KWENU: Our Culture, Our Future

THE IMPARTIAL OBSERVER

Umuahia, circa 1964

Hank Eso

hankeso@aol.com

Sunday 3 April 2011

Umuahia had things ancient and things modern. …

Umuahia, was always the place to be,

it must hold out many fond memories for those who dare to recall them.

Long before Umuahia made history as the capital of the defunct Republic of Biafra, it was in the immediate post-independence days to mid- 60s, a serene, suburbia town dominated by whistling pines and raucous flocks of ashia (yellow bird). By no means a big city, it was a township where the well-do, knew each other and worshipped at various churches on Sunday, mostly after having shared suya, whiskey and  beer over darts, snookers or billiard at the Ridge Club the night before. Umuahia was then and remains a place of goodwill that was warm to visitors, where the customary salutation to all, was the declaratory wish of mma-mma! (be well - be well).

Umuahia had things ancient and things modern. Like Jerusalem, Umuahia was a bi-zonal town comprised of two fungible parts – the old and the new.  Both sides represented a niche, Old Umuahia, situated around the recess of Olokoro, was a bastion of historical heritage, traditional and cultural pride and homegrown enterprise. 

 The new town, Umuahia-Ibeku, rested in the valley of a two rolling hills, on the upside, Umuopara and Ugwunchara and on the down side, Ibeku town. At the city center stood a colossal landmark clock tower atop Bende Road, as if to separate the town from the “over rail”, as it did the train station and market areas from the Urban County Offices and the Odida Anyawu Local Government Offices. This town, where everything was in close proximity, was a hallmark of modernity and with tale-tale signs of the advent of the white man.  But it was also a town with downright cultural home pride.  After all, Umuahia had superseded Bende, where indeed, the earliest British colonial officers had first set up shop, courts and other administrative and governmental accoutrements and worked with the likes of the late Sir Robert R. Olisa.

Of the two sides, there was a shared commonality: serenity and closeness to nature. Umuahia was a place one woke up to the bird songs and inevitably, the industrious enterprise of a legion of ashia birds.  In the 1960s, every palm tree within the city limits literally had no fronds, as if by design. As quickly as the fronds grew, the birds stripped them for their nesting. Similarly, every pine tree within eyeshot had a canopy of nesting as if they some form of abstract graphic design. 

Regardless of which side of Umuahia a person sojourned, there was undeniably tranquility about the town. Weather-wise, Umuahia was never too hot or humid, thanks to its surfeit of greenery. The lay of the land, however, was a different story altogether. Umuahia town was for years susceptible to regular flooding.  The flooding got worse as the city developed. Indeed, the town’s lower terrain and dale, which ran from the Community Grammar School end of town past the Police Barracks and all the way to the mortuary end of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Umudike Road, was a nightmare during the rainy seasons.  Livestock, people, properties and bikers were frequently swept away in the eddy of the floodwaters. The problem was resolved and Umuahia only gained some relief from the incessant flooding only after the construction of a huge underground drainage system across town between 1964 and 1965.

Legend has it that Umuahia acquired its name and enterprise from the ever-present colonies of flocking ashia birds.  Nevertheless, there were other legends.  First, was that which claimed that the name derived from the town’s position as a central market [Oma Ahia], which gave rise to two possible adulterated meanings:  Ama-Ahia or “market-square" and Umu-ahia, which means “market-children.”  

Far from being just another market town, Umuahia was a reckoned with as a produce town.  Palm, cocoa and rubber produce merchants thrived in Umuahia.  Many were locals who came from the main villages of the town, namely, Ibeku, Afara Ukwu, Nkata, Ohokobe Ndume, Amuzukwu, Emede, Ugwunchara and Osaah.  Many more came from outlying towns, far and near:  Ubakala, Akoli, Umuokpara, Ohuhu, Oboro, Abam, Afugiri, Lohum, Uzuakoli, Mkpa, Ozuitem, Alayi, Bende, and even the Umunneato towns of Item, Igbere and Abriba.

Because most produce were perishable and required being shipped in a timely manner, either southwards to Port Harcourt for export or northward to Enugu and parts of Northern Nigeria, Umuahia was a veritable beehive.  Members of the produce board and produce inspectors were highly regarded and along with produce merchants, literally owned and ran the town.  Companies like M.E.K. Iloghalu and Sons Ltd., B.N.O. Okengwu & Sons, Ltd, V.C. Nworisah & Sons Ltd, and C.C. Amazu & Sons Ltd. owned some of the biggest produce “beaches” and dominated the various produce markets. Chief H. H. Iheukwumere from Akoli was associated with one of the biggest palm oil mills in Umuahia province.  Aside from producing edible palm oil consumed domestically, the mill also produced industrial-quality palm oil and palm kernel, which were export products.  Just as one would witness in northern Nigeria, it was common to see small palm kernel pyramids in the environs of produce beaches and Umuahia train stations awaiting inspection and shipment.

Since the Nigerian railways ran on the single-gauge system, the challenge for Umuahia as a produce shipping hub was to load and ship out the produce as quickly as possible.  Achieving that goal, while also serving the growing number of domestic train riders, meant the decentralization of the railways warehouses and loading docks.  Hence, Umuahia had three stations within a ten-mile radius, serving different needs.  There was the Umuahia-Ibeku Station, next to the market and across from the city center, as well as the off-city station at Old Umuahia, which served the need of the heavy haulage required of the new Ceramics Factory at Umuobia Olokoro and Golden Guinea Brewery at Isiama Afara.  The third station at Amaeke, was initially dedicated strictly to palm produce haulage. 

Umuahia was also home to many artisans, but two trades stood out. The streets of Umuahia boasted of local itinerant tailors, known as "dua-dua" or "obi oma," who made house calls and went about stitching and mending for those who needed sewing repairs.  Umuahia had another niche that was not appreciated fully then.   The entire township was into recycling of bottles and cans, decades before recycling became an international fad.  Umuahians were the earliest Nigerian masters of recycling, a trade carried out by the so-called "ndiololonkpo."  These young and old men went about town with huge sacks hanging on their shoulders for collecting recyclable cans, as well as beer and soft drink bottles, which they resold to manufacturers.  Some also collected old newspapers, which were  not recycled, but resold to market women and especially the groundnut (peanut) and akara sellers for use in marketing their products.  

Umuahia was recognized as an emerging and powerful political hub.  Whereas acolytes of Dr. M. I. Okpara, who was from Ohuhu, dominated the political and economic base in Umuahia, the bureaucratic manpower that kept the town going in the sixties, comprised mainly of non-indigenes.  In the political realm, Umuahia boasted of the likes of Dr. J.O. J. Okezie, Dr. Robert O. Mgbaronye, Chief Desmond Ogugua and others, including locals like Chief H. Ihukwumere, Chief C.C. Ikpo and Chief O. Ihekwereme.   Captains of the emerging industries included, F.C. Obi who ran the Ceramics Factory, Mr. G. O. Odinamadu and Mr. Ohieri who were top –level officials at the breweries.  Another local son, Mr. Bob Ogbuagu was associated with Eastern Nigerian Development Cooperation (ENDC).  Mr. O. C. Okezie owned the biggest chemist in town, the All-Well Chemist, whilst Chief C.C. Amazu, owned the biggest haulage transport company in town, the Chi Di Ebere Transport Service.  Umuahia had several other eminent sons , who though not resident in the Township, were well known and came home frequently. They included then Brig. J.T.U. Aguyi-Ironsi, Mr. C. U. Okereke, who was a ranking local government administrator and Mr. B. O. N. Eluwa from Umuabili, who was long associated with Igbo Union. 

By some design or fluke, the administration of Umuahia municipality fell essentially on outsiders. Umuahia’s Chief Zonal Education Officer, Mr. Charles Odikpo, was from Onitsha and the Senior Education Officer, Ms. G. Eka Edet, a chain-smoking and no-nonsense technocrat from Eket.   The Chief Produce Officer, Mr. Loius Abuah was from Ogwashi-Ukwu and his deputy, Mr. P.N.C. Umeadi from Agu ukwu, Nri.  Mr. V. C. Ochuba from Oba ran the Sub-Treasury, while Mr. A. C. Obaze from Ogbaru and Mr. E.C. Ekere from Uyo were in charge of the Odida-Anyawu County Council as C.E.O. and County Treasurer, respectively.  Mr. P.V. C. Ogolo was the Provincial Administrator. Other notable non-indigenes included the Chief Agricultural Officer, Mr. Stephen Balonwu, Mr. T.O. Menkiti, Mr. Christopher Obumselu, and Police Superintendent Paul Ukekwe. If the roads, public buildings and overall infrastructure in Umuhia were well maintained and indeed, they were, it was thanks to the Provincial Engineer, Mr. Zaccheous Onuba Dibiezue, who scrupulously and single-mindedly ran the Umuahia Public Works Department (PWD) for years. It was under his watch that the torturous Umuahia flooding problem was solved. Generally, since most of these bureaucrats came from the Onitsha Province, the locals commonly referred to them as "ndi ijeke ebe" or "ndi fa-ncha fa-ncha" – a parody of their shared but distinct Igbo dialect.

There were others outsiders too. Mr. David Ebiri, the Town Clerk in charge of Umuahia Urban County was from Ogoja. His son, Clement David Ebiri, who attended the Urban County Council School, would many years later serve as the Governor of Cross River State. Justice Ambrose Allagoa from Nembe (later the Amayanabo of Nembe) was the presiding High Court judge.  The Court Registrar, Mr. K. Azinge was from Asaba and his deputy,  Mr. Nta N. Nta, from Calabar.  Mr. Charles Dan-Jombo from Opobo ran the Patterson and Zachonis (PZ) Company.

Indubitably, Umuahia owed its being a pristine and clean town to its low urban density, but perhaps more so, to the mindset of those already mentioned who ran the Township.  With exception of the GRA, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and a few select homes and offices, the town, which did not have a central sewer system, had very few septic tanks and water systems.  But the town’s conservancy service was very efficiently run that even the public toilets (yes there were several), did not have the habitual stink one encountered in most urban cities.

Social activities in Umuahia were low-scale but not the cultural activities. Most weekends were spent on gardening, and lazy Sunday afternoons devoted to sightseeing or watching football at the Police Barracks Field or the GRA Government Field.  Monthly, the Mobile Film Unit under Ministry of Information would show old black and white American cowboy movies featuring John Wayne or Roy Rogers at various open spaces.  The well-to do, for their part,  spent such evenings sharing tea at home, or dancing at the Ridge Club, the Catering Guest House or at the Main Hall of Odida-Anyawu County Council, where Obong Tex Henry and His Tex-Dandies Band featured regularly.  For the few homes privileged to own black and white television sets, 8:00 p.m. on Saturday nights brought the inevitable visitors with their kids in tow, to watch the popular Ukonu’s Club, hosted by Maazi A. E. Ukonu.

 On occasions, especially when the Premier was in town, those in the high-society circles were invited to the Premier’s Lodge at the tail end of Okpara Avenue. (The Lodge became the State House in Biafra and now houses the famous Ojukwu Bunker). During such evenings, men in bow ties, white dinner jackets and black pants escorted their spouses or consorts, who wore flowing English style evening gowns with matching shoes and handbags.  Ironically, very few Nigerians wore traditional clothes to these events.  The local Police Band always provided the music and in such moments of great conviviality, Nigerians and expatriates with glasses-in-hand, mixed very freely and bantered.

Like most emergent Nigeria urban centers, Umuahia Town was compartmentalized.  The Hausa Community lived closer to Gariki, in the Northern parts of town.  Middle-class civil servants clustered around the broad stretch between Bende Road eastwards, past School Road and until Chekwas Cinema, and southwards past Azikiwe Road all the way to Umudike-Ikot-Ekpene Road.  Most of those who were engaged in commerce either lived in the town proper, or “over rail” towards Uzuakoli Road.  The indigenes lived mostly in their homesteads. The Government Reserved Area (GRA), where the Ridge Club, Premier’s Lodge and Government Polo Field were located was a hub that linked the extensive Okpara Road to Ibiam and Ridge Roads.  It was in that secluded and highbrow area with their ubiquitous guard dogs and luxuriant shade trees that many resident expatriates and their well-to-do Nigerians counterparts resided.

As to be expected, Umuahia had its fair share of expatriates.  Some British, could still be found in the hospitals, the newly established brewery and ceramic industries, the construction companies,  on the staff of Government College Umuahia.  Irish missionaries were also present in Catholic Missions and Secondary Schools.  There were also a few Lebanese who, even though they did not own the local hotels and food joints, controlled all the gaming slot machines placed in their lobbies. Those machines locally referred to as “Kalo-Kalo” or “One-Armed-Bandits” evidently offered them very handsome revenue.

Most of these expatriates, with the exception of the missionaries and educators, resided in the GRA and sent their chauffeur-driven kids to the prestigious Union School in Isiama Afara, which was the alternative and equivalent to the exclusive Santa Maria Schools, in Enugu, Aba, Onitsha and Port Harcourt.  Curiously, most expatriate spouses were homemakers, who spent their mornings gardening, reading, taking long walks or riding their bikes. Often, they ventured in pairs into the local markets and stalls along Umuwaya Road, where the local merchants haggled with or fawned over them.  Such occasions presented opportunities for them to brush up on their Pidgin English and their few nasally pronounced Igbo words.

Umuahia GRA was one massive orchard.  Each premise sat on a half acre or more plot, with the colonial homes setback as far from the road as possible.  Their massive grounds were lined and littered with mango, guava, pear, orange, tangerine and other assorted fruit trees.  So too were the avenues and offices premises in the environs.  Most of the fruits went unpicked, and reflexively, some locals from town would venture there to pick repined and fallen fruits.  Some who were sufficiently daring, would venture to climb the mango trees, where they would eat to their fill and bag some for home or for sale.  Such ventures were not without risks.  In what seemed like a cat-and-mouse game, residents often chased after the locals. One such resident, Mr. Wilkinson, who worked at the Brewery, was particularly notorious for his viciousness.   He owned a band of ferocious Alsatians, which he had no qualms setting after any intruder he found on his premises. He was hardly alone.  If the truth be told, some Nigerians resident in the GRA, similarly set their dogs after the locals. 

Umuahia also had a small Indian community, involved either in education, (they taught mostly applied sciences to Sixth Formers) or various commercial interests, mainly haberdashery.  The Indian families were seen mostly on weekends when they congregated on Saturday mornings at the Provincial parade grounds on School Road, which they routinely turned into a Cricket pitch.  The players were impressive in their immaculate white pants, shirts and pullovers, as were their spouses in their bright colorful saris.

Umuahia boasted of its share of good secondary and primary schools, owned mostly by the Catholic or Anglican Missions or by the Government. They included, Government College at Umudike, Anglican Grammar School, Evangel High School, Holy Rosary Secondary School, at Ugwunachara, the Isingwu Community Secondary School and Santa Crux Secondary School in Olokoro.  The primary schools were no less important. The Urban County School (UCC) headed by Mr. Jack Jaja from Opobo was the most well regarded non-parochial school.  St. Michael’s Township School, at Ugwunchara, which had Mr. Augustine Echewodo Ukatta as the headmaster, was reputed to be the best parochial school in town in both academia and sports. Ukatta would later serve the Inspector General of Education for Catholic Missions, reporting then to Monsignor Mark Onwuha Unegbu, who would eventually become the Bishop of Owerri.  The Umuahia Catholic Diocese itself was then under Bishop Anthony Gogo Nwedo from Oguta, who incidentally did not reside at the St. Finbarr's Church in Umuahia or at the Bishop’s Court at the Hilltop on Azikiwe Road, but at the St. Charles Rectory in Old Umuahia.

Just as Umuahia was a storied town with many pleasant human-interest memories for its sojourners, it also had some unpleasant sides.  Quite in contrast to its peaceful nature, Umuahia of the 60s also had certain dark sides; political thuggery was commonplace and over time, festered.  In those days, Umuahia was reputed as a place where hired politics thugs, threw buckets of acid on the political opponents and their supporters without any qualms.

Umuahia was also the home of the most acute form of shock-and-jive referred to njakiri in the local parlance. One heard them in public places, motor parks and in schools. Interestingly, Umuahia also enjoyed the dubious distinction of being the curse-word capital of Igboland. Some of the curses one heard in Umuahia were bone chilling. It was common to hear a curse (iku ikuku) like "Ama nna gi chiekwa"  – “May your linage disappear.”  Another one went thus: "Nne gi nwukwa were nna gi" – “May your mother die and take along your father.” Four-letter or as that case may be, three-letter curse words were equally prevalent. In the broader Igbo context, such curses were not just insulting but malicious and odious. However, in Umuahia, they were deemed innocuous.  Compared to Aba, Port-Harcourt, Enugu, and Onitsha, Umuahia was a tad timid, perhaps reserved.  Nonetheless, the locals reveled in dumping on other underdeveloped towns.  Hence, one frequently heard the locals singing renditions of a song adapted from an Efik highlife hit, which went thus:  “Obodo niile emepesigo, ofodu Okigwe na Orlu, eze na-achi Okigwe amaghi akwukwo….” suggesting that “…every town had developed, except Okigwe and Orlu, because the king of Okigwe was illiterate.”  Such put down was typical of the relentless Umuahia shock-and-jive culture.

Umuahia was also the founding home and headquarters of the Assemblies of God Mission. It also had a religious sect known as Faith Tabernacle, which was the most scrutinized in the society.  In this context, Umuahia retains for this chronicler, a haunting, somber and singularly painful episode.  An ebullient and well-liked elementary schoolmate named Ogbonna had inexplicably stopped attending school.  His absence certainly had nothing to do with indigence, since his siblings still came to school. He just disappeared and every effort by the school authorities to see him at his home proved fruitless.

We never saw Ogbonna again and, conspiratorially, neither his siblings nor the school authorities would talk about him openly.  As his friends, we knew he had been ill briefly and suspected that he had probably died. We also knew that his parents belonged to the Faith Tabernacle Church. They reportedly gave all their earnings to the Church and never went the hospital nor took any medication when sick. Ogbonna had probably died from a curable childhood sickness. Many kids in Umuahia in 1964 who belonged to his religious denomination faced a similar fate. Interestingly, as if to compensate for the high infant mortality, those who belonged to this denomination seemed to reproduce in high numbers and frequently, so much so that it was difficult to differentiate siblings by their age.  The kids, often seen accompanying their parents on evangelization visits, were at times referred to derisively as “tata yoyo” – a reference to a flock of nuisance birds.

Driving around Umuahia was pure pleasure and joy.  The few but well paved streets were all properly identified and signed. There were no traffic lights except at the several railway crossings.  Public transportation service, through almost entirely in private hands worked efficiently.  The township streets were dotted with various brands of pleasure cars. The well-to-do, preferred the Zephyr 4, while most senior civil servants drove the Opel Caravan or Opel Rekord and others, the resilient and mostly black Peugeot 403.  Unlike what obtained in Onitsha, Enugu and Lagos, long American sedans such as Pontiac and Cadillac were rare.  Most civil servants drove brand new cars they acquired under the government sponsored “hire-purchase” program.  Many of them drove to Aba every three months to have the vehicles serviced at SCAO facilities.  In Umuahia, drivers were noticeably polite and considerate.  Those who erred or violated traffic signs soon enough ended up in the courtroom of the very stern Magistrate Ikwechege. The British-trained jurist was reputed to be unforgiving of errant drivers, regardless of their standing in the community. 

 Culturally, Umuahia was a town of enchanting songs and many dances. Umuahia indigenes claim as much as seven notable dances. Of all, the most celebrated were the Ibeku Dance and the Ikpirikpe Ogu and Ohamadike warrior’s skull dance, sometimes also referred to as the Abam dance. The lead dancer in the latter, always a robust young man with a sculptor-body would carry the oblong wicker basket (abo or ukpa), filled with assorted traditional charms and head skulls. He rarely spoke and would have the inevitable piece of a palm frond (omu) in his  mouth. The dance form and accompanying  ikoro music were always scintillating and fascinating to watch.

In the 1960s, Igbo Day was observed regularly, faithfully, and fully and was always joyful carnival to watch in Umuahia. Igbo Day added value to the overall Igbo culture. It was so popular that people traveled from afar for the event. Dancers and masquerades came from Ebem Ohafia, Alayi, Bende, Azumiri, Ndoka and Mbawsi areas just to partake in the festivities.  The only other day of such pomp, was when the Premier, Dr. M. I. Okpara came to town.  His caravan was often preceded by several kokoma and bongo dance bands, with one fellow atop a van who trumpeted out a tune, “pah-poo-pah-pah-poo,” to which the crowed responded, “M. I. Power”.

My fondest reminiscence of Umuahia was its fervor for horticulture.  Everyone in Umuahia had vegetable and flower gardens.  Children were encouraged to get involved and were taught how to make natural compost.  Children routinely collected cow dong from namas for the gardens. The horticultural influence had its basis on the proximity of the town to the School of Agriculture in Umudike and the Ulonna Farm Settlement in Ohuhu.  The broad interest in horticulture simply made Umuahia a beautiful and serene town.  That is a memory that lingers in my mind’s eye, even if not reflected anymore in present-day Umuahia.  Indeed, those were the days – the good old days. Umuahia, was always the place to be, it must hold out many fond memories for those who dare to recall them.

With neither anger nor partiality, until next time, keep the law, stay impartial, and observe closely.

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Hank Eso is a columnist for Kwenu.com.  His observations on Nigerian, African and global politics and related issues, has appeared in various print media, journals and internet-based sites. © Hank Eso, 3 April 2011.   Email: hankeso@aol.com