Usurpation Shifted Our Onicha-Olona Kingship System from Hereditary to Okpalabisi, Prince Joseph Dumbili Nwadiajueboe, Eze Dibia of Onicha-Olona – Part Two

 Usurpation Shifted Our Onicha-Olona Kingship System from Hereditary to Okpalabisi, Prince Joseph Dumbili Nwadiajueboe, Eze Dibia of Onicha-Olona – Part Two

Pen Master: Diokpa, earlier when this discussion opened, you mentioned the Obiship crisis in the community. This brings us to the tussle that keeps ravaging your kingdom since the colonial days of your social history. What is the cause of this division? 

Nwadiajueboa: Thank you very much. The problem was caused by Ogbe-Obi. This place you are now caused the problem. I told you that Ogbele established Onicha-Olona. He was the founder of Onicha-Olona. Onicha-Olona and Onicha-Ugbo are related but Onicha-Ugbo is sustaining its Obiship which remains a hereditary till date but in Onicha-Olona, they destroyed our own. There is something called Nze and it means a place of origin or source – where something started. When you go to Onicha-Ugbo, they still have their Nze. Ironically, the one belonging to our Onicha-Olona is still in Onicha-Ugbo till today. They refused to hand it over to us because in history, our people refused to recognize the son of Ogbele as the Obi of Onicha-Olona. Pen Master, you are a historian. Conduct your research. Go to Onicha-Ugbo, any of their Obi Onicha-Ugbo that wants to pass libation today will say “Obi Onicha-Ugbo taa orji, Obi Onicha-Olona taa orji” (King, eat the kola nut).

Pen Master: Do you mean you have the Nze here? (Pointing to his room)

Nwadiajueboe: (Raises his voice) The two Nze - the Nze for Onicha-Ugbo and that of our Onicha-Olona are in Onicha-Ugbo till today. The one of Onicha-Olona is still there because they told us that they would not give it to us. The Onicha-Ugbo people insisted that it was not our own and that since they did not give the Obiship to the son of Ogbele, they would not give us the Nze. I am talking about the Ogbele lineage. I am happy you are very learned. Ogbele means one who transferred property to somebody and the person he transferred the property to, is Obi Ozomona. Ozo means next and Omona means a child. He told Obi Ozomona that he owned Obiship in Onicha-Ugbo and Onicha-Olona called Obi Ozomona. Ozomona means duality. 

Pen Master: Now, I see that your community and Onicha-Ugbo share ancestral lineage but one might still wonder how these things played out in history. Can you explain it properly sir?

Nwadiajueboe: When it was the child’s turn to become Obi, it was Ugbe, Ogbele’s brother who said they would not give the Obiship to him. The boy he denied the Obiship rushed to the local court of the time called moot court. When they gathered, they decided that he would not assume the Obiship. This was why Ishiekpe had Obiship. A man called Okoalu who was from Onicha-Ugbo but lived in Ishiekpe was asked to become the administrator to overseer Onicha-Olona until the court matter ended but with time, they started to produce the Obi. This is why we have the saying “Obi eje me Ishiekpe” in our folklore. There was a controversy in Ogbe-Obi at the time because they never allowed the right person to assume the throne. They drove him out. It was Obi Ozomona that the court ruled in his favour so they gave the throne to him. Ozomona decided that because of the challenges on ground, he would reign with a regent-in-council and not as an individual. The story is long but somehow, they denied a child who was supposed to be raised to become an Obi, his kingship right. The situation was what altered our system to Okpalabisi instead of our original Obi Ada which our originally ancestors handed us. 

Pen Master: Okay, but how was it possible for only one man to shift your community from a well-known Obi Ada to Okpalabisi?

Nwadiajueboe: Well, he advocated that whoever took the Ichi nmor title should reign as the Obi of the community. This was what caused the confusion and as the controversy continued, the British who intervened in the matter gave the Ogbe-Obi a deadline to produce the Obi but the deadline expired without the people resolving the matter. The case was subsequently taken to Abu Anor before a white man called Maddock. On getting there, Osakwe was only an Okwulegwe Umuolo and was not even supposed to be the Obi but after testimonies were delivered, Maddock sought to hear from Ndi Umuolo whether anyone was challenging the argument presented before him but they kept quiet. He asked the people of Ogbe-Obi whether the presentation of Ogbe-Obi was false and a man called Ibemesim, where you have that Ihu Ani located, raised his hand and told the white man that what the Ogbe-Obi said was a lie. He told them that it was not the turn of “onye chi nmor or the Odionwhere but the first son or heir apparent to the last known son of Ogbele called Ozomona. It was then that the white man instructed Chika, the Ogbe-Obi man to stand up and salute Osakwe, the son of Ofili, Igwe. When Chika stood up, he walked up to him and sarcastically told him in our dialect that if he greeted him, it would end him. Osakwe equally responded to him that if he responded to his greeting, it would also end him. This was how Osakwe Ofili became the Obi of Onicha-Olona. 

Pen Master: You mean Maddock, the white man took this rash decision? Should we conclude that the British contributed to the Onicha-Olona kingship crisis of today?

Nwadiajueboe: Don’t forget that it was also Osakwe's home that the white men started Christianity in the community and this was the Anglican church of today. During the “iba nzu” rite, a period that anyone who performed Ichi Nmor was expected to stay indoors for two days, the Christian activities of the church often disturbed the rite observers. This made the Ogbe-Obi to drive the church away. But when they were driven, Osakwe went as far as assisting them to acquire a land in Ishiekpe where they settled to resume their missionary activities. They built a church there. Now, because of this assistance, the white man handed him a gun. You know the white men were powerful at the time so they instructed him to shoot down anyone who challenged him. This also contributed to Osakwe the son of Ofili becoming the kingdom’s Obi. 

Pen Master: I see what you mean but did this eventually alter the Obiship system in the community? 

Nwadiajueboe: Yes, the present type of Obiship in Onicha-olona are about people whose parents performed ichi nmor on their behalf. They do not care whether the child would become a thief or cripple in time to come. Two prominent indigenes of the community first took the title for their children. Since then, the community shifted to Okpalabisi. Formerly, Ichi nmor was by age because your younger brother cannot take up the title before you but they altered it. They started to assume the title for their male children. We know them; we know people who started to take it for children including the one who took it for his child and that child died mysteriously after three years. It was also the reason Odo performed it for Nwachi and they all emerged the Obi-Okpalabisi. There were the first two people in the history of Onicha-Olona whose fathers would perform Ichi nmor on their behalf and this was how the whole thing started. Subsequently, if a man had a child, he would perform Ichi nmor for him. Even now, it doesn’t matter to them whether that child will become a cripple or not. All they aim at is the Obiship. 

Pen Master: One pertinent question was whether the Onicha-Olona Ezeship was originally from father to son

Nwadiajueboa: …what do you mean by Ezeship because you just spoke your language?

Pen Master: So Sorry about it. I meant Obiship.

Nwadiajueboe: Oh, you mean Ichi Obi? I just told you that now. What I told you was that it was hereditary from Ogbele to Obi Ozomona before the throne became usurped. This usurpation was the reason we went to court. 

Pen Master: Meaning it was dynastic? 

Nwadiajueboa: It was never dynastic. It was hereditary. It was originally from father to son. 

Pen Master: Okay but was it just any son or first son? There is the need clear this question. 

Nwadiajueboe: No, it was just the first son. This was the original practice. The problem was the usurpation of the throne and we have gone as far as commission of inquiry. The government set up and we went to Aniocha North. When the matter was heard, they said I won it and issued me a certificate. It was later that a certain politician scuttled it for the reason best known to him. I was later taken to court together with the government. Unfortunately, I don’t want to go into what played out in the course of the matter but the court asked that the staff of office be handed to an Ichi nmor title holder. 

Pen Master: …but I am surprised that you lay claim to this throne while there are other claimants who say it is also their turn to produce the Obiship

Nwadiajueboe: It is not the turn of those claimants. I grant that they are descendants of Ugbe but they are the last born of that lineage since Ugbe also had other children before their father's lineage. Ugbe had about three to four children in all. These traditional things happen by seniority. I recorded it in my book and if you care, I will show it to you. Their line is the last in order of the lineage of this Ugbe. If we go by Ugbe line, it is the turn of a particular lineage called Nzugbo Umuodungwor. They own that place that their ogwa is currently located. While we were in the court, their initial claim was that the practice was dynastic and they argued before the court that it should pass from one ebo to  another (from one quarter to the other). Now, I am shocked to hear their recent claim that it is their turn. Pen Master, let me ask you: how can the last lineage come forward, ahead of the seniors to begin to make claim that Obiship is their turn? They don’t have the support of Idumu-Ugbe because Idumu-Ugbe understands the tradition. Their claim lacks support. They don’t even have ogwa. You know that in the world of tradition, a claimant of custodianship must own certain notable objects to show the ability to authenticate their claim. 

Pen Master: Is their any object that symbolizes your own claim? Perhaps, my readers may want to know whether your case is different from what you argue now. 

Nwadiajueboe: As I am talking to you now, I am the custodian of the anthropological objects of Onicha-Olona Kingdom. Whether Onicha-Ugbo or Onicha-Olona, their objects are here. My father inherited that Ishu Onicha we took you to you before this interview. 

Pen Master: ...but a recently published book in your community, in one of its pages describes your family as none Onicha-Olona indigenes who only immigrated to settle among the people. The book alleges that your ancestors first lived in Ishiekpe village before becoming naturalized into the family lineage of a daughter in Idumu-Ogbele. The book also claims that there are elders in Ishiekpe and Idumu-Ogbele who can validate the allegation. Diokpa Nwadiajueboe, could this be the reason some argue that you are not rightly positioned for the community's Obiship? 

Nwadiajueboe: (Laughing aloud) Thank you very much, Pen Master, first and foremost, your question shows how versatile you are on our people's affairs and I must commend. I am really impressed with your historical knowledge but this one is falsity. Yes, I have seen the same book myself and virtually every other person who called my attention to that mischief laughed at it. Let me ask you: has any of those elders of Ishiekpe and Ogbe-Ugbele he mentioned responded in the affirmative to his claim? No, because they were equally puzzled by the misleading dimension of the claim. 

Pen Master: Okay, but maybe, you want to share your ancestry with us

Nwadiajueboe: (Raises his hands) Yes, be patient because I was coming to that already. Our family is Nwadiajueboe and Nwadiajueboe's father was Okwuezue while his mother was Ogbeidimbu. He hailed from Idumu-Ogbele, a family unit in Idumu-Obi here in Onicha-Olona. Ogbeidimbu who was his mother hailed from Idumu Oko Odogwu, a family unit in Ishiekpe which is a district in Onicha-Olona. The name of Ogbeidimbu's father is Ogwuegbe. He was borne by Chief Oko Odogwu who was also the first Odogwu of Onicha-Olona. As you know, Odogwu is a traditional title reserved for indigenous male members of Ishiekpe community. Nwadiajueboe was born in 1901 into the family of Obi Ogbele Agusa in Ogbe-Obi here in Onicha-Olona and I have already mentioned his father to you. My father Nwadiajueboe died in 1977 and was accorded the full traditional rites due to Onicha-Olona bona fide indigenes because he was one; a prominent one at that with respected traditional titles of people. Pen Master, there are three essential traditional titles that are due to indigenous Onicha-Olona people alive and they are Okpala, Uzu and Eze Dibia. By the special grace of God, my father, Nwadiajueboe assumed these three titles in his lifetime. I advise the general public to ignore this rumour. It is a rumour borne by the desire to claim the throne. Will anybody move to the press to start writing that other family members are no longer his brothers and sisters if not for kingship tussle? Ask yourself this question. The rumour will not find its way outside the book. It will end there because the people of Onicha-Olona are not just wise enough but know these things.

Pen Master:  Okay, but now, your community has an Obi by Okpalabisi arrangement. Is this a temporary measure? If this is so, as some have alleged, do you think an Ichi Nmor title holder following the present occupant will accommodate the idea of shifting his reign to the hereditary Obi system when it is his turn? 

Nwadiajueboe: (Laughs loudly) …I am the next in line so, that’s a different story entirely. 

Pen Master: This is coincidentally good to know but Prince 

Nwadiajueboe, since you are the next as you posit, one wonders if you will favour the Okpalabisi system or hereditary Obiship when it gets to your turn. This may as well be a decider for your people.

Nwadiajueboe: (Lowers his tone) Yes! You see, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. I have gone as far as the Court of Appeal over this matter. The court advised that the community for now, should continue with the Okpalabisi practice and I won’t fall foul of the law of the court. If it gets to my turn, I will assume it as Okpalabisi. If the court decides on hereditary, I will go with it. What I tell people who come here to interview me is that whether Obiship or not, what is more important to me is the encouragement for the world to hear my story. I lit the lantern and placed it under the table and nobody sees the light. I want somebody to help me expand my knowledge. They talk about Jesus Christ, Moses and other prominent men. Were they ever Obi? People who were Obis thirty years ago, are no longer known today. This interview with you is what is more important to me. Whatever system of governance they give to me is what I will accept. 

Pen Master: This is good but do you have any word for the Okpalabisi advocates?

Nwadiajueboe: People who advocate Okpalabisi are the majority because they are backing Ichi Nmor title holders in the community. But they don’t have the fundamental knowledge of the shortcoming. Their anticipation now is the sum of N50,000 (Fifty Thousand Naira) and after taking up the title, they claim that they are now Okpala. They no longer follow the protocols and other rites of Okpala in Onicha-Olona and nobody understands how these things play out. I hope I did not deviate from your question. Pen Master, please, ask this question again.

Pen Master: Okay, I actually wanted those on the other side to hear your view 

Nwadiajueboe: What I will tell them is that the awaited decision of the court is supreme and we should respect it. Let us not commit suicide or kill other people when the judgment comes. After living a long life on earth, one soon departs. 

Pen Master: Why are your people of Ogbe-Obi not united over this claim of the throne? 

Nwadiajueboe: You are right but what happened is that when the matter came up, the people of Ogbe-Obi supported dynastic system. They said they wanted the practice of the Obiship passing from one quarter to the other. You know that everybody wants to be the Obi. The particular person who took me to court supported hereditary Obiship but I defeated them. I was fully prepared for the assumption before I received the information that it was no longer feasible. The whole process was kept on hold. 

Pen Master: How was the name Olona derived? Is it traceable to Italy? 

Nwadiajueboe: (Laughs) the Italians imported the name from this place instead. They have Olona there and it means the study of biological molecules. Olomina, on the other hand, means plantation of royal palm trees. The Oba of Benin will have to climb the royal palm tree before becoming the Oba. The Obis will also climb the trees for the last time before becoming the Obi. It tells you how essential the tree is to us.

Pen Master: One more question, sir, if you don’t mind. You have a shortage of historical documentations on Onicha-Olona? What is the problem? 

Nwadiajueboe: Yes, the fathers of those of us who know the history were not educated. When the white men came, we considered them enemies but those who accepted them, their Christianity and education produced elites. When these people wrote and it was considered to be against the interest of the Europeans, they were asked to leave. That was why my father never allowed me to go deep in education and Christianity. It was also for me to have the ability to do this work that I do today. I have completed my book on Onicha-Ugbo. I have written on the history of Ezechime covering stories on Obior, Obomkpa, and Ezi Uzor. By the grace of God, when I am ready, I will call for a seminar and you, Pen Master will surely be there. Let all of us come together and ask questions. We will see how it goes.  

The End