On Chief Onyeama n'Eke
Omenka
So, when I first read the story of Onyeama n’Eke, as chronicled in the book Chief Onyeama: The Story of an African God; A Biography by Dillibe Onyeama
(Delta Publications, Nigeria, Limited, Enugu, Nigeria, 1982), I had mixed emotions. The entrepreneurial spirit that saw Onyeama rise from pauper to king inspired me. His machiavellian escapades, epitomized in the use of a secret service to squash political opponents shocked me. His fearlessness, both of the British rulers and other reigning kings, awe-struck me. His insistence on the “rule of law”, his own law, albeit, fascinated me. But none of these emotions compares with my respect for his vision and love for education. If all the Igbo kings past and present had half the vision Onyeama had, the Igbo man would be blazing the academic trail in today’s Nigeria.
Now imagine my shock when I read Emeka Onumonu’s so called alternative view to King Onyeama. Emeka’s claim hinges on the much touted, yet little understood saying: “Igbo enwe eze”. He claims that because Onyeama was a tyrant, therefore, he (Onyeama) was not Igbo. Not even Emeka’s spirited attempt at clarification in a subsequent mail could dissipate my concern about this bizarre conclusion. What impudence!
I do not think that any Igbo living or dead would sanction Onyeama’s activities in today’s world. Ogwumiri was terror personified and no nation should have to live under the fear of a despot like Onyeama. But what Emeka completely lost sight of is the fact that Onyeama was a product of his time, a time when might was right, a time when villages were overrun by other villages and women and children captured as war trophies. Ndiigbo used to terrorize the children of Oduduwa with masquerades. They would loot the latter’s property with impunity until Queen Moremi used herself as a bait to discover the secret behind the masked "spirits” that came from the bush to cart away their property. Now, what does this make ndiigbo? Non-Igbo? During that era, all was fair in war and powerful kings ruled with iron fists. It does not make them non-Igbo. Onyeama was not different. As much as he terrorized his people, he also protected them from higher forces. To assert that someone like Onyeama !
was not Igbo is not only ignorant; it is reckless.
Now to this “Igbo enwe eze business”. Everyone is quick to point out that ndiigbo are ohacratic (government of the oha by the oha for the oha). This may be so. But our forefathers were not so naïve that they would fail to see that such a government would only breed chaos unless it is somehow regulated. And so there were kings, many of them. However, our forefathers instituted very sever methods of checking potential excesses of their kings. The king has to ratify the decision of the oha and is not allowed to run off on a tangent. If he did, the oha would work towards bringing him back to earth from whatever clouds he may have buried his head in. That is why there is the proverb that “a sokata eze aruruala anya, e kpuru nkata n’isi gwa ya okwu” (after showing much respect to an evil king (and he fails to change) someone would cover his head with a basket and take him on). No transliteration intended.
Folktales reflect the cultures and traditions of a people. Take a look at our folktales and you will find that they are replete with stories of mighty and powerful kings who ruled their people. Where such a king is good, he reigns forever. But when the king is bad, he is soon challenged by a village upstart who, in spite of being subjected to near-impossible tasks would, with the assistance of the spirits, triumph over the king. At the end, he overthrows the evil king and in the king’s stead begins to rule his people within the bounds of ohacracy. This is how the Igbo view kingship. Therefore, Igbo enwe eze does not mean that the Igbo are impervious to leadership. They aren’t.
Omenka
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Magnus I. Ekwueme
I am buying your thoughts completely on Onyeama n"Eke. This is in line with
the oral history I remember about the man. This is also just about the same
thing with Eze nwa Iboko except the twist MOE threw in that they were
opposites in terms of their acceptance of the Brits. Nonetheless, I am
still waiting to see Emeka's line of thought. Like you said, their style of
leadership would not augur well today with the people but we must remember
that in those days only the powerful kings were able to last in their
thrones.
On the "igbo enwe eze" issue, I am going to borrow a side story from Onyeama
himself. There was this meeting of kings or ndi eze been held in Enugu.
The Obi of Onitsha came earlier than Onyeama and had occupied the highest
chair signifying his superiority over other kings. Onyeama would agree only
over his dead body. He insisted that the Obi of Onitsha lower himself down
and that, he, Onyeama , deserved to sit at the highest chair: It was his
domain!. What I understand by this is that the Obi cannot be lord over
matters both in Onitsha and Enugu; you can only be king in your own domain
and not all domains. Igbo nwere eze for sure but the sore point is that the
people will only respect their own eze and not all ezes from all over the
place. This is my own understanding of Igbo enwe eze: You are the king in
your own house, not in mine. Now, if you juxtapose this with other places
where, for example, the oba is the head honcho over all Binis, Esans,
Itshekiris and the rest of the clans, and the Ooni of Ife (I hope I am right
here) lords over all chiefs and kings of Yorubaland. This won't wash in
Igboland. I think this is where the difference lies and probably how the
term "Igbo enwe eze" came about.
Ndewo,
Magnus
Ugo_An...@dot.ca.gov
Nzeribe Moves Again
April 12, 1999
Lagos - Maverick politician and senator on the platform of the All People's
Party plots for greater relevance in politics East of
the Niger, with many hurdles to clear CHUKS EHIRIM reports.
On Friday, 26 March, the coal city was agog. Aside the take- off of the yearly
ritual that has become the trade fair package by the
cash- strapped Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture
(ECCIMA), the day was set aside for the burial of
the late Igwe Edward Nnaji, who joined his ancestors last year, after more than
50 years on the Nike traditional stool.
Then, unknown to many people in Enugu, the city also hosted leaders of AD/APP in
the nine states that make up the old Eastern
region. Chief Francis Arthur Nzeribe was the convener. The meeting which lasted
over seven hours was attended by notables
and chaired by Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, former governor of old Anambra State and
presidential aspirant of the AD. Notable
politicians present at the meeting were Rev. (Dr) Hyde Onuaguluchi, a
senator-elect from Enugu State, Dr. J.C. Odunna, APP's
national secretary, Senator Onyeka Okoroafor, chief Jerry Okoro, Etubom Bassey
Ekpo Bassey (AD's guber candidate in
Cross River State at the 9 January guber election). Others were Chief Chris
Nwankwo, Dr. Laz Anganwu, Ebeny Okpa (AD's
chairman in Cross River State) as well as chairmen of both parties in most of
the eastern states. Nzeribe reminded those in
attendance that he was fired by the zeal and patriotism of establishing a very
powerful political bloc that must champion the
social political interest of the entire people of the old Eastern region. The
AD/APP alliance, he said, would be maintained in the
East, even if it collapses at the centre.
He stated further that in subsequent meetings of the emerging association,
members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
would be included. "Our aim is to build a strong eastern political group,
irrespective of party affiliation, that would guard against
a repeat of the recent experience where the East lost out in the three political
parties in the quest for the presidency," the
Oguta-born politician said. As he spoke, the audience, which included many of
the National Assembly members-elect from the
AD and APP applauded him.
Many of them said they were desirous of such monolithic political platform in
the East as there are in the South-West,
Middle-Belt and core North such political groups as Afenifere, Middle-Belt Forum
and the Northern Elders Forum. Some of them,
they said had always spoken with one voice for the collective interest of the
people of their goe-political areas.
On this plank, therefore, Nzeribe, had the votes of a majority of those at the
meeting. One of them, Comrade Uchenna Ekwe- a
long standing labour activist and now member-elect of the House of
Representatives, stated "most of us are convinced that
there is a need to build a strong political force in the Eastern region
irrespective of party affiliations. A situation where the East
flows in other peoples' agenda must stop." He maintained further that "none of
the agenda being pursued today has the interest
of the East in mind.
They are either Northern or South-West agenda". This issue of political unity of
the East seemed to be the only unifying factor
between Nzeribe and the politicians. In fact, many of them still distrust the
leader of the discredited Association for Better Nigeria
which helped truncate the 1993 presidential election. They were said to have
resolved to checkmate whatever hidden agenda
Nzeribe is harbouring. One of such persons is Dr Hyde Onuaguluchi.
The senator-elect from Enugu State who was said by close associates to be ready
to give Nzeribe a serious fight should the
latter plan to reactivate his dubious but dead political structures which
included the CARIA Movement, Nzeribe's political
organisation that spanned the old Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Imo, Rivers and
Anambra states. "Many of us are weary of the man
having known his antecedents and motives but we shall never allow him to play
any funny games this time round," said one of
those at the meeting.
Others suspect that with his latest move, he may be angling for the national
leadership of the APP and using assembly
members to secure appointments in the senate. Apart from these welter of
scepticism, analysts believe it will be pretty difficult
for Nzeribe to convince other top Igbo political leaders to see him as a serious
politician to follow.
Already, Chief Sam Mbakwe is warming up to organising a mini pan-Igbo political
summit which will certainly clash with
Nzeribe's interest.
Publication Date: April 19, 1999
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 1999 The News. Distributed via Africa News
Online(www.africanews.org). For information about the content or for permission
to redistribute, publish or use for broadcast, contact The News at the link
above.
Magnus I. Ekwueme
Interesting indeed! Let us keep our eyes and ears open in case something
comes out of this we can encourage. But it's about time, someone thought
along this line, anyhow.
Rgds,
Magnus
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-i...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu
[mailto:owner-i...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu] On Behalf Of
Nzeribe Moves Again
April 12, 1999
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (c) 1999 The News. Distributed via Africa News
Ken Okorie
As I skimmed through the comments you addressed to Magnus, a thought
came through my mind. You hit the nail of our problem as Ndi-Igbo on
the head. We have historically failed woefully to create a clear path
for our culture to pass from generation to generation. Using the
Onyeama n'Eke example, I heard the name used a lot as a reference point
and analogy for persons of ego and power. Beyond that, I knew nothing
of the man or his accomplishment for his people. Yet there was no doubt
he was a very powerful Eze in his day. Perhaps there are more Onyeama
n'Eke's all over Ala-Igbo. But they are hardly mentioned or known. But
we can all rehash the Kingly attributes of the Obas and Oonies, etc.
Since we all agree that this is a problem, I suggest we Commission a
collation of the stories about powerful Igbo Kings and Kingdoms. One
way to approach it is to have at least one volunteer from each town,
village or even local government area. For example, if I could
volunteer to obtain a documentation of the stories about the origins or
history of Amuzu or Uzunorji which is my section of Mbaise.
Beyond the obvious reasons you pointed to, there is the practical
necessity that throughout Ala-Igbo we are fast losing people who have
hardly any notion of these stories, even in their fictional form.
A collation of these stories from all over Ala-Igbo could lead to an
interesting revelation about some of our unique attributes which we have
taken oh-so for granted.
Ken
Egb...@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 4/13/99, 4:21:45 PM, mekw...@flash.net writes:
> << He insisted that the Obi of Onitsha lower himself down
> and that, he, Onyeama , deserved to sit at the highest chair: It was his
> domain!. What I understand by this is that the Obi cannot be lord over
> matters both in Onitsha and Enugu; you can only be king in your own domain
> and not all domains. Igbo nwere eze for sure but the sore point is that the
> people will only respect their own eze and not all ezes from all over the
> place. This is my own understanding of Igbo enwe eze: You are the king in
> your own house, not in mine. >>
>
> =====================
>
> Mag nwa Ekwueme:
>
> You have crowned the discussion on whether Onyeama n'Eke is "eze" or not. He
> was an "eze" --- a legendary one at that. If he had ruled his domain (Eke,
> Ngwo and a few surrounding towns) and he would have had no problems. Had he
> not encroached on other domains, he would have held on to Enugu like Caesar
> in Rome. See, the Nwodo of Ukehe said "WA" (NO) loud and clear. His
> father-in-law, Eze Ozo -obu of Owa, kicked against his tentacles. Even the
> Ngwo chiefs didn't want to bulge without a fight. In Udi, where the capital
> was situated and complete with courts and an airfield (before the valley
> farmlands of Enugu Ngwo village came alive in cca 1909), there was a big
> chief too, and he was Okwuluoha Udi-- not of any other town! [Chime Avenue,
> New Haven, Enugu, is named after the legendary Eze Chime]
>
> I believe our problem is outright ignorance, which to some is bliss, or
> miseducation. We grew up learning about Alaafin, Ooni, Afonja, Emirs,
> Sultans, Idris Alooma, Queen Amina, etc. etc. No one, nobody, told us about
> Eze Onyeama n'Eke and Eze nwa Iboko. Eze Aro? Oh, they did this and that.
> Even when we read about Obi Onicha, we were told they came from Edo; hence
> Onicha Ado. {What is Ado?} Haba! How come the children of Eze Chima became
> Edo people? When we read about Eze Nri, we read they came from Igala via
> Aguleri or Umuleri! As if everything that has a semblance of OLD culture must
> come from somewhere. Everything about Ndiigbo is always bad and primitive.
> This is cultural colonialism, the worst kind of mental abuse.
>
> Now, if Ndiaro were in Bini and pulling strings way back when, has it not
> occurred to anyone that they might have established the Bini ruling house
> {Check out Ibinu --- the origin of the word "Benin" and Ibini or Ibinu Ukpabi
> in Arochukwu!. Everyone in Benin knows that the royal family came from
> outside their borders and that the word "Ibinu" is foreign. Some say Egypt
> :) ....the Middle East mirage, remember! This same "Ibinu" house would
> eventually establish the Oduduwa dynasty (though Yoruba mythology say it is
> the other way round). Thus, an Igbo elite, frustrated by their inability to
> establish a hegemony in Igboland probably crossed Mmiri Oji [River Niger] and
> established a dynasty. As Igbo Ukwu excavations conclusively tell us, Ndiigbo
> were on the theater of Igbo civilization by 100,000 BC AT LEAST!
>
> Back to Onyeama, it is therefore very sad that we should throw mud at this
> legend whose legacies many of us live today. In fact, even after Onyeama had
> long died, my folks wedded at Eke -- the center of Catholicism for miles,
> including most parts of Benue. How bad could you be to allow religious
> activities to thrive ---as long as they teach something good and useful? As a
> colliery boy, I still cherish the first coal mine I entered: Onyeama Mine.
> Yes, Coal Camp was built on coal, thanks to the foresight of Onyeama. Without
> Onyeama, Enugu could not have been the great city it turned out to be,
> despite present difficulties.
>
> On his Igboness:
> Onyeama typified everything Igbo. He was arrogant to the tee. He was
> industrious and he was fearless. In fact, stories have it that he demanded
> that the Obi of Onitsha pay him a courtesy visit in his Eke Palace before
> driving down to Enugu.... [to get visa :)] or else he would not return to
> Onitsha. Since this did not happen, he made the king a persona non grata in
> his kingdom. Chiefs from all over the area, including domains that had been
> under the Obi influence, paid homage to Onyeama like he was some deity. They
> had to: he was the big boss in town who demolished the influence of any other
> chief for miles.
>
> Think about some positives: Onyeama might have freed Ndiigbo from the
> "Nwaonyeigbo" denigration and the unnecessary ties to and fear of the Benin
> Kingdom. He was smart. He knew that the Brits had wounded the almighty Benin
> in 1897. He took on Obi, whose power was sustained by the legends of the
> Bini. And he won. From then on, Ndiigbo refused to back down. Time was when
> you don't dare have a court case with an Onitsha person .... or you were
> headed to jail. You guessed right: your lawyer, his lawyer and the judge
> would be Onitsha indigenes. And you are "nwaonyeigbo"! Case closed.
>
> Onyeama did not mind the supramacy of Onitsha folks in the colonial setup.
> No, it was their luck to have come in contact with Euro traders way back
> when. It was a challenge. So he took his son Henry to London and made him
> study law, while Simon Onwu, a cousin, studied medicine. Then followed his
> sons Dadi and Byron and many others.... including sons of firends. These
> peopls are legends of our time. The lesson: you don't sit down and cry
> marginalization: you play by the rules; go to school or whatever others are
> doing. Don't be left behind; get up and get going.
>
> In conclusion, Onyeama really typified the saying that "Igbo enwe(ghi) eze."
> Yes, there is NO pan-Igbo king. He NEVER tried to rule Igboland. He could
> have if he had wanted.... EASILY too. With the destruction of Ibini Ukpabi in
> cca 1903, the Aro economic network was weakened to its bare bones. And
> Onyeama had demolished Obi Onitsha, The colonist were dancing around his
> fingers. The Irish Catholic would regard him as a saint or local messiah --
> if only he would convert. Who else is there to stop POLITICALLY him from Port
> Harcourt to Markurdi? No one.
>
> But Onyeama knew all about Ndiigbo; he would not go very far if he tried. He
> had already gone as far as a man could go from absolutely nothing and without
> for once firing a shot! He NEVER ordered that anyone should be killed -- for,
> as an Igbo elite, he knew the power of blood. Folks, this was early in this
> century for crying out loud, not stone age! I bet that Onyeama decided to go
> to Lagos via Kaduna by rail just to avoid the domain of the Onicha Ado. He
> had so many vintage cars and could have rolled his entourage across to Lagos.
> Then again, I doubt ferries were common in the 30s, even though Sir Louis
> Odumegwu Ojukwu was already moving his trucks all over the country. This
> requires further research.
>
> Now that we have heard it all, it is left for us to search and bring THE TRUE
> stories - not such after-wash tales as "Mungo Park discovered the River
> Niger"!
>
> Who discovered Mungo Park's Scotland?
>
> Ka chi foo nu.
>
> MOE
>
chudic.on...@gmail.com
mikky...@gmail.com
> As a little boy growing up in Udi at the time, the name “Onyeama” was synonymous with power, wealth, achievement and importance. If a child begins to put on an air of importance, an elder would immediately cut him down to size by referring to the miscreant as Eze Onyeama n’Eke. You see, pride and arrogance were very much frowned upon in the largely modest Udi area. I remember once my uncle came knocking on our door. With all the manliness I could muster, I stood behind the door and asked: “Onye?” “Onyeama n’Eke”, he thundered back. I never mistook his voice after that, nor did I ever bother playing macho with him again.
>
> So, when I first read the story of Onyeama n’Eke, as chronicled in the book Chief Onyeama: The Story of an African God; A Biography by Dillibe Onyeama
> (Delta Publications, Nigeria, Limited, Enugu, Nigeria, 1982), I had mixed emotions. The entrepreneurial spirit that saw Onyeama rise from pauper to king inspired me. His machiavellian escapades, epitomized in the use of a secret service to squash political opponents shocked me. His fearlessness, both of the British rulers and other reigning kings, awe-struck me. His insistence on the “rule of law”, his own law, albeit, fascinated me. But none of these emotions compares with my respect for his vision and love for education. If all the Igbo kings past and present had half the vision Onyeama had, the Igbo man would be blazing the academic trail in today’s Nigeria.
>
> Now imagine my shock when I read Emeka Onumonu’s so called alternative view to King Onyeama. Emeka’s claim hinges on the much touted, yet little understood saying: “Igbo enwe eze”. He claims that because Onyeama was a tyrant, therefore, he (Onyeama) was not Igbo. Not even Emeka’s spirited attempt at clarification in a subsequent mail could dissipate my concern about this bizarre conclusion. What impudence!
>
> I do not think that any Igbo living or dead would sanction Onyeama’s activities in today’s world. Ogwumiri was terror personified and no nation should have to live under the fear of a despot like Onyeama. But what Emeka completely lost sight of is the fact that Onyeama was a product of his time, a time when might was right, a time when villages were overrun by other villages and women and children captured as war trophies. Ndiigbo used to terrorize the children of Oduduwa with masquerades. They would loot the latter’s property with impunity until Queen Moremi used herself as a bait to discover the secret behind the masked "spirits” that came from the bush to cart away their property. Now, what does this make ndiigbo? Non-Igbo? During that era, all was fair in war and powerful kings ruled with iron fists. It does not make them non-Igbo. Onyeama was not different. As much as he terrorized his people, he also protected them from higher forces. To assert that someone like Onyeama !
> was not Igbo is not only ignorant; it is reckless.
>
> Now to this “Igbo enwe eze business”. Everyone is quick to point out that ndiigbo are ohacratic (government of the oha by the oha for the oha). This may be so. But our forefathers were not so naïve that they would fail to see that such a government would only breed chaos unless it is somehow regulated. And so there were kings, many of them. However, our forefathers instituted very sever methods of checking potential excesses of their kings. The king has to ratify the decision of the oha and is not allowed to run off on a tangent. If he did, the oha would work towards bringing him back to earth from whatever clouds he may have buried his head in. That is why there is the proverb that “a sokata eze aruruala anya, e kpuru nkata n’isi gwa ya okwu” (after showing much respect to an evil king (and he fails to change) someone would cover his head with a basket and take him on). No transliteration intended.
>
> Folktales reflect the cultures and traditions of a people. Take a look at our folktales and you will find that they are replete with stories of mighty and powerful kings who ruled their people. Where such a king is good, he reigns forever. But when the king is bad, he is soon challenged by a village upstart who, in spite of being subjected to near-impossible tasks would, with the assistance of the spirits, triumph over the king. At the end, he overthrows the evil king and in the king’s stead begins to rule his people within the bounds of ohacracy. This is how the Igbo view kingship. Therefore, Igbo enwe eze does not mean that the Igbo are impervious to leadership. They aren’t.
>
>
> Omenka
>
> ____________________________________________________________________
> Get free e-mail and a permanent address at http://www.netaddress.com/?N=1