Nnewi traditional Stool is Hereditary and no longer through Election –Igwe Nnewi
I abolished Osu caste system so their pretty girls might marry – Igwe Nnewi
Obi of Otolo and Igwe of Nnewi in Anambra State, Igwe Kenneth Orizu, speaks to TONY OKAFOR approximately the abolition of the Osu caste device in his state, amongst other issues
You were at the throne considering 1963; did you ever consider that you could serve for this long?
No, I didn’t. It’s the grace of God that added me this a ways. I didn’t expect this long reign. I thank God for his grace.
Being on the throne for so long, do you now and again lose interest or experience your lifestyle has become monotonous?
I have no longer felt bored since I ascended the throne. Initially, it become nerve-racking however with time I set up committees that have assisted me to do the work of the kingdom seamlessly.
You are from a privileged history as your uncle, Nwafor Orizu, became a senate president and your grandfather was said to be the primary man to pressure a vehicle inside the old Eastern Region. What are the fond reminiscences you have of your adolescence?
Orizu 1 started his reign round 1905. No one dared to peer him along with your naked eye. He moved on the whole at night if he turned into journeying to a long way locations, as an example, while going to court docket in Onitsha because that become the most effective location the court docket turned into then. They were 4 monarchs that attended Onitsha court in the ones days – he, Obi of Onitsha, Amobi in Ogidi, and Idigo in Aguleri. There were only a few monarchs then.
There have been no cars then so he went to Onitsha through a shoulder carriage (palanquin) carried by sixteen able-bodied men. Four men could start and once they got worn-out, some other four might take over and they would maintain to take turns till they were given to Onitsha after a few days. Once they were given to Onitsha, they would carry him to a visitor house and he would relaxation to attend court docket tomorrow by 9am. After the court lawsuits, he might return to his visitor residence once more and rest until 8pm while he would begin the journey lower back to Nnewi. Nnewi monarchs in no way travelled throughout the day in the ones days to keep away from being seen by way of ordinary humans. It was taboo to see Igwe Nnewi with the bare eye in those days; seeing him with the bare eye attracted sanctions. He went on night journeys together with his retinue of bodyguards who rang the bell to warn people to influence clean due to the fact Igwe Nnewi was on the street.
Nobody could dare pop out in any other case they would be conscripted and offered as slaves or made to turn out to be one of the better halves of the monarch if she become stunning.
At a point, going to court docket in Onitsha became tiresome such that his topics bought a motorbike for him. However, he didn’t use it for a long time because of the inherent chance it uncovered the Igwe to. So, they considered shopping for a car for him. That was how cash turned into raised and given to some people that went to Lagos and purchased a Ford automobile for him.
When the news of the new vehicle unfold, the white Resident Officer in Onitsha visited Orizu in Nnewi. The white man discovered that the car had no range plate and licence to allow the monarch to force it with out being disturbed at the way. He promised to assist Orizu get his vehicle registered by way of establishing a licencing workplace in Onitsha. That changed into how a licensing office turned into established in Onitsha and my grandfather was issued a number plate that study: Onitsha 1.
As a younger man, you worked with a collection of newspapers, what did you experience most about the revel in?
Yes, I worked with the Outlook Newspaper in Enugu. But within the direction of my process, I turned into posted to numerous locations along with Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Asaba, Sapele to set up Outlook places of work. I did that diligently and sales and readership improved for the outfit in maximum areas wherein the newspaper turned into previously now not recognized. I enjoyed the feel of dedication and punctuality I surpassed directly to workers. I made them come to the office via five.30am in preference to 8am to distribute papers to providers.
You have been stated to be instrumental to the clearing of Agbedo forest on your area, what importance or issues did this woodland have?
Edo Nnewi became one of the deities in Nnewi which the human beings worshipped as a god. It was a girl deity. Deities ruled Nnewi then while Obi became their hyperlink with the human beings. They trusted the deities to determine what could show up. It changed into when the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu was Governor of Eastern Region that he recommended that the Agbedo forest should be cleared. He wrote a letter to me to look how Nnewi town may want to start. I agreed with him however instructed him that for the reason that Agbedo turned into jointly owned by the network, the other Obis of Nnewi should be consulted, consisting of the clergymen of the diverse shrines.
Before then, you dared not input the forest, in any other case you'll die. When the decision to clear the wooded area was taken and the date was constant, each person became afraid to enter the woodland due to the fact they had been afraid that in the event that they attempted it, they might die. I became at domestic on that day due to the fact I had every other engagement to take care of. Some 4 men were delegated to satisfy with me due to the fact all of us changed into afraid to be the first to begin clearing the wooded area. They said the complete metropolis had assembled for the clearing of the woodland and were anticipating my endorsement. I gave them approval to go ahead with it however they still waited for me. When I were given there, I needed to begin the clearing first after praying, earlier than they now took over. There had been such a lot of risky animals there, together with lions, reptiles, and leopards, but they all ran away and best tortoises which could not run have been left. Eventually, everything went properly.
You have been said to be one of the first conventional rulers in Igboland to abolish the Osu caste machine, what demanding situations did you face that opposed the pass at the time?
Nobody antagonistic the flow. If there was any competition, they didn’t come out to country it publicly. Till date, I’m nevertheless being recommended for abolishing the caste gadget. I abolished the caste device because it didn’t have any fee, in my view. In the old days, our humans castigated them – the ones seemed as Osu. The story dates returned to the old days whilst human beings observed responsible of abominations had been solid away to avoid the anger of deities. If any of such folks slept on the same mat with you, you have become an Osu mechanically. You might now not sit at the identical seat with them, in any other case you have become an Osu. That turned into how they were handled and abhorred.
But with the arrival of civilization, the practice became laughable, particularly after the Agbedo turned into cleared which now became one among the most important markets in Anambra. Part of the forest turned into additionally intended for the Osu humans. After the Nigerian Civil War in 1967, there has been a dance Osu women got here out with. It became so attractive that after the dance, lots of them had been impregnated by the so-referred to as non-Osu humans due to the fact they have been so beautiful. Not simplest that, those equal beautiful women have been branded Osu inside the day, but at night, many human beings might go for them. I idea that become outright deception. I informed my human beings that the deceit must prevent. By the way, who did God create and phone Osu? It turned into guy-made. So, it was largely due to those beautiful ladies and the obnoxious conditions they had been subjected to that made me abolish the caste system in Nnewi to allow them to freely marry. And quickly after the abolition, many of them began getting married. We don’t have any problem with that again in Nnewi. We are one.
You discouraged wasteful spending at funerals and traditional marriage ceremonies, why?
I checked out the manner we performed funerals here; it became related to wasteful spending and was affecting the human beings, so I idea something have to be performed approximately it. I made consultations and we decided to reduce the whole lot right down to the barest minimal. Today, you could hardly ever see any funerals in Nnewi with wasteful spending. If every person violates the rules, there are attendant sanctions for that. We collectively achieved the feat, so nobody is complaining about it.
Ofala Nnewi is a cultural pageant organised annually to rejoice your coronation and it ought to be performed with out fail, what does it entail?
Ofala Nnewi became a white guy’s concept. He probable borrowed it from the Onitsha area. Like I said in advance, the bare eye turned into now not allowed to peer the Igwe Nnewi within the starting. If you had been a man and also you dared try to see him, you would be sold as a slave and in case you have been a stunning girl, you will be routinely given to the Igwe as his spouse.
So, the whites didn’t like that Igwe turned into now not seen by way of his subjects. He advised to Igwe Nnewi to have an afternoon within the 12 months whilst he could make a public look to interface and have interaction along with his human beings. That was the beginning of the Ofala pageant right here in Nnewi. It was an opportunity for the monarch to satisfy together with his human beings and have interaction with them and for them to pay homage to him.
If it isn't celebrated in a 12 months, what implications will which have on the country?
If there are exigencies, Ofala can be postponed. There is not any implication in anyway at the state with the aid of so doing. I had once cancelled Ofala birthday party right here, not anything took place. But that became the best year it become no longer celebrated due to the fact that my reign in 1963.
The Igwe of Nnewi is born and no longer made or elected, in contrast to many traditional stools within the u . S . A .; are you able to percentage a number of the other bizarre things approximately the throne?
Out of the 4 quarters in Nnewi, Otolo is the top and it’s the one that produces the monarch, historically and typically. Our forebears placed it that way and it has been saved that manner and it's going to continue to be so. The ascendancy to the throne of Nnewi monarchy is by start and no longer by means of election. Whoever is the first son of the monarch succeeds him upon his demise, except he does some thing grievous against the human beings and custom of the land. This practice is understood to everybody in Nnewi. It’s enshrined in the Nnewi Constitution.
There are 4 Obis inside the 4 clans that make up Nnewi and also you’re the most senior of them. How would you describe your relationship with the others?
My courting with the three Obis is cordial. We paintings together and we relate well inside the general interest of the community.
Apart from Ofala, what different fairs are tremendous to the records of Nnewi and its people?
We have gala's like Igba Ota, Igbu Ichi, Ikwu aru, and Igbu Ichebili. Most of these fairs, but were stopped due to modernisation.
What are the things considered as taboo for the people of Nnewi and others who live in or go to Nnewi?
We don’t devour ‘Eke’ (python) and women don’t climb palm bushes in Nnewi. Also, women don’t pluck kola nuts. We don’t eat ‘Ewi’ (neighborhood rabbits) due to the ancient courting we've with it.
Are there matters considered as taboo for you because the conventional ruler of Nnewi too – things that tradition does no longer permit you to do?
The Nnewi king does no incorrect.
What were the most important challenges you've got confronted at the throne?
There are numerous of them. I became not born the same way others were born. I become a toddler of circumstance. There had been no childbirths on this kingdom before my mother became married because of a certain lady that was allegedly maltreated and who later died; humans were marrying but did no longer have children. It changed into while the girl become appeased that my mother got married and gave delivery to me. But she died mysteriously rapidly after. It changed into suspected that she might have been poisoned out of jealousy through her other other halves who have been married earlier than her but had no youngsters. That’s how my life started. That records guided my growing up and made me humble. I had ghastly motor injuries which almost took my life. The first time; I became in a Mercedes Benz automobile bought for me by my human beings. We were coming back from Lagos when the automobile somersaulted two times and at the 0.33 time, became the wrong way up. But I came out unhurt. The second time; I became on my manner lower back from Abuja while a big car knocked ours off the road and right into a ditch.
What do you leave out most about your antique lifestyles; that is, earlier than you have become a traditional ruler?
Early, I commenced staying away from girls. In fact, their lives pissed me off. I handiest had a female friend after I lived in Calabar (in Cross River State). I sat the Standard Six Certificate examination there. Calabar had a stadium where festivals were held and it additionally served as a cinema. She preferred us to wait such festivals collectively. She might book for our tickets. When I came again to Nnewi, in the course of my college students’ union days, I ran into some other person who requested cash from me to shop for a image album. I instructed her I didn’t have money and the relationship ended there.
So, in the real sense of it, I didn’t have a lady friend the way human beings have girlfriends these days. I lived in Kano and had no female friend. All I did as a teenagers become to attend to myself, cook for myself and read. I had no enterprise with girls. Unfortunately, this generation is funny. Today’s guys are milked dry by using girls. When you deliver them cash, your electricity and time, you're losing and killing your self steadily.
Nigeria currently celebrated its 60th independence anniversary, what biggest changes have you noticed over the years – wonderful and terrible?
I’ve yet to see some thing well worth celebrating in Nigeria. It’s unlucky that Nigeria can’t produce pins and razors as small as they're. If they produce them, I’ve but to peer them. We rely a lot on imported items, but we preserve boasting that we are the giant of Africa. I haven't begun to look any advantageous modifications on this united states of america. Nigeria has no longer met my expectancies.
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