Emeka Esogbue

 Follow the Pen Master Blog! All in the News About Anioma What news did you miss from PEN MASTER in the past few weeks? * "Okolie Family of Umukanya, Umueze Announce Burial Plans for Matriarch, Madam Okolie"  *Interviews*  * "There is No Reason to Locate Anioma in the Southeast; President, Governors and their Deputies, Not Required to Vacate to Vacate Offices Upon Defection" - Frank Ofili * "Show Desire for the Creation of Anioma State, Ogbueshi Emmanuel Okonne Begs His Anioma People: Ned Nwoko's Efforts Undermined By Nefarious Politicians." * "We Are Not Against the Proposed Anioma State, Majority Only Want it in South-South," Nnamdi Ofonye * "Ibusa Youth Council Should Be Guided By the Obuzo and Obuzo Should Be Guided By the Law," Chief Hilary Zobeashia  *Feature*  * "OFAAC: Anioma's Most Consistent Cultural Organization" - Emeka Esogbue * Ibusa Multiple Obiship Explored: A Look into Obi Ajudua's One-Year Milesto...

 Three Masters, One Genre: The Lyrical Worlds of Warrior, Oliver De Coque, and Osadebe By Emeka Esogbue In Igboland, the Southeast region of Nigeria, three highlife musicians stand out as the most influential of all time: Christogonus Ezebuiro Obinna, popularly known as Sir Dr. Warrior; Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe; and Chief Oliver Sunday Akanite, widely celebrated as Oliver De Coque. Though all three have since passed on, their music continues to define Igbo cultural memory. Hardly would one step into an Igbo home or attend an event without hearing the voices of these legends blaring from turntables or speakers. Their greatness was such that entire generations grew up immersed in their lyrics. Adults lived by their words, while children absorbed their songs with striking familiarity. Their influence was not confined to Igboland alone; it reached other parts of Nigeria and beyond. Yet, within Igbo society, they remain the enduring signatures of musicality and social life. While the...

 Ibusa Multiple Obiship Explored: Insights from Obi Ajudua's One-Year Milestone – Part Three By Emeka Esogbue So far, much has been said about the Ibusa Multiple Obiship system and the challenges it currently faces. It is now crucial to examine the relevance of this institution to the Ibusa community in the modern era. Historically, the ancestors of Ibusa alongside neighbouring communities like Asaba, Okpanam, and Okwe, established a structured social hierarchy in which Obiship was regarded as the highest attainable status, reserved for nobles and men of distinction. Like many African institutions, however, early Europeans dismissed this system, branding it as inherently “pagan” or “fetish.” From the perspective of Obi Dr. Henry Ajudua, a staunch advocate for the preservation of Obiship in Ibusa, such labeling was nothing more than colonial propaganda. He asserts that the Obiship tradition emphasizes morality, justice, and communal harmony with values far removed from the chaos or ...

 …continued from Part One Ibusa Multiple Obiship Explored: Insights from Obi Ajudua’s One-Year Milestone – Part Two By Emeka Esogbue As highlighted in Part One, attaining the Obiship title in Ibusa, Asaba, or Okwe is both presti gious and costly. Similar to the revered Ọzọ initiation in Igboland, Multiple Obiship is an institution reserved for the affluent, those who embody nobility and aristocracy. Its high financial demands and associated challenges remain a significant barrier to entry. Without question, the Multiple Obi System stands as the most distinguished traditional title in Asaba, Ibusa, Okwe, and Illah. It represents the pinnacle of traditional authority, akin to what the Ọzọ title symbolizes across the Southeast. Though some view it as diminished today, Obiship continues to face profound challenges driven by cultural shifts, economic pressures, Christianity, and Western influences. Traditionally, the Obi institution embodies social, spiritual, and moral authority; pilla...

We Are Not Against the Proposed Anioma State, Majority Only Want it in South-South ~~Nnamdi Ofonye, National President, Anioma Youth Forum Worldwide AYF-W Comrade Nnamdi Ofonye hails from Ezi in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State. The National President of Anioma Youth Forum Worldwide, in this interview, opens up to Anioma Media Influencer, *PEN MASTER (EMEKA ESOGBUE)* on issues of Anioma He speaks about the prospects and potentials of the Anioma youths and the challenges faced by them, the proposed Anioma State and why many are opposed to the Southeast Region and many more. Excerpts:    *Pen Master: Comrade, it’s indeed my pleasure to have you. Welcome to this interview session. Well, our teeming readers will like to know you* Ofonye: Good morning, Pen Master, and thank you for this opportunity. I am Comrade Nnamdi Okwufulueze Ofonye. I am from Ezi in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State. I am the National President of Anioma Youth Forum Worldwi...

 Ibusa Multiple Obiship Explored: A Look Through Obi Ajudua’s One-Year Milestone – Part One By Emeka Esogbue First and foremost, I congratulate you, Obi Dr. Henry Chukwuma Ajudua with your dear wife, Obi Okpoho Vivian Henry-Ajudua on your one-year anniversary of assumption of Obi title in Ibusa, land of the Isus. Happily, today marks the Ifejioku of Ndi Eze (Obis) in Ibusa, as traditionally announced by the Senior Diokpa of the community and this is the confluence where cultural practice, enthusiasm and service meet; a sweet cultural coincidence indeed. The festival, usually held before the New Yam Festival, is heralded by the Obis of the town. The Ifejioku festival has been observed across the ten ogbe (quarters) of Ibusa since pre-colonial times. As in other Anioma communities, it is an agricultural and yam-centered celebration deeply rooted in the Igbo cultural belief system. Ibusa families host feasts, inviting friends and kin, thereby strengthening communal unity and kinship b...

 IN MEMORY OF UWOLO WILLY IKOLODO This is the time we remember one of the greatest Ibusa chiefs who ever lived. He was a glamorous man He was a powerful man with commanding influence He was fearsome and smart and people submitted to him even without battle He not only popularized the Igbuzo Uwoloship but gave it attention He remains the only Anioma indigene in history who took Anioma's Onotu (or warchief position) to the House of Representatives.  He remains the only Ibusa man elected at the House of Representatives so far "He probably built the first multi-purpose complex in Ibusa." "He probably was one of the first to build a post-primary school in Ibusa."  "He was an employer of labour and many Ibusa people benefited from his empowerment."  A pioneer in facility management in Nigeria.  "A prominent politician who contested and won a credible election that was shortly truncated by GMB in December 1983." He named his commercial house in Lago...

Interview with Pen Master (Emeka Esogbue)  ...continue from Part One Don't Drag Me into the Obsession that Issele-Uku and Anioma are Monolithic or Only Benin Creations, Ifenna Azomani, Writer of History and Convener of Nri Descendants Conference - Part Two Pen Master: Shouldn’t one wonder why Benin established its monarchical system in a society already in existence and thriving? Azomani: The whole essence of establishing the Benin kind of monarchy in Issele-Uku was to establish the Benin strict kind of monarchy but to a large extent, I don’t think that this was achieved even with Obi Oligbo because there was still so much of the republican way of life. This republican way of life came with the migrants from Nri who had been in the area before the Benin migrants came. So, while that monarchical system was in place, Benin was also looking for the opportunity to strengthen its hold. That opportunity came following the death of Obi Odia in about 1730 and the Heir Apparent who was sent...

 Don't Drag Me into the Obsession that Issele-Uku and Anioma are Monolithic or only Benin Creations. Ifenna Azomani, Writer of History and Convener of Nri Descendants Conference – Part One Leonard Azomani is an Ogboli Community writer of Issele-Uku history, lawyer, environmentalist and clergy. Renowned for his versatility in various disciplines and credible works on Issele-Uku history and other Christianity literatures, Azomani bares his mind on a number of issues that enthusiasts of Anioma and Issele-Uku history will find interesting. In this explosive interview with Anioma media influencer (PEN MASTER), Pastor Azomani speaks on his growing up, career and renders historical accounts on Issele-Uku beginning, development and political history. He tells readers that Anioma is not a monolithic society and that Issele-Uku was peopled by migrants from various ethnic groups. More importantly, the earliest settlers of the Issele-Uku community were the Ogboli Agidi people from Nri led by ...