Found this on a friend's blog (JEMMYMA'S Blog) It was so
good a read that I had to share, I changed nothing and
thumps up to the author.
IGBOS LOVE TO TRAVEL HOME. Inspired by the work of SAUL
BASS, ART GOODMAN, and DAVE NAGATA. Hitchcock typeface
by MATT TERICH . BLOG AT . THE
VERTIGO THEME .
The “long” expression below is an echo of how I feel about
roots and family values…. totally loved it and obtained the
permission to repost. Thanks Ugo. forgive any edits u might
notice..I tried to add a little of me
Maya Angelou said “There is no greater agony than bearing
an untold story inside you”.
Now to scratch that itch After two hours in traffic I drove
closer to the Niger Bridge *Ijeuru totally loves the Niger Bridge
too*, I took a few minutes to appreciate the welcoming sight
of the Niger bridge and magnificence of engineering. The
traffic was caused by an ongoing road construction at the
peak of the holidays. I wondered when our government would
get it right, but that wasn’t what i wanted to think about *at
least not today* . There was this excitement in me that
eroded the stress of the traffic, Obowo (my home town) on my
mind. I looked around at all the travelers. People in family
cars, in public transport, some sweating in non-air-
conditioned cars. ‘’ Ndi Igbo’’ heading home for Christmas. I
wondered why all the hustle to travel home under these
conditions, then I remembered what a lot of non- Igbos say.
‘’Igbos travel home every December to show off money, cars
and their acquisition over the year’’. Hmm…what nonsense,
what a lame thing to think. Why do Igbos travel home every
December? Igbos travel home every December to
reunite with family, it is a time to rebuild our family bond and
ties. We set dates for weddings and most celebrations during
the Christmas period because we want our families to be
there. We believe in family and even as well travelled as we
are, we always have it at the back of our minds that wherever
you go home is best. We break the kola- nut at every
occasion and share it to remind us that even as the kola-nut
has its various parts but is still one, so shall our unity be. I
got so lost in my thoughts, excitement and’ ‘’ Igboness’’ that I
was doing almost 170km/h. I slowed down, looked in the rear
view mirror and saw my nephew sleeping with a smile on his
face. He is probably dreaming of home I thought to myself. I
drove pass the sign that says ‘’welcome to Obowo’’ with a
sculpture of two hands holding the globe and I remembered
the movie ‘’Scarface’’ and Tony Montana’s ‘’the world is
yours’’ fountain. I said to myself ‘’Obowo is mine’’ HAHAHA!.
Getting close to the Nwokes’ compound, a childlike smile
played on my face. Some of my little cousins who had spotted
us ran after the car excited. A quick flash of all I expected ran
through my mind, seeing all my extended family from various
parts of the world, family weddings, family morning devotions,
cross-over family prayers, playing with family like a kid again.
As I got down from the car I could smell the ‘’aroma’’ of akpu
and suspected egusi soup would be present. I hugged my
lovely mum; my siblings who had gotten home earlier came
out, uncles, aunties, cousins, nephews nieces. There was so
much hugging and love as I could hear the sound of Flavour’s
Ada playing in the distance (I suspected someone was getting
married). That moment I knew there was no other place in the
world I rather be. IGBO KWENU! It was so easy to settle in at
home after all the love, hugs, akpu and oha soup (i was
wrong about the egusi suspicion). I lay in bed exhausted
trying to catch some sleep but I could hear some of my
relatives chatting and laughing down stairs in the compound. I
unsuccessfully tried to make out what they were talking about
as i drifted off to sleep, but i was almost certain i heard them
connect my name “Ugo” and the word “marriage”. Maybe my
mind was playing games on me.I woke up at about 6.00 am
thinking “oh my God i have to get up to prepare for work”.
When i realized where I was I remembered the song “there will
be joy in the morning”. I lay back and appreciated the
serenity; I could hear the sound of the birds, inhale the fresh
eastern harmattan air and hear the sound it made as it
caressed the leaves of the palm trees. It all harmonized into a
sweet lullaby and i slept off again. After the morning devotion
I stood at the balcony and noticed a squirrel jump from one
“ube” tree (Google it) to the other. It would pluck the “ube”,
bite on it, throw it away then jump on another tree and do the
same thing all over. I remembered what some of my cousins
would tell us as kids before running off to pick the “ube” to
eat. “This is the sweetest “ube” you can get, the ones tasted
by the squirrels, they are called “ube opa”.”You should try
them”.It was my brother Chinenye’s wedding that morning
and we were all getting ready, I heard someone shouting my
name. I came out and saw two of my cousins and age mates,
Ejike and Mishack laughing. “Otile”, one of them called me (I
cannot possibly explain in any civil manner what that means
here) “so you think you will come home and not come and
greet your age mates”? I laughed and went to meet my fellow
“otiles”, we hugged and gave one another playful jabs.You see
in Igbo land we appreciate, identify and fraternize with our age
mates, this is a culture that dates back to the creation of the
Igbo word itself, it helps you know what is expected of you at
any age and moving forward with your peers. In Obowo and
some very few parts of Imo state we take it a step further.
The “Iwa Akwa” celebration which literally means dorning of
clothes is celebrated every three (3) years. It is a time when a
certain age grade is recognized as “coming of age” or seen as
becoming men. On that day every male child that belongs to
the age grade will come out to the town hall with a very long
“akwa’’ (wrapper) tied to his waist and the remaining part of
the wrapper systematically placed on your head. A
‘’mma’’ (machete) tied round your waist and a whistle. Need I
say how glamorous and colourful it is?Every of these items
has its significance, the wrapper signifies that you have come
of age thereby covering your unclothedness. The machete signifies
‘’oru aka,’’(enterprise) that you are now man enough to fend
for and defend your own family. The whistle shows that you
are now qualified to come out when there is a call for
communal service, you can now call or be called upon. In the
earlier days a rifle can also be carried which shows defence
and integrity. On that worthy day we come out feeling like
Spartans, I almost shouted Aru! Aru! On my day…smiles. We
all converge to the town hall where all the chiefs, elders,
pastors and the whole town are present. The elders advice
and bless the freshmen and the pastors pray for them. After
that we all go to the market square where we dance through
a part designed with bamboo sticks with bands playing and
people spraying money on the celebrants. Small wonder we
love to travel home.My brother’s wedding was a huge success
and I got to see people I had not seen in ages. A particular
thing happened that day and it got me thinking about ‘’Ndi
Igbo’’ and our ways. My younger brother was born a left hand
person and in Igbo land and most parts of Nigeria it is
considered rude or improper to give or receive something with
the left hand. When he was about to cut the wedding cake
with his wife he brought forth his left then quickly switched to
his right hand. The Igbo people raise a child to do what is
right and proper. If you are born a left hander you will be
‘’corrected’’ to use your right and in most cases it becomes
an advantage because you become ambidextrous.In recent
times a lot of people don’t pay attention to raising their kids
in the name of civilisation. This to a large extent is breaking
the main fabric of the Igbo race. “Umu Igbo” can no longer
speak Igbo, it’s even more painful that you raise a child in
Nigeria and he can’t speak the mother tongue.I was born and
raised in Plateau State, I have lived most of my life there, had
most of my education there. My nanny as a child ‘’mama
Dung’’ even gave me a native Plateau name, she called me
‘’Jang”. Irrespective of all this, my parents ensured we spoke
the Igbo language and travelled home often to understand our
roots. Now I speak Igbo and Hausa fluently. Plateau State is
another place I call home, a wonderful people, peace loving,
easy going and accommodating. Whenever I travel to Plateau
State, as I ascend the plateau the greenery the rocks the cool
fresh air are a welcoming embrace for me. I grew up drinking
the water of Plateau and I wouldn’t have had it any other
way, to my Plateau people I say ‘’mafeng” (thank you).As
much as I love and appreciate my Igbo heritage, I am also a
Plateau man. The blend of the two has made me realise how
great we can be as a united country, I appreciate what unity
in diversity means. I hope my children grow up to appreciate
my ‘’Igbo-ness” my Plateau side and ultimately being
Nigerian.
-Ugo Nwoke Edimondu *curtains* *Applause

www.git9ja.com

wonderful