Abiriba And Ohafia: Two Of A Kind
For over 200 years, the people of Ohafia and Abiriba have shared a commonboundary. Yet, they have shared diametrically opposite world-views. While
the one lived in a pre-colonial world where the love of military glory was a
consuming passion, the other was a wealthy black smith and a long distance
traveller. To date, they have maintained two parallel lines: while the one
loves education, the other loves business
OHAFIA and Abiriba, two communities located in the northern part of Abia
State, are like twins separated by a few kilometres of expanse of land. But,
many ways. Sometimes, nature, in its infinite wisdom, helped in scripting
what has come to make one distinct from the other. As the saying goes in the
two communities, it takes only a trained eye to see the difference.
Yet, Ohafia and Abiriba share certain fundamental practices in common. It
appears that after over 200 years of living close to each other, they could
not help sharing some practices, one being the matrilineal system, in which
a woman inherits property from her father's home. The child from such a
marriage still traces his descent through his father, but relies more on his
maternal side for his upbringing.
This practise has been used to explain why Ohafia and Abiriba women hardly
married outsiders, until in recent times. In the two communities, women are
seen as assets to their families. An Ohafia or Abiriba woman would never get
so serious with a stranger as to marry him. If she does, it implies that she
has depleted the family's resources. On its own, the act will be a breakaway
from the norm.
Another common feature is the age-grade system. Over the years, the system
has become a vehicle for development, more especially in Abiriba, where all
projects in the area are associated with one age grade or the other. There
is an inexplicable sense of mission among succeeding generations to take up
projects in the community that will surpass the performance of their
predecessors.
Beyond that, the Ohafia and Abiriba people have maintained their
distinctness, and a stranger who understands the rules can easily separate
one from the other. The dialects of Igbo language spoken in both areas vary
in a way. While the Ohafia man rebukes a mischievous child by saying: "Ifula
nwantaa!", the Abiriba man says: "Kalaa nwantoo!". The Abiriba man says,
Iwo, for anger, while his Ohafia counterpart says, Iwe. Husband is Ji, in
Abiriba, and di, in Ohafia. To say, 'Look at it', in Ohafia, they say Le ya,
and Kala ya in Abiriba.
Nature has also played a part in it, if the contrasting topographies of the
two communities are taken into consideration. Unlike Ohafia, which is on a
plain land, Abiriba is clustered over an undulating hilly outlay, and
boundaries demarcating villages are hardly seen. Some of the exotic
architectural designs that can be found in Nigeria dot the hilltops, giving
the community the name, 'Small London'.
Although the people of Ohafia are beginning to match their Abiriba
counterparts in terms of infrastructure, the area still wears a more rural
outlook than Abiriba. In Abiriba, the Abiriba Communal Improvement Union,
through the use of mutually competitive age-grades, spearheads development
efforts in such a way that electricity, pipe-borne water and tarred roads,
without the assistance of the government, reach a greater part of the
community. There appears to be a deliberate attempt among the people to
remain close to each other all the time.
Abiriba is a community of shrewd businessmen. The Abiriba man loves and
follows the whiff of money to wherever it takes him, and no matter the risk
involved. Over time, the quest for wealth has led him through thick and
thin, to have business links traversing the entire West Africa, with
tentacles stretching as far as Europe, America and the Far East.
Abiriba is a specialist trading community and one of the wealthiest
communities in Igboland. A striking feature of trade and industry in Aba is
the prominent role played by Abiriba people. Unlike Nnewi, in Anambra State,
where businessmen have located the bulk of their industries at home, the
Abiriba man has practically no industry in his land.
Instead, the traders and industrialists have, since the end of the Nigerian
Civil War in 1970, tended to concentrate their activities in Aba, where they
have good relations with Ngwa people and little difficulty gaining access to
land. Of the 29 companies, including the two largest employers listed in Tom
Forrest's Makers and Making of Nigerian Private Enterprise published in
1994, 11 of them are owned by Abiriba businessmen.
The Abiriba man is restless and always on the move. When he is fortunate to
move up the ladder, he takes along somebody from his community. He does not
believe that he should be the only rooster that crows in the town. "No man",
the saying goes in Abrirba "no matter how successful, can bury himself when
he dies. He needs other successful people to give him a befitting burial".
Or, "No one person, no matter how rich or successful, can kill a cow and eat
it alone. The enjoyment of it is in the sharing".
As the Abiriba man travels, pursuing his business interests from one end of
the globe to the other, there is an unwritten rule among the people that he
must bring home whatever he finds in foreign lands that will be of benefit
to his people. He does not build a house simply because he needs a roof over
his head. When he does, he leaves his personality imprinted on the
architectural design, and the building has to be the first of its kind in
the community.
In all of these, the Abiriba man has one shortcoming: he did not embrace
formal education when his neighbour, the Ohafia man, did and, so, the first
generation of Abiriba businessmen was largely illiterate. To the Abiriba
man, it was money before any other thing. But, in recent times, education
has become vital to him. Somewhere along the line, he seemed to have
realised that he may have all the money, but that without education, he may
not know how to control or reinvest it.
It took the Abiriba man a long time to realise the importance of education.
But, before he did, his Ohafia counterpart had made hay, entrenching himself
in the bureaucracy. He began with the teaching profession. Education was the
main industry in the area. To the Ohafia man, no profession was as noble as
teaching. It became so much of an obsession that every child born in the
area looked forward to becoming a teacher.
Today, while the Abiriba community boasts of wealthy traders and
industrialists, the children of these teachers in Ohafia are found in the
academia, and the professionals and control the political machinery in the
area. Before you can count on your five fingers Abiriba men who have
attained the academic rank of professor, Ohafia has counted over 50 of them
and more politicians, both at the federal and state levels.
Indeed, the Ohafia man had a head start. But, does he know that he owes it
all to Eke Kalu, the former slave and an unsung hero, who was born about
1875 in Elu Ohafia and sold into slavery; who went as far as the present
Cross River and Rivers states; was sent to school; and later promoted the
overseer of the house of his master, Chief Mini Epele of Opobo, before his
triumphal return to his family in Ohafia?
IT is not certain how Ohafia and Abiriba came to be in their present
locations. There are as many versions as there are people telling the
stories. However, the stories agree that the two communities originated from
different sources. While some trace their origin to Israel, others trace it
to Egypt and, sometimes, to the Bantus in East Africa. All the accounts
agree that the forebears of Ohafia people migrated from Isi-Eke, from a
place called Umuajiji, in Ubeku, Umuahia, while those of Abiriba migrated
from Ene, in today's Cross River.
The Ohafia people, the story goes, left Andoli and settled in Isi-Eke, from
where they ran away. One night, it was said, the people heard the rattling
sound of calabashes. The sound was interpreted to mean that they were being
invaded. A commotion ensued. As some of them escaped toward Ngodo, others
went towards Isuochi. At one point, some of them headed towards Abam.
Leading the group heading to Abam, was a man known as Ezeama Atita, and two
sons called Uduma Ezeama and Onyereobi Ezeama. When they got to Abam,
Onyereobi's wife, who was heavy with pregnancy, could no longer walk. He,
therefore, remained in Abam with his pregnant wife, while the group
continued on the journey. In the present location of Ohafia, at a place
called Ugwumgbo, Ezeama Atita, and his second son, Uduma, settled. After
many years, their offspring established the 26 villages that make up today's
Ohafia.
The ancestral headquarters of Ohafia is in Elu Ohafia. Each village is
governed by an eze ogo. All the eze ogo's come together to form the Eze
Ogo-in-Council, which, with the amala, decide how the community is to be
governed. The overall traditional ruler, Udumeze, who lives in Elu Ohafia,
intervenes only when there is a matter between an eze ogo and a subject.
In the past, the culture of Ohafia was hinged around one's prowess in war.
They were constantly on the lookout for wars in which to take part. They
became something like mercenaries and the people of Arochukwu, who were all
over Igboland 'hunting' for slaves, harnessed this warlike spirit in Ohafia
people to their own advantage.
The practise of beheading a fallen foe was a favourite pastime. A human
skull was valued as a souvenir, and it was a proof of a man's courage, which
brought to the Ohafia man different types of honour. Only those who brought
home a human head could join the Ogbu-Isi society and wear the eagle plume
of courage. The love of military glory became a consuming passion and the
focus of all social values.
On the other hand, Abiriba, the people say, means Ebiri-Abaa, which roughly
translates to, a fertile land that enriches those who live in it. Whether
the people migrated from Israel, Egypt or from East Africa, the different
accounts agree that they arrived Abiriba from Umon, in Cross River State,
through Ena, Eberiba, Udara Abuo in Ohafia, and then Agboha, in the present
Abiriba.
The leader of the group was a man known as Oke Ukpabi, who had a son, named
Ukpabi Oke. Father and son lived at Ndi Ogogo, where the father died. Ukpabi
Oke, in turn, had four sons, named in order of seniority as Inyima Ukpabi
Oke, Chukwu Ukpabi Oke, Ali Ukpabi Oke and Oko Ukpabi Oke. While Inyima
Ukpabi Oke remained at Ndi Ogogo, Chukwu Ukpabi Oke moved to Amogudu, Ali
Ukpabi Oke settled in Ihungwu, Oko Ukpabi Oke moved to Ama-Elu Nta.
Theoretically, Abiriba is divided into three geo-political zones - Ameke,
Amaogudu, and Agboji. But, practically speaking, Abiriba remains one. The
boundary line separating one village from the other is blurred. They abhor
anything that will bring division among them. For this reason, they have
refused the creation of autonomous communities in the area, in spite of its
expedience.
As in Ohafia, Abiriba is organised in a confederal system of government. The
three geo-political zones have their ezes, who legislate on residual issues.
There is an overall eze, the Enachuoken, who lives at Ndi Ogogo, in Ameke.
He is said to be a ceremonial head and concurs to decisions reached by the
Enachuoken-in-Council, made up of representatives of the three zones. The
Otisi, a deity, is the mess of the Enachuoken-in-Council and stands as the
symbol of authority. Any law proclaimed in Abiriba, without the Otisi cannot
stand the test of time. Otisi can only be seen in the public when laws are
going to be enacted or repealed.
The Abiriba man had not the war-like traits of his Ohafia counterpart. He is
not a warrior in that sense. The only insight history gives into his past is
that he was a wealthy black smith and a long distance traveller, who worked
on raw iron from what is described as the mines of Okigwe-Arochukwu ridge.
AS a result of the abolition of slave trade, internal warfare declined and
it became safe to travel. The Ohafia people, whose warlike exploits made
peaceful travel impossible, were now able to work abroad. By 1913, most of
them were trading at Itu, in Akwa Ibom State, and Calabar, in Cross River
State.
Before now, the Ohafia man, with his entire war prowess, went through a
ritual, to purge him of his war-like traits. Perhaps, he needed to be told
by no less a force than the colonial might the old order had passed away.
And it came about in 1901, when a unit of the Royal West African Frontier
Force (RWAFF) based in Calabar laid a siege on Ohafia and Ebem. It was in
response to the destruction of Obegu, in today's Abia south, by fighters
from the two communities.
The Ohafia people had looked forward to that encounter. The people were in
high spirit, sharpening their machetes and loading their dane guns with
gun-powder. As usual, it was another opportunity for them to cut human
heads. But, in their ignorance, they failed to realise that the firepower of
the white man was far and above their crude weapons.
Enter Eke Kalu, the former slave. He had since returned from Opobo and was
now visiting Calabar as a businessman, when preparations to raid Ohafia and
Ebem were in high gear. The sight of RWAFF soldiers marching in Calabar,
coupled with his experience in Eket when he was a gun carrier, compelled him
to seek a way of saving his people.
Eke Kalu knew from experience that his people, the famous and dreaded
warriors of ancient Ohafia, the lions of the jungle, the proud and gallant
sons of Uduma Ezema, would challenge the soldiers. He realised also that
though the military tactics of the Ohafia warriors might surpass that of the
RWAFF, yet their weapons were crude and nowhere near the firepower of the
rifles and machine guns of the RWAFF soldiers.
He, therefore, hurried out of Calabar in a canoe and, passing through Ikun,
arrived Ohafia. It was an eke day and, on arrival, he went through the area,
warning the people against challenging the soldiers. Four days after his
return, the British soldiers were on their way to Ohafia, taking the Akoli
Adda route. Passing through Elu, they arrived in Ebem, where they pitched
their tents at Ifi Iri-opu. Captain Mowatt commanded the soldiers.
No sooner did the soldiers arrive than an Ebem warrior, Idika Echeme, was
said to have charged at them. Thereafter, the order to open fire was given
on the other side of the line. Soon, trees and human beings began to fall.
Each time cannon balls went off, trees and charging Ebem warriors were cut
down. The pillar of Ikoro Nde Anaga also came down. When they saw what was
happening, the surviving Ebem warriors panicked and took to the forests for
refuge.
After Ebem was reduced to rubbles, the British soldiers turned their
attention to Ohafia. As they approached, Eke Kalu was waiting for them, not
with machetes or dane guns. He had a long bamboo, at the top of which he
tied a white handkerchief, which he waved frantically in the air, saying to
the hearing of the approaching soldiers: "Ayi kwere na ndi beke", meaning:
"We surrender to the British".
Given his exceptional courage, Captain Mowatt was said to have demanded to
know Eke Kalu's identity. Coming close to the captain was an opportunity the
former slave needed to demonstrate, before his people, his ability to speak
English language. To the captain's question, he proudly replied: "I from Elu
Ohafia; my fadda, Imaga Agwunsi, say he no wan war". The captain was pleased
and to another question, he replied: "I is de onle man for Ohafia hear
English". When the British soldiers left Ohafia, the profile of the ex-slave
rose among his people. The fact that he could engage a white man in a
conversation earned him respect and honour. Consequently, they appointed him
their adviser.
The event that changed the course of Ohafia people forever occurred shortly
after, and Eke Kalu was, again, at the centre of it. There was, in Ohafia, a
man identified simply as Vincent, a Sierra Leonean, who was the Native Court
Clerk in the area. He was said to be "extremely wicked in his dealings with
Ohafia people". The day came when he locked some men in the prison for what
was described as a trivial offence. The men broke out of the prison and were
intent on beating him up, when he reported the matter to one Major Cobham,
who despatched some policemen to his rescue. The prisoners were promptly
rearrested and fines were imposed on them.
After this event, Ohafia people started looking for a way out of what had
become regular persecutions in the hands of the Sierra Leonean. As the
solution to their problem, Eke Kalu, advised them to build schools and
educate their children who, knowing what the clerk knew, would better
challenge him and his successors in future. The first school was opened at
Ndi Imaga Shed. From now on, the desire for education swept through Ohafia
like a bush fire.
ABOUT two major waves of migration to Calabar have been identified in
Abiriba. The first wave took place during the slave trade. When the
obnoxious trade was abolished, the second migration started, beginning with
black smiths and, later, traders. Two black smiths, identified as Nwafor and
Udehi, led the migrants. The story has it that Nwafor settled at Umonta,
while Udehi settled at Umon, near a plantation where he fashioned out hoes,
cutlasses and other farm tools. As time went on, Udehi moved over to Umonta
and both men opened a workshop.
With time, Abiriba people began to abandon iron work. It was now considered
to be tedious profession and not profitable enough. By the turn of the 20th
Century, the Abiriba man had gone into buying and selling with Europeans.
From now on, the economic history of Abiriba began to show a shifting
pattern of migration and commercial specialisation, in response to changing
economic opportunities.
In the 19th Century, and early in the colonial period, trade in palm produce
developed to the south, down the Igu tributary of the Inyang River, which
joined the Cross River in the Itu area. The area was where Abiriba traders
came to establish their business. There also developed a strong trade in
smuggled gin from Fernando Po. A separate line of trade, associated with the
smithing items, moved in the direction of Bende and later to Uzuakoli, where
there was a large Abiriba quarters, and along the rail line from Umuahia to
Port Harcourt.
By the early 1950s, the direction of the migration began to change. The
Abiriba businessman began to move towards Aba. In the days of pre-colonial
times, Aba had had a market place, near the Aza River, known as Eke Oha.
After the Arochukwu expedition, Aba became an administrative centre and a
garrison town. Its location on the railway aided its growth as a market
centre and rewrote the economic geography of the area.
It was in Aba that the Abiriba man made his first business breakthrough in
second-hand clothing, popularly called okirika, a period that marked his
entrance into international trade. Apart from okirika, he was also involved
in the importation of sewing machines, gramophones, stockfish and cement.
From 1954, he started importing large consignments of stockfish from Norway
and Iceland. By 1956, Abiriba men, such as the late Chief Nnana Kalu, had
visited Iceland.
Then came the Nigerian Civil War, during which Igbo people, including
Abiriba businessmen, lost their properties. At the end of the war, the
Biafran currency became worthless. Between 1970 and 1973, Abiriba men who
were able to return to big-time business were able to do so through loans
and advances by their pre-war overseas trading partners.
By January 1972, two years after the war, an Abiriba businessman, Chief
Obewu Ukegbu Onwuka, had begun importing containerised goods through the
Apapa ports. By 1973, the businessmen had entered into what one of them
described as the "innovation of importing cement in bulk, through a charter
party agreement".
In 1976, when a ban was placed on the importation of stockfish and
second-hand clothing, it was like pulling the rug from the foot of the
Abiriba businessman. Again, he tried to adapt, shifting interest from
trading to the manufacturing business. Today, he ranks among one of the
foremost industrialists in the country. From Aba, he has reached the four
ends of the globe pursuing his business interest.
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