect. We were denied so many things as free born of this Ugbene Ajima community because of the stigma. Both the elders and children, women and youths suffered alike,” he said.
Ogbonna, 47, said his forefathers suffered the same cruel fate, noting that reversing the ancient curse seemed like an impossible missions in past years. He expressed joy that Igwe Aluma and respected elders of the community took the bold decision of revoking the ban on his people and accept them as free born of the community.
“We are moving into a new era, where we are now free to associate with our brothers without any barrier. To be honest with you, during those years, I do not feel proud as a member of this community when I remember the situation we have found ourselves. At a time, I asked my father what happened to us. Did Ugbene people buy our forefathers as slaves? But he told me it was because a beautiful lady rejected the traditional ruler. Most often, we were rejected at social gatherings. Even in schools, we enjoy partial acceptance because we suffer isolation from our peers. But I believe that the Igwe, the Ozo tiltle holders and the entire cabinet members are sincere in what they did here today. The God of heaven and earth is our witness that this has been achieved. We have many witnesses at the event, including the former Attorney General of Enugu State, Dr Michael Ajogwu (SAN). So, if the community decides to act otherwise, you will agree with me that they will not succeed,” he said.
Another victim, Pastor Anayo Odimkpa, said the two villages suffered indescribable humiliation, as other members of the community, cut them off in marriage, social relationships, among others.
“These two villages lost the liberty of sleeping together as brothers, passing night together or getting married. They were in the midst of their brothers, yet they lived in a lonely world for a very long time, spanning to 400 to 500 years,” he said.
Our reporter gathered that the granting freedom to the villages came with a prize. But when our reporter asked Odimkpa what it cost him and his people to be free, he said, “When I think about the value of this freedom, it erases the prize from my mind. I couldn’t remember the sacrifice it took, the prize we collectively paid as individuals or as a community to make this feat possible. The value of freedom is priceless. It comes with the pride of feeling the same like any other person, having a sense of belonging in the midst of your brothers.”
Odimkpa said the psychological effect of long years of isolation would take time to heal in the mind of the victims. He noted that it wouldn’t be quite easy to erase the memories of the ugly years soon, but noted that members of the villagers would gradually integrate themselves fully into the community.
“There is need to create participatory events in the community, which will bring members of the community together. Sleeping over in other people’s houses in the community would also instil in them the confidence that the old things have passed away. They will try their hands in marriage, which is not be force but by mutual consent of those involved. Through marriage, the sense of complete freedom would take root in people’s mind,” he explained.
Another victim, Pastor Anthony Onodi forced back tears as he bemoaned the long years of injustice suffered by his people. He said the incident took place in 1803 adding that he personally took up the struggle for the liberation of the people in 1982, and was asked to present three cows to appease the land and cook for the entire community. According to him, he fulfilled these requirements, yet to no avail.
Onodi said he felt uneasy in the midst of other members of the community, knowing that he was considered an outcast. He said the situation denied him social relationship with other members of Ugbene community, knowing that he has a pariah status stamped on him by wicked tradition.
“I chose to visit people in the community in the afternoon, knowing that they will ask me out of their house before 12.00am. None of my friends, no matter how close, would ever allow me to stay in his house beyond that time. It might seem small in people’s eyes but it was quite shameful,” he said.
Onodi said he wept silently whenever his children reported to him how other children in the community school mocked them. The isolation also deprived young men from the two villages from picking a bride from neighbouring communities, as their stigma traveled faster than the wind.
“By our liberation, something new is going to happen in this community. Nothing will hinder the progress of this community any longer. Let brotherly love continue,” he prayed.
Also speaking, the spiritual father of the community, Fr John Bosco Okechukwu, described the isolation and rejection of the two villages as a scandal to the church bearing in mind that Christ came to set the captives free.
“Remember that the love of God is expressed in the love for your neighbours. Everybody is important to God because we are redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. So, there is no need for this social injustice or segregation. In fact, it is a scandal to the body of Christ,” he argued.
Okechukwu said the gospel of Jesus Christ revolves around freedom and liberty, promising that the people of God would embrace the Amachukwu and Anioma people as brothers in Christ, without any discrimination whatsoever.
Also speaking, a Catholic priest from Ugbene community, Rev Fr Paulinus Ike Ogara, gave his blessings for the liberation of the enslaved brethren. He said the desire for freedom resonates in the mind of every creature of God, describing the humiliation suffered by the two villages as a historical injustice.
“Injustice in one corner of the world is injustice everywhere. What happens to one person affects everybody around him and reverberates everywhere. The victims cultivate certain habits towards other people based on the injustice they are suffering,” he said.
Ogara said some people mistook the isolation of Anioma and Amachukwu people as an irreversible norm in the community simply because the system was allowed to survive for a very long time. He described freedom as a native desire in humans, stressing that every man or woman has dignity as a subject of right.
“What we did here today is the culmination of a long battle for freedom. It is the victory of truth, justice and liberty. Although the struggle has been long and painstaking, we feel the joy of these people who have achieved their hearts’ desire,” he said.
Ogara said the liberation of the two villages would also translate to the growth of the community, as the isolated people would be free to contribute their quota intellectually and otherwise.
“They will now see the development efforts of the community as theirs. I see a new era and a new spirit of Ugbene emerging in our town. This is a new era that has permanently closed the gates of injustice suffered by these people,” he maintained.
A leader of thought in the community, Simon Oliji, explained that the liberation of the two villages goes beyond eating, drinking and feasting. He advised the affected villagers to launch themselves into the mainstream of community activities, from where they would be gradually assimilated into the life of the town.
Oliji, a retired school principal, encouraged the victims to come out of their shells and make their faces visible in marriage ceremonies, burials, church programmes and schools. He lamented that the two villages had been educationally disadvantaged by the situation they found themselves and urged them to leverage on their newly found freedom to acquire formal education for self development.

By advising the people to invest in knowledge, Oliji re-echoed the message of famous Raggae master, Bob Marley, who said, “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds!”  No doubt, Igwe Aruma, a retired headmaster reputed for his discipline and scholarship, has proved to Amachukwu and Anioma people that the power of knowledge makes a man difficult to be enslaved.

 Culled: SUN News
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2015: The battle for Enugu

Posted by Unknown On Sunday, May 25, 2014 0 comments
Sen. Ekweremadu
Who takes over from Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State when he leaves office on May 29, 2015? This is the question that has been agitating the people’s mind since Chime announced that his successor would come from the Nsukka zone without mentioning who he would support.

Chime made this known during a Town Hall meeting with stakeholders in Enugu in May 2013.
Sen. Ekweremadu
According to the governor, whose speech then was punctuated with thunderous applause from the audience during the meeting of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the arrangement was for the party to pick its next flag bearer from Enugu North (Nsukka).
The governor, from the PDP which has ruled the state since 1999, hails from the Enugu West Senatorial District and would be completing his eight-year tenure of four years each in May next year.
He took over from Dr Chimaroke Nnamani who also completed eight years in office from Enugu East Senatorial District, leaving Nsukka as the only zone which has not produced a governor in the state since 1999. Chime said there is an unwritten rotational arrangement in the selection of its governorship candidates within the PDP in the state.
The state caucus of the party has since endorsed Chime’s position, as emphasised by the former Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani, in Abuja weeks ago.
Low Level of Political Activities
However, despite the ovation which greeted the governors speech during the town hall meeting  supporting the zoning formula, no governorship aspirant from the zone has publicly declared interest in spite of the fact that several names are being touted as aspirants.

Before Chime made his declaration, many aspirants were believed to have been nursing governorship ambition. Those said to be nursing such ambition are Senator Ayogu Eze, who represents the area in the Senate, the Chairman of the PDP in the state, Chief Vita Abba, Speaker of the state House of Assembly in the last eight years, Eugene Odo, a former member of the House of Representatives, Ambassador Fidel Ayogu, the proprietor of Peace Mass Transit Company, Chief Samuel Maduka Onyishi, two members of the House of Representatives, Hon Ifeanyi Ugwanyi and Dr Pat Asadu.
Others include Prince Emeka Mamah, a scion of the Ifesinacchi dynasty, and the former Secretary to the State Government, SSG, under Chimaroke Nnamani’s regime, Dr Dan Shere.
It is believed that Chime’s proclamation that his successor would come from Nsukka zone has instead of enbolding aspirants to come forward with their programmes, doused the tempo.
An aspirant who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that some of the aspirants were showing interest to ensure that they would be remembered during the sharing of positions in the party. ‘’There is nobody in the PDP that does not know the powers of a governor produced by the party in the scheme of things. We are all waiting for whoever the governor would anoint”, he said.
Everybody waiting for Chime’s endorsement
Apart from Senator Ike Ekweremadu, the deputy Senate President,  who openly challenged Chime initially for zoning the position to Nsukka, no other politician of note has made his ambition open.
Every other political activity in Enugu is nocturnal.

Politicians would confront journalists at functions for not mentioning their names among those in the governorship race in their analysis but would not want to be quoted directly as saying they nurse such ambition. Political gladiators are watching with keen interest the political atmosphere and the body language of Chime who once said he would prefer somebody who had worked with the PDP political family to succeed him instead of outsiders.
Ebeano family factor
The former governor of the state, Nnamani, introduced the former Ebeano (the place to be) political structure under which he selected those that held positions at the state and federal levels.

It will indeed be correct to say that most political gladiators in the state today passed through the tutelage of the Ebeano god-father and they know the rules of the game.
While Nnamani held sway, it was sacrilegious for any member of the Ebeano family to struggle or aspire to any position as members waited for the leader to allocate positions to them. It was like a military formation where the most senior officer usually ‘’thinks for the rest and nobody thinks when the oga is around.’’
Chime emerged from the Ebeano political family. Others who belonged to the strange family include  Ekweremadu and  Ayogu Eze as well as all the present members of the National Assembly from the state.
Cracks in  Ebeano
However, a lot of water has passed under the Ebeano bridge in the last seven years. The cracks in the family started shortly after Chime won elections in 2007 and reached a climax when “Chimaroke  snubbed the governor at the Protea Hotel, Abuja sometime in June of the same year. Chime narrated his story:

Chimaroke invited me and pleaded that I should join his administration. I heeded the call because I wanted to contribute to the building of the state. I worked quite closely with him. At some point when the executive council was dissolved, I was the only commissioner for about a month.
No other commissioner was appointed until later. But unfortunately when it comes to some ideas, I may not always have my way. If the head doesn’t share your view, what do you do?’’
According to Chime, the situation, however, came to a head when Chimaroke invited him to Protea Hotel, Abuja, shortly after returning home after several months outside the country.
Chime stressed that on the occasion, in June 2007, his former boss invited him to his suite at Protea Hotel, Asokoro,  Abuja. He went on: “When I got there, I met him and we exchanged pleasantries. He was sitting with some other people. Before I could sit down, he got up, picked his phones and said he didn’t want to see me and that when he was ready to see me he would send for me again. I thought it was a joke. But he went inside his room. We were there still wondering what was happening.  When he came out of the room he repeated it that he was not prepared to see me.
And he walked out on me, went downstairs and entered his car. He said he would tell me when I would come to see him when he was ready. So, the other three gentlemen followed me downstairs and we even attempted to see if we could catch up with him, but by the time we got downstairs, he had driven off.
I also entered my car and drove off. That was my first meeting with my predecessor. That was someone I spoke with on phone earlier that day. I didn’t just go there; he invited me over. We agreed that I was coming. So, do you want me to force myself on him? Then, I was still fresh as governor.
He had been there as governor and knows what being a governor means. You invited me as your governor and I came. And the next thing you do is to walk out on me. How do we describe such a behaviour? It is on record that I went to meet with him. That was the treatment I got from him the first time I met him. Can you imagine the treatment, as governor? I am still waiting for him to say `I want to see you!’.
Politicians queue
However, in the last few months, there have been indications that politicians have been lining up behind Chime and Ekweremadu, who is obviously fighting to avoid being prematurely retired from politics.

Chime is said to be interested in contesting the Senate seat for Enugu East which Ekweremadu, a former local government chairman, chief of staff to the governor and Secretary to the State Government, currently occupies and, with the governorship seat already zoned out of Enugu East where he hails from, there is no other higher position for him to contest, hence he is afraid of premature retirement from public glare.
Dark horse
A dark horse may emerge as governor of the state in 2015. Although Chime has kept his preferred candidate close to his chest, whoever he eventually anoints will likely face Ekweremau’s preferred candidate. The Deputy Senate President has been spending most of his days in Enugu State at Nsukka where he is believed to be mobilising support for his candidate.

This was even as the former Minister for Information, Chief Nnia Nwodo, was quoted as asking politicians from other zones to allow Nsukka people chose a governor of their choice for the state. Nwodo spoke at a party hosted for Ekweremadu at Nsukka by one of his supporters, Mr Chinedu Onuh.
However, political developments in the last few months indicate that none of the present crop of aspirants embarking on nocturnal campaigns would occupy the Lion Building as the Enugu Government House is known.
Apart from Ekweremadu, a cold war is currently raging between the governor and those the local PDP supporters refer to as Abuja- based. The governor was alleged to have incurred the wrath of the Abuja politicians when he was quoted as saying most of them who had spent two terms would not be re-elected. Chime was said to have made the declaration in view of the zoning arrangement in most of the constituencies in the state.
If the governor’s threat sails through, it would mean that almost all the members of National Assembly would lose their positions for fresh blood, hence the no-love-lost between them and their leader in the state.
SOURCE VANGUARD
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THE gentleman agreement by some notable indigenes of Uzo-Uwani and Igbo-Etiti local councils of Enugu State over rotation of the House of Representatives seat between  the two councils that make up the constituency is currently threatened.
The matter has gone beyond being a mutual disagreement over the council that should produce the next lawmaker to a cold war that requires urgent resolution. For this reason, Concerned Indigenes of Uzo-Uwani, CIU, recently convened a stakeholders’ forum in Enugu, where it was agreed that the rotation principle be followed to sustain the harmonious relations between the LGAs.
The event which attracted notable indigenes of Uzo-Uwani, provided an opportunity for the stakeholders to explain how the rotation agreement came about on February 10, 1998. On hand to tell this story, was the CIU President, Mr. Ignatius Onoduogo, who explained that the forum that gave birth to the zoning arrangement, was held at the residence of Mr. Aka Ogbogbe in Enugu.
“In recognition of the historical affinity and the need to foster peace and unity between Igbo-Etiti and Uzo-Uwani L.GAs, some wise men from both areas met on the 10th of February, 1998 and entered into an agreement that the House of Representatives seat shall rotate between  the two  local governments. They further agreed that Igbo-Etiti would produce the first candidate for the seat and this led to the emergence of Hon. Mathias Ozor in 1998 under the platform of UNCP,’’ he noted.
Onoduogo however regretted that the death of General Sani Abacha in June 1998, shortlived Ozor’s tenure.  ‘’His tenure was short lived because of the truncation of the Abacha transition programme due to his demise,’’ he added.
Accordingly, Onoduuogo said, ‘’ again, on January 17, 1999, by a broader representation, another agreement was entered into by political leaders from the areas reiterating the need to foster a harmonious co-existence between the two areas by rotating the seat. It was further agreed that Uzo-Uwani L.G.A shall take the first shot this time around having conceded the position to Igbo-Etiti the previous year but for the truncation of the transition programme.
This agreement led to the emergence of Dr. Romanus Ezike from Uzo-Uwani whose election was upturned by the electoral tribunal . He spent only three months in the office and was replaced by Hon. Chris Nnadi from Igbo-Etiti, who now stayed from September 1999 to 2007.’’
“Perhaps, it was assumed that the tenure enjoyed by Hon. Nnadi was meant for Uzo-Uwani, hence another man from Igbo-Etiti replaced him. However, in line with the agreement, in 2007, Hon. Paul Eze from Uzo-Uwani replaced Dr. Oke and served till 2011.Still in keeping with the agreement,. Hon. Stella Ngwu from Igbo-Etiti who is currently the incumbent was elected in 2011 and she is expected to serve out her tenure by June 2015 to give room for another man from Uzo-Uwani in line with the spirit and letters of the agreement.’’
Restating that subsequent meetings took place in 1999 and 2011 respectively, to ensure that the tenets of the agreement are followed, Onoduogo said, ‘’it is instructive to point out that three meetings on the need to maintain this one term rotational arrangement’ including a ‘thank-you’ meeting held at the residence of the incumbent ,were later held over the issue where stakeholders from both areas including the incumbent promised to keep to the agreement by serving only one term.
SOURCE: VANGUARD
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ENGR OBIOHA EZEKWESIRI's RESPONSE TO "Ndigbo will suffer if Nigeria breaks up - San. Mike Ahamba 2014"

Posted by Unknown On Saturday, May 10, 2014 0 comments
I must start by saying that senator Ahamba has not only insulted the Igbo race but has also undermined the intelligence, Education, Entrepreneurial spirit, Business Wisdom, inventiveness, innovativeness and creativity of the Igbo race in particular and Biafra in general. Most painful is to see that Senator Mike Ahamba has got no faith in the Almighty God whom he claims to serve.
How could a senator of Nigeria representing Imo State senatorial District say that "Ndigbo will suffer if Nigeria breaks up - San. Mike Ahamba 2014" and would not have tomatoes and fish?
Igbo people are able to develop Igboland and make life 300x easier for Biafrans than the hell we are going through all over the world. Has Senator Mike Ahamba forgotten that some Igbo people have lived decades in Western world and have studied, learned, practiced development for the while people who only misuse out talents? Has he forgotten that with Science and Technologies and ICT of the 21st Century, we will be able to develop Igboland within 7 years following the proposed Biafran Uniform Development Systems (BUDS), Kill Corruption strategies and measures, Unconventional trainings, True Government and People's collaboration (spirit of Umunne) and many more Biafran subsystems to trigger the fastest development ever seen in the history of the world.
Well, Sen. Ahamba has just spoken as an analogue Senator which he is. (No insult meant)
On behalf of the Biafran youths all over the world organized in groups and organizations, I dare assure Senator Mike Ahamba that we; the Igbo/Biafran Professionals in Diaspora challenge him to support the agitation for the immediate liberation of the Sovereign State of Biafra. We guarantee Senator mike Ahamba and all Igbo and Biafran people that we will develop Biafra in 7 years according to plans.
The plan is ready and we are only waiting for time as we take over the leaders of Republic of Biafra.
We also want to use this opportunity to...permit me to borrow the words of The Director of Radio Biafra London Nnamdi Okwu Kanu during his Radio Interview with Sahara Reports: He said: "if the Igbo delegates fail to secure Biafran freedom through this National Conference, they should better go on Exile from Abuja and should not even dare come back to Igboland again"
This is our position also and the position of millions of Biafrans scattered all over the world and in Igboland as well as in Nigeria.
Senator Mike Ahamba, eji'kwala ndu gi egwu egwu!!!!!!
No room for Nigerian Politics in Biafra

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