The new Ohanaeze leadership should get to work immediately. As a starting point, the regular waste of life and property in the land must be halted. The trademark solidarity and togetherness, for which the Igbo are known for, must be brought back.
The week commenced on a bright note with a touchy piece by Okey Anueyiagu, a Professor of Political Economy titled; The Igbo landing, and the courage of a people. It was an on-the-spot account by the author who, with his family, visited the heritage and monument site named; The Igbo Landing in St. Simons Island near the sea port of Savannah, Georgia, United States of America.
Anueyiagu captured the essence of the site. He wrote; “This sacred site that we visited holds the nerve-shattering historical story of how in May of 1803, a large group of captured, kidnapped and enslaved Igbo resisted their enslavement in the most brave and dramatic way, when, inspired by a noble chief among them, they rose up in unison, and martyred themselves at Dunbar Creek on the Island of St. Simons.
“The slaves marching into the ocean were singing Igbo war songs, and chanting: ‘The Water brought us here… The Water will take us away…. They all walked into the river, and drowned. These Igbo slaves embodied the mantra and the message that: You may enslave my body, but you will never be able to enslave my spirit and my soul. They all chose to die honourable deaths, instead of living lives worse than dying, in the cold cotton fields of the wicked and cruel white slave owners who in humiliating and dehumanizing them, profited from their blood, sweat and tears”.
The author, like many of us, had heard and read this story of historic landing of the courageous Igbo slaves, severally. On getting to the spot, he was intrigued and seized by emotion on how his kinsmen chose death in place of chains. He reminisced on what ran through their minds as they marched into the ocean, knowing that it was a journey of no return. He equally touched on others affecting the Igbo man in his country, Nigeria and elsewhere. The write up was classy in content and delivery.
I will confess that I have not interacted with Anueyiagu at person-to-person level but have read and enjoyed some of his materials published in our medium, TheNiche Online. I have also been told that his book, Biafra, The Horrors of War, The Story of A Child Soldier is worth the read. His article on the1803 United States Igbo landing, was forwarded to me by another friend and brother, Chijioke Uwasomba, a profound intellectual, who I have also not met but have drawn inspirations from his informed critiques and comments on my weekly column writings. Uwasomba thought the material would make meanings to me. And it did. But beyond its literary impacts, the piece took me down memory lane; evoking a reminder to a tale we had grown up with about unity and fellow-feeling among my people of Umuire Village in Orlu Town, Imo State.
The story was about our forefathers and colonial officials who visited them with indignity. The colonial officers were said to have given the people a task they considered unreasonable which they resisted. In the process, skirmishes ensued and my people had upper hand. When the news got to the District Officer (DO), he deployed law enforcement agents to deal with the “unruly villagers”. While the court messengers (Kotma, as they were called), embarked on arrests, even the villagers not picked, volunteered to be taken along with their kinsmen, chorusing, “E dum ma” (I was also involved in the fight). They were all taken to the Divisional Headquarters where they were injected with lethal substances that killed many of them. E dum ma has, remained a battle cry of sort, for my people to rally together when it matters .
Now, someone reading the naked bravery of the Igbo slaves in the 1803 US landing and the ‘E dum ma’ mantra of my people from the surface, may consider both actions as foolhardy and demonstration of indiscretion. But in reality, they indicated unity and fidelity to a common cause by a people, even at the expense of personal comfort and life. When the Igbo say, Onye a ghala nwanne ya (let no one abandon his brother), there could not have been a better way of expressing it.
But that was missing in communities in Orsu Local Government Area, Imo state on Sunday, 5 January 2025. While other communities, cities and even nations savoured the joy of the New Year, Orsu was mourning, following attacks by gunmen in some towns in the council. The worst hit, were Umukabia, Eziawa, Ihittenasa, Umuhu, Amaoku, and Amaebu. Police put the number of people killed at 18. However, a public affairs commentator in the state, popularly known as Nonso Nkwa and other sources, insist that the death toll was over 40.
There have been different versions of how the villagers were mowed, all suggesting that the attack was unprovoked. That brings the question; at what point did respect for life and sanctity of blood, depart from Igbo land? When and where did we get it wrong that such magnitude of mayhem as in Orsu could take place in one fell swoop? I had severally in this space, written on the sorry state of Orlu Senatorial District, Imo state and the South East, lately. The Orsu episode is one of such dastardly occurrences. The ugly story resonates in all parts of the zone. They do not speak well of a people who place enormous premium on human being as an epitome of life (Mma ndu).
To think that the Igbo nation which had commendably bonded together in resisting the highhandedness of the colonial adventurists, recorded great feats in foreign lands and excelled in community development efforts, is now, constantly drenched in sorrow and blood often from members of its society, is a matter that should give any right-thinking son and daughter from the area serious food for thought. Developments in some parts of Igbo land are no longer funny. There must be committed efforts by the leadership class in the larger East to save the region from itself.
That should be the major task before the Senator John Azuta-Mbata Ohanaeze leadership. By pedigree and antecedents, the Ohanaeze President-General, is fit for the office. It is good that the election of the new officers for the apex socio-cultural organisation, was free of controversies, contrary to initial fears in some quarters. It was also one in which the Igbo political elite in the south east and south-south spoke with one voice in affirming their oneness as people of same ethnic stock. The insightful essay by my friend and colleague, Dr. Emeka Nwosu, is apt on the significance of Mbata’s presidency on the organisation and Igbo society. There is no need rehashing the template of job before the new leadership
One can only add that with the new president coming from Rivers State and the Delta slot having been filled earlier by Ambassador Ralph Uwechue, the artificiality of the so-called “Mainstream, Rivers or Delta Igbo”, has been dismantled. Every Igbo, is Igbo, anywhere, everywhere.
The new Ohanaeze leadership should therefore get to work. As a starting point, the regular waste of life and property in the land must be halted. The trademark solidarity and togetherness, for which the Igbo are known for, must be brought back. It is enough of bloodshed in the zone.
