On leadership crises in Nigeria:
Reflections on the ancient Nri Kingdom and leadership qualities (2)
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Part II of III
"The Nri set out to create a holy ground where all human beings, dwarves and giants, males and females, light-skinned and dark-skinned, young and old, could walk without fear of harassment, molestation, or intimidation. For to them, all human beings are not only equal, but sacred."
-- from NRI WARRIORS OF PEACE (26)
Nri kingdom was built on freedom and democracy. Nri did not recognize the concept of slavery because every one living at Nri was considered ‘Amadi’ (freeborn). (27) When a slave or an outcast reached Nri land, Eze Nri (Nri King) declared them freeborn and they were assimilated into the society with full citizenship like every one else. They could participate in the affairs of his/her community like any other. The Ozo and Nze priests and Iyom priestess’ councils represented their constituents, and any citizen in good standing could become a member and participate in the politics and hand voting system.
Checks and Balances: Nri democracy had built in checks and balances to protect abuse of power. The highest leadership position at Nri was the Eze Nri (Nri King). Eze Nri was not a ruler but rather a ceremonial head and a moral guardian. He did not make laws or enforce them; the Ozo and Nze council (and to some degree the Iyom council) did. Although the Ozo and Nze council made laws through voting, the Eze Nri had powerful sway because of his moral authority. He not only acted for the greatest good, but was perceived as doing so. Because first born sons naturally inherited family leadership and are potential lineage head, they could not be king. Another major safeguard in Nri leadership was the Adama council. This is probably the best check and balance in Nri leadership. The Adama lineage lived at the heartland of Nri, but was not considered Nri. They were a neutral entity, acting as moral counselors of Nri people. Though they did not participate directly in Nri politics, they did crown all Eze Nri and automatically inherit leadership at the ‘ascension’ (death) of an Eze Nri for Seven years, (during the interregnum period) or until another king was crowned. They brokered peace at Nri in case of a quarrel or if there was a confusion during the selection of an Eze Nri. They were the last moral authority and peacemakers at Nri.
Another big check and balance at Nri was the Umu-Okpu (or Umu-Ada) council. Although they operated mostly at the village level, they were very effective. The Umu-Okpu (or Umu-Ada) council were a community of women born at a specific village and married outside their villages. Because they did not participate in their birth village’s day to day politics, these communities of women were considered neutral entities. Their birth village members called upon them in extreme cases to deliberate, and give their opinion. Their decisions were highly respected and usually considered final. They operated as ad-hoc panels on a per need basis.
Another powerful group was the Iyom council. This was a league of highly spiritual women who lived by a very high moral code (although just like Ozo and Nze priests, in recent times, they are more regarded as affluent women than highly spiritual). They prescribed laws that guided women’s behaviors and advocated for women’s issues. Also there was the Inyom Counci. Every married woman at Nri was automatically a member. They made laws for married women, settled disputes between their members and also advocated for women’s issues.
At Nri, every generation (Ndi Ogbo) had its own advocacy group. Ndi Ogbo (age grade groups) were groups of individuals born within a five years period. Although their main purpose was to volunteer for particular tasks like construction of a particular bridge or road, they also acted as advocacy groups for issues affecting their generation. By playing their various parts, all these groups helped to strengthen Nri Freedom and Democracy.
Percieved Weak Empowered: At Nri Kingdom, the status of the perceived weak (Minority groups) was elevated to equal the playing field. The Adama lineage was minority group at Nri, and it is even possible that they were not the direct descendant of Nri. However, they were one of the most powerful groups at Nri. Nri dwarfs are another example. They were all assimilated into Nri, because Nri did not give birth to dwarfs. But Nri dwarfs were so powerful at Nri that when Eze Nri or Ozo or Nze council wanted to summon someone they sent a dwarf! The dwarfs were considered sacred and occasionally had more rights and respect than regular citizens. But it should be noted that dwarfs started coming to Nri to gain some dignity, since dwarfism was considered a form of deformity. In some places they were considered a bad omen and even less than human. Nri not only gave them dignity, but they were also considered the kings children (28) and sometimes super humans.
Also as seen from the checks and balances above, women married from one village to another often did not have a lot of power in their new villages. At their birth villages, however, they and their offspring were ‘sacred cows’.
Nri Valued Hard-work: Nri introduced priesthood ranks (which later transformed into title taking) to rewards hard work and contributions to Nri way of life. By striving to reach a certain social status or priesthood rank, individuals inherently contributed to the community. It was the original concept to make every one living at Nri priest or priestess. The higher the ranks they could attain, the better it was for the whole community. On the surface, it may appear that priests and priestess’ monopolized politics at Nri. But on a closer look, one could see that it might have been a way to entice more people into priesthood and community service.
Nri did not discrimate: Nri was considered the state of the mind and not the purity of Nri blood in a person. As mentioned earlier, the founder of Nri did not give birth to dwarfs, but the Nri dwarfs were sometimes more highly regarded than other citizens. The dwarfs symbolized immigrants who felt at home and contributed to Nri way of life. Through achievements and connections, some first generation immigrants rose above most natural born citizens at Nri in status and priesthood ranks.
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Leadership Outside Nri:
"As human beings, we are as guilty and uncivil as the parties fighting each other if we do not attempt to break up a fight…"
-- Excerpt from NRI WARRIORS OF PEACE (29)
Outside Nri, I believe that the Nri set out to nurture and inspire the same confidence that they enjoyed at home—the confidence that could only come from freedom , democracy and fairness.
They were moral leaders: The Nri were moral leaders to other communities around them. They proscribed and interpreted moral and spiritual laws and codes of behaviors to other communities. (30)
They Prevented abuse of power: Through their peace making activities, Nri prevented the abuse of power by one community against another Community, or abuse by an individual or group within a community against another.
They led by example: They preached peace, non-violence, and fairness and they lived by that code. Anyone can claim to make peace. However, I believe that the real peace maker is not the one with the biggest gun, but rather the peace maker who goes to the battle field bare handed. Nri never had an army and never fought a war in over one millennium of its existence. They made peace between warring communities and were very successful at doing so because they had credibility. The only time Nri advocated the use of force was in 1790, during the slave trade era when under pressure, the then Eze Nri (Nri-Enwelana) told Igbo people that they could organize and use force to prevent the slave hunt. Nri also preached against abuse of power and they lived by that code as well. Through out Igbo history (oral or written), I have never heard of any complaint by any community (Igbo or non-Igbo) about an abuse by the Nri community. We have records of abuse on Igbo people by the British Administration, The Arochukwu Empire, and Benin Empire. But there is no record of abuse by the Nri community (although individuals will always have a mind of their own).
They Led By giving instead of taking: Nri saw themselves as chosen people to help and guide other communities. Because of this, the Nri system was built round going to other communities to do goodwill: to preach the message of peace and fair play and to counsel those communities. Although they received gifts from the communities, the services they performed, their activities were never about making money. Most of the Nri priests were not rich and could certainly have done much better by trading (which was what later generations did). Every male was expected to become a priest so they could give. The women and children also gave through sacrifice, by caring for the home and village when the men were away doing missionary work.
They nurtured autonomy and self-sufficiency in other communities: Nri never sought to rule Igbo people or the non-Igbo communities that they reached out to. Instead, they nurtured autonomy and self-sufficiency and inspired confidence in those communities. This is probably one of the top leadership qualities they brought to the area. However, this philosophy is also seen as a weakness by some historians who have argued that since Nri never ruled Igbo people and had no military force, it was not really a great kingdom like other later kingdoms in West Africa. These historians never truly understood its intentions nor its leadership style.
In the landmark book, ‘The New Leadership Paradigm’, Henry P. Sims, Jr and Peter Lorenzi called this leadership attribute ‘Superleadership’. They said that ‘SuperLeadership is the art of leading others to lead themselves. SuperLeaders create SuperFollowers who are skilled self –leaders…First and most important, the linkage to self management is paramount…Finally, a SuperLeader works hard at developing self-schemas for subordinates in which they percieve themselves as efficacious, capable, self-initiating, and empowered.’
Sims and Lorenzi went on to say that ‘SuperLeadership is the new leadership paradigm’ (31). They were writing in the twentieth century, but Nri knew this as far back as the 9th century. Looking at the Igbo communities and culture (past or present), one can see different variations (schemas) of Nri system. This includes the concept of kingship and titles taking (Ozo or Nze or Agbala-Nze), which actually evolved out of different priesthood positions. This cultural schema was not an accident as some may like to believe, but was carefully propagated by visiting Nri priests to different communities. If they could do that, they could also have propagated a different kind: weak and dependent communities, or even worse, enforce its rule on those communities. But they did not.
Today, Igbo people are one of the most self-sufficient, self-reliant and most autonomous communities in Africa. Nri Civilization gave Igbo people a very precious gift that should not be forgotten. This I think is one of the things that Nigeria, with its large population and cultural diversity can learn from the Nri experiment—to develop a schema that different states and local government can modify to suit their own environment. This is also what has made the United States great. In the United State, every state, county (local government) and city is self -contained. They have their own revenue generation schemes; their own legislature, executive, judiciary and law enforcement.
Potential Weakness in Leadership: The Nri were content as the bridge that connected Igbo communities. They never built a forum for Igbo communities to come together and talk to one another. If they had, the pre-colonial Igbo community might have been stronger and more coherent and probably would have faired better at the coming of the Europeans and during slavery. Another weakness that historian point out is that their renunciation of violence at all cost held Nri down. All one can say to this is that Nri lived ahead of their time in their philosophy of non-violence, democracy and leadership style of nurturing autonomy in local communities.
See also: Part 3: On leadership crises in Nigeria: Reflections on the ancient Nri Kingdom and leadership qualities (3)
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Chikodi Añunobi is the author of Nri Warriors of Peace, a historical novel about 11th century Nri Kingdom. Nri Warriors of Peace won the Best Books 2006 Book Awards in the ‘Fiction & Literature: Multicultural’ and ‘African American Fiction’ categories. Añunobi is a descendant of Nri from Enugwu-Ukwu Nri in Anambra State, Southeastern Nigeria. He lives and works in Washington USA as a Software QA Engineer. Añunobi can be reached at ChikodiAñunobi@yahoo.com.
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References/Citations:
26. Chikodi Añunobi, Nri Warriors of Peace (Zenith Publishers LLC, 2006) p. 357
27. Nnaemeka Mene Onumonu, Biafra Movement - A Report (2) (magazine.biafranigeriaworld.com)
28. Ibid.
29. Chikodi Añunobi, Nri Warriors of Peace (Zenith Publishers LLC, 2006) p. 119
30. Adiele Afigbo, Ropes of Sand: Studies in Igbo History and Culture (University of Michigan Press, 1981) p. 53