Iwuanyanwu: A People’s Ijele
By Okey Ikechukwu
Every 42 adult today was not born when the man who left this works while serving Ndigbo as President General of Ohaneze was at the peak of is visibility in business, national politics, the aviation sector, the media, the construction industry, sports and much more. How many today know, or would believe, that he put two million dollars of his hard earned money into the building and development of Imo Airport? Who today remembers Oriental Airlines, the Iwuanyanwu Narionale football team, Hardel and Enic Construction Company and much more?
He lived a full life, for himself and for his Igbo people. He left this life serving them as a rallying voice and a rousing pillar of influence. That is why it would make sense to speak of him as one the the people’s Ijele of note inAla Igbo.
But let us note, for the record, that the Ijele is not just a masquerade; no! There is no such thing as the Ijele Masquerade in the real sense of the term. Igbos have big and small masquerades. There are many of them. But the Ijele is not one of the masquerades. It is not a big masquerade. And that is because it is Ijele: and Ijele cannot be anything other than what it is, namely, Ijele.
As was once said here long ago: There are masquerades and then there is the Ijele. The latter does not dance for money because it is sufficient unto itself. It does not try to entertain anyone, because that is beneath its dignity. It does not ask anyone to get out of the way when it is coming, because it cannot contemplate that anything would possible want to stand in its way. It expects, and knows, that people would know what to do.
Yes, the average person considers it an honour to help clear the way when he hears (even before confirming) that the Ijele is approaching. That is why its ‘presence’ always precedes it. Who, or what, will stand in the way when the ijele is afoot? It is just not done!
The Ijele does not ask the big and small masquerades to leave the Village Square when it wants to enter. They have to. They are not the Ijele. They are masquerades and that is the essential difference. The Ijele must take pre-eminence as a matter of course. And, mind you, there is no question of arrogance or preposterous self-inflationsion here. It is the nature of the Ijele to live thus.
So do not expect that it would acknowledge the cheer and applause of the crowd, no. Do not also expect that it would genuflect and thank anyone for getting out of the way as it approaches. Absurd! There is no contemptuous air of superiority on display here no. It is just the natural majesty conferred on the Ijele by its very identity, as well as the triumph of the Aristocratic Principle of Nature.
The Ijele’s majesty is inherent in, and internal to, it. What can you give to Ijele? How would you even approach it in order to bestow anything on it? Who are you to enter the square while it walks the square? Please note this: there are masquerades and then there is the ijele!
In all matters affecting Igboland and Ndigbo everywhere, on questions people of group cohesion, selfless service and the values of community leadership, the late Ahaejiagamba stood head and shoulders above many of his contemporaries. He was a remarkable man in every sense of the word, warts and all. But back to masquerades In Igboland.
Most Igbo masquerades serve many social purposes in the traditional Igbo society and are often the audio-visual aids used by society to embody some core, moral and cultural values. The Agbogho nmanwu, for instance, is the physical embodiment of the most graceful maidenly beauty. Dainty, beautiful, calm and exquisitely womanly in every sense of the word, its form and dance steps may be called a living admonition for any woman who tends towards any form of brashness.
The Ulaga, Oji onu and a few others are the entertainment masquerades; while Agaba, Okwonma, Ike Udo represent uncontrolled manly strength and youthful rascality respectively. Onuku (the fool) represents degenerate manhood and is so degenerate in appearance that every pregnant woman would do anything to avoid sighting, or being reminded of, this masquerade throughout the period of pregnancy. It is only Onuku that fights with women, or enters the village square from obscure corners and sneaks up to unsuspecting women to take liberties with some parts of their anatomy. Yes masquerades have great moral, epistemological, educational and political values in Igboland.
But the Ijele is royalty embodied! That is why it is laden with choices gem on the few occasions it comes out. A yearly appearance for the Ijele is out of the question, because royalty is never part of the evening and morning market rush.
And it is within this context of the Ijele that we must locate some aspects of the profile, life and times of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu. The title of “Ahaejiagamba” refers to one whosw name gives Right of Passage when mentioned even in foreign lands. Such a person is an institution in his own right, but not for himself. The title is presumed to speak of one in whom the essence of influence, credibility and social leverage is most meaningfully embodied and who also ‘bodies it forth’ without apologies, without reservations and without being afraid of his own voice!
Can this be said of the late Iwuanyanwu? The answer is a resounding yes! He represented some of the best, and also even the somewhat questionable, attributes of the Igbo man. Industry, courage (even daredevilry, disarming candour and an occasional bluntness that sometimes makes others look for a fire extinguisher.
Ahaejiagamba wanted justice, dignified visibility and relevance for his people. He would not keep quiet when he knew he should speak out. That is why tributes will pour in, as Ndigbo prepare to bury the remains of their immediate past President General. The ceremomies are bound to come. But Ndigbo must also use the occasion to ask themselves deep and searching questions. How many people do they have in the public space who are living for either a cause, or for others?
I can imagine what Ahaejiagamba would probably have done back in1966, after the Northern offices staged a counter coup against Ironsi’s government. With the anger against people of the South East, and as Ndigbo were killed in all the provincial capitals of Northern Nigeria except one, which is Mubi, he probably would have mobilized everyone he knew within and outside Nigeria to push for nationalization of the Mubi example.
When Ndigbo were being murdered wantonly in other cities of the North, late Alhaji Isa Ahmadu the father of the current Emir, invited all the town elders to a meeting and reminded them that the Igbo people in Mubi were brothers and that no harm should come to them. They were all invited to the palace where their safety was assured. Vehicle owners were made to surrender their vehicles to be used to convey Ndigbo to Bourha Susprefecture of the Republic of Cameroun.
Before leaving, they were all made to write out their properties down to the chicken on free range. Selected elders were given custody of such property. After the war, all those who survived and returned to Mubi collected their property with rent accrued and the cost of animals sold. There is no incident of Abandoned property in Mubi. Even those who did not return had their family members traced and given their property.
Today Mubi stands proudly one place in Nigeria where every Nigerian can safely call home. The Igbo and Yoruba populations have representation at the highest decision making bodies of the town. When a Northerner and Engineer Udeogwu contested for the post of Rector Federal Polytechnic Mubi, the townsfolk including prominent traditional title holders backed Engineer Udeogwu.
Today, with the full backing of the people of the town, an Igbira Man from Kogi state is the Rector because he was there for some time and considered a son of Mubi in the true tradition of the town. And what Mubi is today is what Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu would have loved to bestow on the Federal Republic of Nigeria as his legacy. He was a people’s Ijele
Prof Ikechukwu is Chairman of the Publicity Committee for the Burial of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu
