Ernie Onwumere

Time after time, stories of ancient origins, evolutions and civilisations of peoples continue to fascinate the curious minds. We all like to seek to know where we come from. Who are our forebears? How did we get here? What makes our race, culture, civilisation and world view unique? What is distinctly heroic about our past? It is an endless universal quest for unravelling race or ethnic self-identity. And answers are never short in supply, as more literature are written, regaling us with exciting tales of epic ancient times in human history.

Eze Chima: An Ancient Aro Epic is a new, refreshing tale of the Arochukwu civilisation, written as a novel and published in 2016. Authored by Chike Nwaka, a writer, poet, artist and an Aro man who confesses to have drunk directly from the folkloric fountain of rich oral traditional tales from his father and grandfather, Eze Chima uses the heroism of one major character, Chima, to shed brighter light on the origins of Aro people, their world views and primordial connections to other ethnic peoples outside Igbo land.

The Aro people, domiciled in Arochukwu land in Southeast Nigeria and found everywhere, have been universally known for ages to be a distinct people among the Igbo. A lot of legendary tales and reputation precedes the Aro race, telling of their uncommon adventurous spirit, enterprise, hard work, integrity, boldness, honour, respect, humility, wisdom and leadership qualities. All these acclaimed sterling Aro attributes are what the central character of Eze Chima personifies in his heroic journey through the riveting story.

In fact, the story of Chima as the protagonist of Eze Chima novel is the story of an unusually epic era in ancient Arochukwu civilisation. According the story, which any enthusiastic reader will find quite absorbing till the last page, Chima was born a prodigy, an adult in a baby’s body as he was a reincarnated being who had lived several lives before his present coming. So strange and unique was his birth that he could already, as an infant, engage a sage, Mazi Uchenivu, in esoteric conversation. The king, Eze Aro of the time, was also amazed by the extraordinary traits and actions of Chima as he grew up. The whole Arochukwu Kingdom was in awe of Chima, as incredible tales of his legendary exploits spread like wildfire. He once, like a David against Goliath, fought Okon, an intimidating bully, who led his criminal gang to rob and rape in Arochukwu, bringing his reign of terror to an end, much to the relief and cheers of the people.

So, it became so obvious to all and sundry that Chima was born with god-like powers. But he did not use his powers for evil, but to protect the weak, help the community and curtail oppression and wickedness. So, when King Orhamenye came all the way from Ebeinu (Benin Kingdom in Edo) to Arochukwu to consult the Eze Aro for help in solving intractable problems in his kingdom, it was Chima who was chosen to be the Messiah. When Chima got to Ebeinu, he became King Orhamenye’s most trusted confidant and adviser, with his uncommon words of wisdom and nobility. Before long, even the people of Ebeinu became fond of Chima as he taught the young people diverse skills, helped people in distress, taught them deep truths about life and helped ensure justice in the kingdom.

Of course, the oppressive aristocrats of Ebeinu kingdom were not happy with Chima’s exploits, closeness to Oba Orhamenye and popularity with the commoners. So, such characters like Azegbedin, a ruthless head wizard, and Ogeame, a power-hungry prince of the former King Ogiso, tried to eliminate Chima but they could not. Meanwhile, Chima married Oba Orhamenye’s daughter, Princess Ivie (later called Adaeze), while he had to valiantly resist temptations from other adoring Ebeinu women like Idia who wanted to marry him. Eventually, Oba Orhamenye, who never liked the boorish cultures of Ebeinu, left for Ife, his father Odudunwa’s kingdom where he once lived before being sent to be king at Ebeinu. Chima too finally left Ebeinu, to go back to Arochukwu after accomplishing his mission. A lot of Ebeinu people left with him and as he journeyed homewards towards Arochukwu, he encountered complex challenges that taxed his leadership skills to the limits. He never made it to Arochukwu when he died, but he became a hero everywhere he stopped and settled down to set up new kingdoms.