Emeka Esogbue

THE ANIOMAS ARE KNOWN TO RESENT SUBJUGATION Emeka Esogbue In the world of activism, we, the Anioma people are always known for standing up.  When the Lander Brothers ventured into the Aboh waters without the permission of the people, Obi Ossai arrested and detained them. When Benin tried to subjugate Agbor, the Agbor people went to war against the Empire. When again Benin rose against Ubulu Uku, the battleline was drawn and with the stage set, there was the Bini-Oboluku War. When the British extended foreign rule and imperialism to the Anioma territory, the Anioma people went up in rising. While other Nigerian societies collapsed to Royal Niger Constabulary within brief spaces of months, the Anioma people sustained the battle for 31 years, causing the British forces to sustain unspeakable casualties. When the defunct Western Regional government started to discriminate the minorities with the region, Anioma sons, Dennis Osadebay, Oputu, Otutu, F. H. Utomi, Orewah, Ozieh, Mokwunye, O...

THE RED CAP: WOMEN CAN WEAR IT IN IBUSA Emeka Esogbue You may be asking what's in Red Cap but it is not to be abused. The Red Cap is still held traditionally unique in Ibusa and a number of Anioma communities. It is not to be worn by just anyone as it is an exclusive identity of a few traditional chiefs.  In Ibusa, the Red Cap can only be worn by the following figures: 1. The Ndi Eze or Obi (it must be worn at all time. Failure to wear it is an offence) 2. The Ogbuu ( for the Ogbuu, it is only on occasional days such as during Ichupu Ekwensu, Ina Ebuni na Akpu, and when a colleague dies) 3. The Ikwele 4. The Warlord (Odogwu, Uwolo and Iyase) 5. The Omu 6. Finally, it can be worn during the funeral of an Obi by his family, friends and even mourners in generality. This picture beliw shows relatives and friends adorning the the Red Cap during the funeral of Obi Obodo of Nkpikolo, Umuekea, Ibusa.  Adorning of the Red Cap by people not categorized above is such a privilege because ...

THE OKPANAM JUDGMENT DID NOT ENCOURAGE THE USE OF RED CAP BY EVERY CHIEF IN THE COMMUNITY. Emeka Esogbue To the people of Okpanam who have started to peddle the rumour that the recent High Court judgment favours the use of Red Cap by every Chief in Okpanam. At no time did the judge mention red cap in this judgment.  What transpired was that an Obi who has the Asagba of Okpanam as his title wanted the court to restore him as the traditional ruler of Okpanam. It is understandable that the case is dead on arrival. Judge ruled that it was not possible due to the gazette establishing the Ugoani position.  No mention was made of red cap. The people of Okpanam are yet to hear the last on the red cap issue which Okpanam citizens are still protesting. Bastardization of our cherished tradition is unwelcome. This is to set the record straight.  In 1920, every Chief in Okpanam was not known to wear the Red cap. Why must westernization bend that rule now? Those seeking to basterdize w...

THE ANIOMA SOCIETY RESPECTS THE SENIOR BEFORE THE JUNIOR The Yoruba are one of the Nigerian groups that believe that by age, the junior must accord the senior necessary attitudes of high consideration or high regard. It is not therefore uncommon to hear the "Aunti mi" or "brother mi" prefixes before the names of their seniors are pronounced.  As for the the Anioma people especially the Enuani subgroup, they also believe in seniority. It is the  cultural belief of the people that the junior should respect the senior. They have some particular unique ways they groom their children to achieve this in their society.  In the traditional Enuani society, when siblings have finished eating from the same plate, the parent shares the meat then he asks the senior to pick his own share of the meat before the junior. This is when you hear "hali".  When the junior spanks the senior first, you hear the mother scream, "Ina eji aka nta ahata aka ukwu?" The mother...

AN ORAL ACCOUNT OF AKWUKWU-IGBO FOUNDATION AS TOLD EMEKA ESOGBUE BY GABRIEL N. OSAKWE The version I was told my  my late uncle, Mordi Osakwe, which I find more authentic is as follows: Akwukwu-Igbo came from Nri, the origin of the Igbo tribe. Adaigbo (Odaigbo), a Prince of Nri kingdom committed an abomination, the penalty on which was death. His father, Agu, the King, loved him so much that he could not bear to see him beheaded. He therefore prepared him to leave the town surreptitiously by night. His junior brother, Okolie Agu who loved him so much, decided to go with him.  A half brother was asked to carry a medicine pot on his head with the instruction that wherever the pot fell, there they should settle. They left and the pot fell in the present day Ogwashi-Ukwu, and there they settled. Okolie Agu was a great Hunter, and hunted in the jungle after Umu Opu, a small town with their own king.  When he came back from his hunting, he rested at Umu Opu before going back to ...

IKELI IFE RITE IN ANIOMA NATION Emeka Esogbue Here is the age-long tradition of the Anioma peopl e on focus.  It is the "Ikeli Ife" rite in which beneficiaries, mostly old men, titled men, clan representatives or youths depending on the nature of Ikeli Ife usually gather within an agreed location that could be Ogwa or home of the Diokpa to receive their portion of a given item.  Usually, a communal goat or cow is slaughtered, and once slaughtered, shared pieces of meat are natively put on plantain leaves from which individuals pick their portion by seniority.  On a lighter side, this is where you hear the biggest forms of grammar from our Diokpas. Some make it a mixture of English and Igbo, which we lightly call 'Engili-Igbo' while others especially the 'Oluoyibo' returnees demonstrate the biggest forms of 'adjectivial grammar' to talk their 'opponents' to submission.  Lest I forget, it does not take long for disputes to break out in which argu...

ANIOMA IS NIGERIA'S CULTURAL MELTING POT Emeka Esogbue Anioma is a cultural and ancestral spot where many Nigerian ethnic groups met. But little did our docile forebears realise this. It is indeed the cultural melting pot of Nigeria.  From ancient Nri Kingdom were migrations that led to the foundations of Igbuzo, Ogwashi-Uku, Akwukwu-Igbo and many more. These movements were followed with the migrations from Isu of the Igbos. The Isu migration became the more important in terms of number in Igbuzo, Ewulu etc. But there were the Ikelike of Benin origin who were the original settlers in Ogwashi-Uku. The earliest waves of migrations were of the Ife and Akure of the Yoruba race led to the foundation of a number of Yoruba communities in the Enuani region of the Anioma area and it gave rise to the foundation of Olukwumi communities that are Ugbodu, Eko Efun (Ukwunzu), Ogodor and many more. Surprisingly, little did early Yoruba historians record the Yoruba communities in Enuani enclave unt...

FOREIGNERS NOW SHOW ANIOMA PEOPLE THEIR FATHERS' HOUSE By Emeka Esogbue There is no group in Nigeria with their core history written for them by outsiders as much as we have seen of the Anioma people of Nigeria.  Unfortunately, every group in Nigeria appears to know the Anioma people's history so grotesquely well that they have to write it for them as it suits them. It is so terrible that outsiders lead the people to their ancestral homes then show them their father's house by pointing to it. As we are seeing, the Anioma fathers appear to train their children in the disciplines of history, anthropology and sociology only for them to return to go into "hustling" while "illiterates" narrate to them their ancestral history.  In this way, true heritage, myths and tales of the people have become lost to distortions and invented narrations. Indeed, strangers that are arm-chair scholars who never visited Anioma for once have been awarded professorship on the st...

IN MEMORY OF ROGANA OTTAH, THE LEGENDARY NDOKWA MUSICIAN At the early stage of his musicianship, they called him a rascal and a drunk for choosing music, but in the advanced stage of his musicianship, the wealthy, the educated, small and big, started to pursue him to perform for them. The beginning was difficult for him. Anyone may claim that it was so for most musicians of his period but his case was different. Reacting to Pen Master, his music enthusiast, Fada Enweji wrote: "Yeah! I remember Rogana (Ottah). It was not easy initially for him to gather instruments to fulfil his ambition. The Ndokwa people never believed in him until he came to Lagos almost in tattered cloths. He came straight to me in our office at off Allen Avenue and demanded seeing Emma Nwose alias Emma Galaxy or showcase. After spending three days in Lagos, Galaxy eventually raised N400,000.00 for him and Chief Jude Okonmah alias Omeogor gave him N150,000.00. I was able to make a small contribution for his tra...

REMOVE LEGEND, TESLIM BALOGUN WOULD ALMOST BECOME ORDINARY - Pen Master Believing that Tesilimi Balogun popularly called "Teslim" or Thunder Balogun is the Nigerian greatest player will only capture your love for legend - a story of unknown origin describing plausible but extraordinary past events. Such is the case of Teslim Balogun whom legend helped to elevate as imaginary greatest footballer Nigeria ever had.  Who outside the world of imagination will believe that he surpasses Rashidi Yekini, Jay Jay Okocha, Mikel Obi, Segun Odegbami, Kanu Nwankwo and others? Yekini remains Nigeria's highest goal scorer and also one of Africa's highest scorers, followed by Odegbami who is Nigeria's second highest goal scorer till date, Mikel and Kanu are two of Nigeria's best achieved and Okocha is obviously the most skilful. What is the place of Thunder Balogun as the greatest? Do you know? Curiously, most people who never did watch Thunder Balogun helped to overblow his t...