Homely. By Prof Mazi O. Ojiaku.
4 min read
The second son but fifth child of a family of twenty-one children, Chief Benedict Ikpeama Igboanus Okoro, who went to glory on Friday, November 15, 2019, and is being laid to rest today, Thursday January 7th, 2021, was born on Wednesday, December 12, 1934. His double name by the father, Paul Okorouguru Okwara-Ojiaku, (a.k.a Atufulemgbe- never waste time), was not without significance. Having loyally and satisfactorily served his brother, Eze Ojinnaka Okwaraojiaku as his Chief of Staff , for well over two decades, Paul fell out of favour with the Eze when he threatened to deny him his rightful inheritance from their father, Okwara-OjiakuOkwarajineho.
At the time, Paul seemed to be at a great disadvantage. Should he take the matter to the Native Courts then being opened in Igbo-land by the British Colonial Government, to settle disputes among the people. Apart from enjoying the power due the first son of a family, Eze Ojinnaka was one of the Warrant Chiefs appointed by that Government to supervise the Native Court, in his locality. He was, therefore, powerful and quite influential in his community both as an agent of the Government and one of the judges in the particular court to which Paul had to take his case to. Despite the odds, he took it there.
Surprisingly, he not only won the case in the court, on December, 12th 1934, but also on arrival, home was greeted with the good news of the birth of his second son. There and then, he jubilantly named the baby Ikpeama which, literally means “wherever justice prevails, the innocent will never be found guilty’. The second name, Igboanusi, which means, rejoice ye not, folks, for no condition is permanent, was his reaction to those who jeered at him as one who, yesterday, was the pillar but has, today, become the enemy of the chiefdom.
A polygamous family is known for much sibling rivalry and brotherly challenges. Our father’s was no exception as can be seen in the life of its three teenagers – Ikpeama, Achiaga-onye, and yours sincerely – who competed and learnt lots of things together, in several ways, for many years and in all types of activities. For instance, the three often went out together searching for such fruits as udara, ununo, ubemgba or nkaramimi, in many gardens in the village: moved together on nkpaka-alaji: searching post harvest farms for yam tubers inadvertently omitted by harvesters and, almost daily especially during the dry season, made trips together to Njaba River to fetch water as well as swim. Frequently, in their competitions, they swam from one beach to the other, or climbed to the topmost railing of the bridge that spanned the river and, from there, jumped into stream.
Occasionally, on their way home from the river, and often in the company of other age-mates, they would put down their pots of water at the foot of one of the ubajoloko trees in the ozara to shelter themselves from the sun and its heat, rest their limbs from stress, and pluck fruits from the trees. In all these activities, each tried to show courage in the face of the unknown, ability in different fields or activity, and the capacity to excel. Whenever, another family challenged theirs in a competition, as for example, in the game of soccer, they, as a team under the leadership of their oldest brother, Amaefule, always showed its sound mastery of the art of the game, by defeating its competitor.
In 1944, in infant 1, and 1946, in the Standard 2 Class, respectively, I was given accelerated promotions that, in 1947, enabled me catch up with Igboanusi, such that we read Standards 3, 4, 5 and 6 together. Similarly, we became Mass Servers at the St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church Mission, Umuaka, in the same year, before our paths began to diverge in the 1950s as I enrolled at Stella Maris College, Port-Harcourt in 1951, and he journeyed to the Cameroons, in 1952.
Like our father, Igboanusi believed that as a treasurer, time, should not be wasted or tampered with but, as the gift of life, be utilized well. This possibly explains why he showed much interest in self-employment especially in wealth-producing activities that enabled one become rich enough to be financially independent and do what he/she wishes. With a sense of high self-esteem of purpose and opportunity, and strong work ethic in the 1950s, he pursued his aims and ambitions without apologies. The result was that in less than a decade of leaving home, he became the proud owner of a lorry vehicle, thus making himself a source of pleasure to the Large Okwara-Ojiaku Family.
Furthermore, shortly after returning home from the Cameroons in 1977, he got himself involved in business activities in the community and, soon, became one of the richest among his age mates. Impressed by the self-discipline that underscored his achievements, I began to address him ‘Ahidjo’ in recognition of his admiration of a former Cameroonian President by the same name, known for his self-discipline and very strict pattern of administration.
The impact of ‘Ahidjo’s achievements is evident and with us today. My deep regret is our inability to meet again after May 2019, when I travelled out of the country. Unfortunate as that was, our family gathers here today not to mourn his departure but to thank God immensely for the life He gave him, and the great success he made of it. We also pray that for the forgiveness of his offenses and the grant of eternal rest to him in His Kingdom. As his survivors, we ask the Lord to kindly increase our faith in Him, and to protect, guide and keep us in good health of mind and body until, as an old man or woman, each of us dies, a mere youth, at one hundred years. ‘Ahidjo’, Goodbye to a Glorious Eternity!
