Chinua Achebe: Ogidi man
first, Ogidi man last

April 13, 2013

Achebe: Exit of a literary giant
By Nnamdi Ken Amobi
The departure of High Chief
Chinua Achebe (Ugo belu n’oji
– The Eagle on the Iroko) is
painful to many Nigerians and
peoples all over the world. For
the Ogidi nation, it is
particularly agonizing. Our
loss is immeasurable. As we
weep, the cry has been: can we
ever replace this man? The
“Eagle on the Iroko” has
fluttered its fatigued wide
wings and flown away; and
disappeared. The man that put
Ogidi on the world map of
literature and culture has
joined his ancestors.
Ogidi is an Igbo nation with a
rich well-documented history
dating back approximately one
half of a millennium. The town
is well known in and around
Anambra State. It is town of
approximately 200,000 proud
and productive people;
currently mostly Christians
but with rich and valuable
vestiges of traditional religion.
It is the headquarters of the
Idemili North Local
Government area; with
neighboring towns of Nkpor,
Oze, Obosi, Umuoji,
Ogbunike, Umunachi,
Umudioka and Abatete.
Mention Ogidi, and what
comes to mind to most people
in the state is the famous
yearly Nwafor Festival.
But google Ogidi and the name
Chinua Achebe pops up with
it. It is Chinua Achebe that is
now most associated with
Ogidi, and for that Ogidi
Inwele indigenes owe
incalculable gratitude to their
illustrious son, now departed.
Late Prof Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe has gone to
commune with Ezechuamagha
the progenitor of the Ogidi
nation. Oral history tells us
that Ezechuamagha is the
father of Inwele; and Inwele is
the father of Ogidi. This
historical teaching was
embraced and given resonance
by Chinua Achebe, the
historian and Chinua Achebe
the anthropologist.
In Ogidi culture, and indeed
Igbo culture, the belief is that
famous people are demigods;
demigods are deified mortal
and do not die, they merely
return to their ancestors.
In 1985 when Igwe Amobi III
of Ogidi joined his ancestors,
one tribute that stood out
prominently was that written
by Chinua Achebe. Chinua
Achebe, in the characteristic
style of the master wordsmith
himself, penned a glowing
tribute to Igwe Amobi III at
Igwe’s funeral in 1985. The
“Eagle on the Iroko” prayed
and dedicated the soul of the
departed Ogidi ruler to
Ezechumagha.
Now another colossus has
departed, it is our turn to do
the same for Professor Chinua
Achebe. We send our fervent
supplications to our great
progenitor to receive Chief
Chinua Achebe listen to him,
guide and protect him.
Achebe will dutifully and
willingly carry our message to
Ezechuamagha to intervene in
the currently troubled affairs
of Ogidi. Presently in Ogidi,
the “arrow of God” may have
been miss-directed; the
ebullient and proud Ogidi man
is “no longer at ease”; the
center is not holding securely,
even though “things have not
fallen apart” completely. Ogidi
has not had an Igwe since the
departure of Igwe Amobi IV in
1998. All manners of intrigue
and acrimony have bedeviled
the emergence of the next
Igwe. Persons both qualified
and unqualified have laid claim
to the ancient throne that have
been in existence since 1904.
We need Ezechuamagha to
intervene.
Professor Chinua Achebe was
born in Ogidi in 1930. His
early life experiences were
shaped and sharpened from
exposure and interactions with
the rich and admired Ogidi
culture. His magnum opus,
“Things Fall Apart” is
undoubtedly influenced by
Ogidi culture. If you like the
African culture as narrated in
“Things Fall Apart;” you will
also like Ogidi culture.
Professor Achebe was indeed a
proud Ogidi man. His
Christianity did not becloud
his acceptance of Ogidi
culture. He was a onetime
National President General of
Ogidi Union and served the
community creditably with a
high sense of pride. He fully
accepted the Ogidi culture:
became initiated into all
traditional adolescent groups;
became a member of the Ogidi
Age-grade of Government;
took the Ogidi ozo title, got
inducted into the Ogidi Ndi-
Ichie society and wears the
symbolic red cap with pride.
To cap it all, he was appointed
a member of Ichie Ume, an
Ogidi High Chief; one honor he
accepted with grace and
gratitude.
The courage, candor and
character you see in Chief
Achebe, is symptomatic of the
resolve of the many Ogidi
people. It is the same dogged
resolve exhibited by the
fictional Okonkwo in “Things
Fall Apart.” Christianity came
to Onitsha in 1857; even
though Ogidi is less than ten
kilometers from Onitsha, it
took more than twenty years
for Christian Evangelists to
fully penetrate and reach
converts in Ogidi. The reason?
Ogidi man was opinionated,
dogged, and proud of his
heritage and beliefs. Doesn’t
that remind you of Okonkwo
in “Things Fall Apart?”
Doesn’t that remind you of
Chinua Achebe, the man?
The last published work of
Professor Chinua Achebe
“There was a Country, a
personal history of the Biafra.”
has generated a lot comments
both in agreement and in
disagreement. The truth is the
man wrote his personal
opinion whether you agree or
not.
But what is certain is that this
book was written with pride
not prejudice; pride about
being an Igbo man and pain
about the recollections of what
his Igbo people suffered during
the Biafran War; and not
prejudice against any
particular persons or ethnic
group. The tone and tenor of
that work is vintage Achebe;
he was never a timid writer, he
calls it as he sees it.
“The Eagle on the Iroko” was
an Ogidi man first; before we
all knew him as the world’s
master story teller, the
renowned master wordsmith
that reshaped the English
language to accommodate Igbo
voices and Ogidi concepts.
Achebe is Ogidi man last; it is
in Ogidi that his remains will
be committed to mother earth.

Great write up. Nwa Okodu kenelu.

Odenigbo Aroli: Great write up. Nwa Okodu kenelu.

Thanks o