Aguleri: Land of boiling river, of Fr Tansi and Obuga
As the Arik Airplane descended to signal the end of the 40-minute flight from Lagos to Asaba that Tuesday morning, the aerial view of the Delta State capital spoke volume of the real estate boom in the riverine city which some 15 years ago before it was designated the state capital was a swampy backstreet town on the bank of River Niger.
The dingy bungalows and smattering of old storey-buildings here and there had been taken over by modern , beautifully laid-out, architectural pieces. Population surge in neighbouring Onitsha and infrastructural development by the Delta State Government has turned Asaba into a commercial hub and home away from home for many traders and real estate investors in Onitsha and its environs who found the now burly city of Asaba, alluring.
It was my first time at the Eastern heartland through the Asaba Airport. Thanks to then Governor of Delta State ,Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, who (until the airport was shut down ,recently) did what successive Anambra State Governors would not do- provide an airport for travelers who live or do business in Onitsha and its environs- and has been saving those who could afford it, the perennial hardship of going through the deplorable Lagos-Benin Expressway.
Although, the Asaba Airport is neither big nor as busy as Enugu, Abuja or Lagos Airports, it would be the envy of some smaller countries of West Africa; Gambia and Ghana with small international airports. One beauty of the airport is its proximity to town- a less than 15-minute ride on a chartered air-conditioned bus found us in Onitsha.
Onitsha wore a new refreshing look. The usual gridlock at the Onitsha Head Bridge ,refuse dumps, street traders and ndi ocho-pasinga( motor park touts) who harassed travelers at the once chaotic Upper Iweka , have given way to well-tarred roads, flyovers , street markings, street lightings and sandbags-built police posts- a visible sign that the new sheriff in town takes no prisoners when it comes security of lives and property of Ndi-Anambra. In deed, Onitsha, the gateway city to Port-Harcourt, Calabar, Enugu and Owerri , once notorious as den of robbers ,kidnappers and miscreants, bore signs of transformation comparable to the feat performed by the former Lagos Governor Fashola when he re-engineered the popular Oshodi Market in Lagos.
As the bus lunged through Nkpor on the Onitsha-Enugu Expressway on a stretch of freshly- tarred road, the scenic beauty was punctuated at Umunya by a dilapidated road that connects Amawbia which motorists avoided by diverting to intracity road networks to Enugu via Awka.
I do not know the exact turning that got us to Aguleri, home of Blessed Fr Iwene Tansi, the Nigeria-born Catholic priest on the way to being canonized as saint by Rome. But the town which in the late 90s, was in the national news for its communal clash with its neighbour, Umuleri , bears relics of ancient history; cradle of Igbo Civilization; the coming of the Catholic Church to South-Eastern Nigeria and ancient Igbo traditional religion.
Aguleri shares borders with Kogi State(the Igala people), Enugu State( Nsukka area) and former Bendel State. Agulerians are mainly farmers and fishermen but due to modernization, some have embraced olu oyibo (white collar jobs), or are involved in Izu avia( trade and commerce ). We were later to find spots in the town where a few women and children collect and break gravel (a natural endowment)for sale at a plateau close to the Aguleri jungle. Aguleri people are predominantly Christians(mostly Catholics), with a sprinkling of animists or people who mix both religions.A small rustic church building at the heart of the town which stands side by side with a modern one at St Joseph Catholic Church, Aguleri, was our first port of call.
The church was the second , East of the Niger after the first Catholic Church sited at Onitsha by the white missionaries. Also inside the church premises is the resting place of Idigo, the man who brought the white missionaries to the town and who in recompense for attracting whitemen’s presence to his place, his people crowned his son the first Igwe of the town.
According to Rev Fr Christopher Odina, the Parish Priest of St Joseph Catholic Church, Aguleri,, the missionaries came to Aguleri in 1880 at the invitation of a man known as Idigo. The town was made a Catholic parish in 1888 while the old church was built in 1937.
“Onitsha was three when the whitemen came to Aguleri at the invitation of Idigo. People fled because they thought they were spirits,” corroborated Onanze, one of the high chiefs of the town.
From the church, the band of journalists who visited the town at the behest of Nigerian Breweries for the take-off of the 10th edition of the Gulder Ultimate Search (GUS) were herded to the palace of the Ezeora Enugwu Aguleri, Chukwuemeka Eri, the Igwe Odinani (spiritual royal father) of Aguleri. Aguleri has two royal fathers. The other is the Eze Idigo of the Idigo dynasty. Both kings are recognized by the government and Aguleri people.
The palace, a one-storey building with architectural design and furnishing that depict royalty overlooks Obuga (sacred grove). As with the wailing wall of Jerusalem, both indigenes and visitors go to Obuga to pray to Chukwu(God) .
According to an indigene of the town, Mrs Anne Ifedigbo , Obuga Shrine also known as Obu-Gad or Obi -Gad in central Igbo dialect, that is, Gad’s Lounge, is the temple of Ofo where sacrifices are made to appease the gods. Besides the Idigo’s Palace, most Aguleri meetings are held there. Obi-Gad alludes to Gad , the son of the Biblical Jacob. Ancient mythology has it that Igbos are the lost tribe of Israel who dispersed and settled in present day Nigeria and Aguleri is one of the sons of Eri, the warrior-hunter father of Ndigbo who moved from Igalaland to settle on the bank of Omabala River.
“Any real Igbo traditional ruler, not these autonomous community chiefs, goes to Obuga to perform necessary rites before going to the confluence of Ezu and Omabala to be given the ofo or Ududu eze,” Mrs Ifedigbo disclosed.
We sat in the Obi of Ezeora Chukwuemeka Eri which is on the ground floor of the storey- building, waiting. Menstruating women are forbidden to sit in his presence. Before long, a palace hand heralded his royal presence with praise-singing followed by a coterie of chiefs and palace hands. We stood until he sat on the royal stool, a wooden art piece, distinct from other chairs in the lounge. Soon, prayers started with the breaking of kola.
“Na mbido uwa, oyibo adiro na be anyi,” the royal father said as he beckoned on Onanze to interpret what he says. “In the beginning , English was not our language,” the interpreter translated.
Ezeora continued: “In the beginning , the kola is the symbol with which we talk to God. God has already known we are here and answers us when we use the kola to call upon Him even before the coming of the white man.“
“When I pray, respond, ‘Ise or Amen’ “ he charged. “God, thank you. “ The congregation responded, “Ise.”
“Voice of God is the man, ‘he continued. “ May good happen to Nigerian Breweries. May God help them. May God of Gad help them. May God of the whole Igbo help them. Their coming to Enugwu Aguleri, to Aguleri, to Anambra will bring good to them and their families.
“ Evil spirits will not see them as they go into the jungle. Evil people will not see them. It shall be with them in the name of Jesus. They have been going to other places but their coming here will be different. It will bring them good. Those who were not having promotion will get promotion. Those childless will conceive. Those unmarried will get spouses, in Jesus name.”
After the breaking of the kola, the kola produced seven lobes. According to the royal father, that showed that “God has answered our prayers.” He explained that when a kola produces seven lobes, a live chicken is presented to the guest. Nigerian Breweries got one at the snap of a finger. The kola and alligator pepper were passed round the guests to eat. More prayers followed at Obuga.
We proceeded to the popular Otuocha Market which sits at the bank of the Omabala River,the River from which Anambra State got its name. Anambra is whiteman’s corruption of Omabala. Otuocha is a typical rural market where people from the two rival communities; Aguleri and Umuleri, trade. I learnt that due to constant clashes between the two communities, the market does not belong to any, rather both control sections of it.
Almost spontaneously, our august presence attracted spectators including a mad man, locals called Paul Okeke, who stole the show with his acrobatic military display.
Except for the GUS contestants who paddled away into the jungle from the Otuocha Market while we stood , watching at the bank of Omabala River, we could not explore the river which is said to boil at the confluence with Ezu River.
According to locals, Nri people( the officially documented cradle of Igbo civilization) cannot crown their Eze without coming to Aguleri to receive the lump of clay called Ududu Eze collected from the bottom of confluence, the ofo (symbol of office) and consult and make sacrifices to important deities of Aguleri. We later proceeded to the Aguleri jungle, a thick marshy forest that sits pretty on a lowland.
Due to time constraint, we hurried off to catch our flight back to Lagos and missed going to see other tourist attractions in the town like the first storey- building in Aguleri; Igboezunu, the birth place of Blessed Iwene Tansi , now a pilgrimage spot for Catholics; the cemetery where over 20 European missionary priests were buried; Isabanka -the Idigo’s Palace where Idigo’s original photos, his Ikolo, deeds, trade agreements and treaties with the whitemen are stored.
