Omuship of the Anioma People in Brief

 

Omuship of the Anioma People in Brief

By Emeka Esogbue

INTRODUCTION

Omuship is the oldest, best known and most revered female traditional among the Anioma people of Nigeria, which includes Onitsha where Omu Nwangboka is known to have reigned and also Ossomari, another community outside Delta State that shares ancestral relations with Anioma. According to Prof E. A. C. Nwanze, the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Edo State from Asaba, the Omu institution of the Anioma people is about 822 years in existence. Until recently, the history of Omuship despite its age-long existence remained obscure partly due to the nature of the spiritual requirements of the institution and the traditional nature of the occupants, on one hand, and lack of interest from writers of social history of the people of the area, on the other hand.

The deep spiritual nature of the institution meant that only little was known about th institution and even then, the sketchy knowledge of the institution was not for public consumption. Again, the Omu was rarely seen in public as she always had to sit inside the market place, which she traditionally takes charge of. However, the institution as practiced today has undergone deep transformation due to modern requirements without losing any of its spiritual or traditional functions.

Despite these transformations, the originality of the Omu remains with its duties and responsibilities remain. For instance, when one becomes an Omu, she returns to her father’s quarters from where she is expected to reign. If she doesn’t own a home, her family comes to her rescue or she builds one for herself. Again, an Omu is not expected to marry and where she is married, she divorces her husband because she cannot live with a man anymore being a man herself. She gets her livelihood from the markets in her domain that she heads. In places like Ibusa, when an Omu joins her ancestors, the Otu Omu continues to perform the responsibilities of the Omu until the installation of another Omu. Until the previous Omu is buried with full traditional rites and until the installation of the incoming Omu is performed to the fullest, the deceased Omu is traditionally assumed to be alive, healthy and functional in her responsibilities.  

ORIGIN

Writers on the institution believes the cocept of Omuship to be borrowed from Benn where Queen Idia, the mother of Oba Esigie, was installed as the Queen after she spiritually helped her son, Oba Esigie to defeat the Igala, in the famous Benin-Igala War. She had also assisted her son, Oba Esigie to ascend the throne after the death of Oba Ozolua. The idea of Omu therefore rests on the spiritual assistance of the monarch and the community in fulfilling its policies, which makes the administration of the community or kingdom an easy one for the leaders of that society.

It was this arrangement that the Anioma people through the Ezechime migrants from Benin imported to their present settlements in Anioma on taking flight from Benin. Although it is not particularly clear on which of the particular Ezechime community today that was the first to introduce it to the Anioma area, the claim of origination from Benin is strong with Issele-Uku and Onicha-Olona. For Onicha-Olona, the first known Omu of the area was Olo, the matriarch of Umuolo Quarters of the community, which is still in existence today. Although the Ogbeobi quarters became the custodians of the Omuship later in history, in circumstances unclear to this author, the Umuolo, descendants of Omu Olo produced the first Omu in the kingdom.

The Omu institution is generally the practice of the Enuani subgroup of Anioma but it is also in practice in Igbodo, an Ika community. Spread among the people of Aniocha-Oshimili collectively known as Enuani, the practice differs in the areas of selection. While the omu is known to rotate among the three ‘Otu” or classes of Ibusa quarters which is the Otu Odogwu, Otu Uwolo and Otu Iyase, that produces the occupant for the Ibusa community, in order of seniority, it is produced by the Umuolo and Ogbeobi in Onicha-Olona community. In Ogwashi-Uku, it is the people of Agidiase Quarters that produces the Omu for the community. In this way, the emergence of Omu follows different patterns in different Anioma communities, depending on the history of origin of the institution in the said community.     

EMERGENCE OF THE OMU IN ANIOMA

As said earlier, the emergence of the Omu candidate differs from community to community. The spirit of Omuship may naturally fall on its choice in which case, the woman is identified as the Omu of the community with the proper rites conducted to install her. Still, the people of a community, may by other means, be required to go on oracular findings to determine the Omu of their community where the need arises. Whoever the gods of the land choose, must conditionally come from any of the quarters traditionally recognized to produce the Omu for the community to become the Omu. In other words, the choice of the gods cannot be outside the custodians. This is the case in Onicha-Olona and a number of other Anioma.

Another instance is that it may become necessary to consult the oracle only when there is dispute to the throne. This was particularly the case in Onicha-Olona where the oracle had to be consulted when the candidature of Omu Amandiwe was disputed in the community. Having had her selection affirmed from oracular messages, she was installed as the Omu of the community. Nevertheless, there are cases, a willing candidate may show up to take up the position. In Ibusa, for instance, any woman of substance may decide to take up the institution provided she is the choice of her umunna and quarters of her place of her birth and she is qualified for the positon. She will then be made to go through the necessary rites that qualifies her installation as the Omu of Ibusa.

Importantly, the three communities of Asaba, Ibusa and Okpanam share a unique diversion from the rest of Anioma communities on the installation rites and status of the Omu. Here, in the three communities, the Omu is an Obi unlike those of other communities. No one can become an Omu without first assuming the rites of Obiship/Ezeship which is in practice in the community. Since the three sisterly communities practice Multiple Obiship system, which is the highest strata in the communities, the Omu must first become an Obi in which the “elili ukwu,” is performed on her. This is to elevate her to manhood and also to ensure that by the stipulations of the social strata in the community, no man or woman is elevated above the Omu. The assumption of Obiship is also applicable to the Asagba and Obuzo who as traditional rulers of their respective communities must first pass through the rites of Obiship. It is the Obi status that compels the Omu in Asaba, Ibusa and Okpanam to wear the red cap at all-time even though the cap is not to be worn indiscriminately outside traditional conferment and status.

What is more important perhaps, is that whatever means by the which the Omu is produced, the functions or duties of the Omu in every community of Anioma remains the same.

FUNCTIONS OR DUTIES OF THE OMU

An understanding of the functions of the Omu in Aniomaland can be drawn from the statement of HRM Obi Martha Dunkwu, the Omu of Okpanam/Anioma submitted to Anioma Watch, a forum of notable personalities from the region. According to her, “the functions of the Omu in Anioma is 70% spiritual (to take care of Nzeomu and pray for the people). 10% to lead the women and 10% to settle issues or help the male leadership if they are having difficulty.”  

Other responsibilities of the Omu may differ according to the community involved but generally, the Omu is the traditional head of the markets in her community. Furthermore, in a place like Ibusa, the Omu is a spokesperson of women in the community. She is therefore traditionally empowered to attend the Izu Anioma which is the people’s parliament. It is here that she advocates for the women of the community. In the communities of Anioma, the Omu is a member of the Obi-in-Council prominently Asaba, Ibusa and Okpanam where she is a member of the Asagba-in-Council, Obuzo-in-Council and Ugo Ani-in-Council. In this way, the Omu assists the traditional rulers in their domain in the administration of the community. She therefore plays spiritual, traditional and administrative roles as the Omu of her community.

THE OMU CHALLENGES     

Although Omuship was the pride of the Anioma people, it started to die a natural death due to the below listed factors:

1.    Western influence

2.    Christianization

3.    Civilization

4.    Lack of means of livelihood

5.    Rigorous rites and conditional life of the Omu

6.    Expensive to run

7.    Perceived rivalry with traditional rulers in some communities

Nothing troubled the existence of Omuship in Aniomaland more severely than the first four factors listed above. With westernization, Christianization and civilization, there was the orientation that Omuship was either fetish or outdated hence the institution was abandoned in several communities of Anioma. Indeed, not everyone may want to contribute in the to the installment process of the Omu because it is believed that the institution is fetish. While Omuship was in practice in nearly every Enuani community of Anioma, a good number of these communities including the biggest of them had lost it by 1990 for one reason or the other. It was due to the first four factors listed above especially, Christianity that Anioma women and their families started to reject their installation as Omu of their communities.

Anioma families started that believe that Omuship was anti-Christian and capable of sending the occupants to hell fire. It was therefore an institution that must be rejected at all cost. In Ibusa, Ukala, Obomkpa and Ugbodu, it became difficult to find any woman willing to occupy the institution with the idea of unbiblical nature of the institution. However, the institution was up and running in Asaba, the state capital, Okpanam and Onicha-Olona where it was never broken. Ubulu-Uku offers an example of an Anioma community that has lost Omuship and yet to revive it.

The fourth factor which is lack of means of livelihood. As said earlier, the Omu being an elderly woman was expected to stay in charge of markets in her community from where she makes a means of livelihood but with the foreign interference, the markets were handed the local government leaving the Omu helpless; in hunger and without any care when she is sick. This development contributed in scaring women from taking up the traditional position. Nobody wants to be naturally displaced by the society after all. It was also a situation that affected the existence of Omuship. The Omu life is also considered a challenge to the existence of the institution. First, the candidate has to be elderly and medically without signs of menstruation to qualify for Omuship. It limited the chances of willing women.

Omuship is also seen to be expensive to sustain where she has to maintain a large number of staffers known natively as “Otu Omu” yet without any salary to cater for her staff. It is for this reason calls have gone to the local government to consider paying the Omus in their local government salaries as paid the traditional rulers to cater for the women and also preserve the age-long institution of the people. There have reported cases of unwillingness of some traditional rulers to install the Omu in their domain for one reason or the other. In other circumstances, the Omus are restricted by their traditional rulers which breeds deeply-rooted rivalries. This also affected the Omuship negatively. By 2002, the number of Omu in Anioma had dropped to only 6.

THE OMU REBIRTH

Despite the above factors, the wind of the revival of Omuship started to blow in Anioma. It stands to reason that no one has worked as hard as HRM Obi Dr. Martha Dunkwu, the Omu of Okpanam/Anioma in reviving the institution in Anioma. Once crowned the Omu in 2002, she started to encourage other Anioma people to similarly install Omu in their respective communities. This was a sort of “Save Omuship from dying” movement. Being at the centre of the revival, the Delta State Government under His Excellency Gov. James Ibori started to recognize the Omu in Anioma as Royal Mothers, Her Royal Highnesses and eventually Her Royal Majesties in which they are styled today. The ibori administration went ahead to officially issue them certificates of recognition. In this way, Omu Martha Dunkwu had secured official recognition for the Omu of Anioma.

To encourage the Omu growth and spread in Anioma, the Omu of Anioma set up the Centre for Omuship and Women development with a building in her Palace donated in perpetuity to the Centre to serve as a place of information documentation of Omuship and to serve as a tourist centre in Okpanam. The efforts of the Omu of Anioma attracted foreign scholars from Europe and America who found in their archives pictorial works on Omu of Asaba and Okpanam. These works were later presented in exhibitions that followed in Nigeria one ofwhich was the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

The Obi of Ubulu Unor, HRM Obi Afamefuna Kikachukwu, JP is one Anioma traditional ruler that has supported the Omu institution in small way, helping to re-enthrone the institution in communities where it was no longer available. The Obi has often shown committed interest in uniting the various Omu under the Anioma umbrella to ensure that there was unity among them and that they always come together. It was not therefore any surprise that his efforts paid off with the emergence of “Omu of Anioma,” the umbrella body under which the Omu variously find a voice in Anioma and the world today. The Omu of Anioma, the most recent civilization of the Anioma people has given the Omu of the region a collective voice and recognition to the later, elevating the female traditional institution holders as foremost stakeholders in the region.

In 2015, this author did a book titled, “A Short History of Omu,” which sold globally. Once published, the book reawakened the Omu consciousness in Anioma people. The book went up in high demand. In reaction, several Anioma communities with broken Omu institution started to revive it. Although the HRM Obi Dr. Martha Dunkwu had on her coronation met five other Omus on ground, the number of Omu in Anioma has today increased to 15 excluding the Ibusa community that has now found one in Omu Josephine Nwannabuogwu. Although the Ibusa community was known to practice Omuship, the institution which became troubled in 1995 eventually became broken with Omu Ogugua Nnando as the last Omu of the community.

The absence of Omu left the community without any representation in female affairs within the community and Anioma as a whole as the voice of the people often became missing amid the gathering of other Omu in the region. The development created a vacuum that indigenes of the community were determined to fill if only the Ibusa women could be traditionally represented in the comity of Anioma Omu. The efforts of the people are the fruit of the restoration of the institution with Omu Josephine Nwannabuogwu as the Omu of Ibusa.

THE OMU TODAY

From the aged illiterate women who traditionally sat all day inside the market places, the Omu institution has undergone a dynamic transformation which is characteristic of cultures being a way of life of the people. The institution is now acceptable once again and also globally renowned. It is also today, an institution occupied by highly educated women some of who are relatively young who are in their capacity decided on ability to ably represent their communities to champion the cause of women in their respective communities and Anioma as a whole. It is not therefore a surprise that the Omu of Asaba, HRM Dr. Ada Biose is a Medical Doctor. The institution is beginning to attract the well-educated women as occupants, which is one of the positive transformations that the institution has gone through over time and as a renewed tradition of the Anioma people.