AGULERI IS THE ANCESTRAL HOME OF THE IGBOS, NOT NRI

INTRODUCTION

 The attention of the people of Aguleri has been drawn to the story on the
settlement of the Igbos in Nigeria, published in the Daily Sun of Wednesday
26th February, 2014, under the caption: "How Igbo first settled in Nri".
Consequent upon this, the undersigned persons have been mandated to make
the following statement on the issue, on behalf of Aguleri:
To say the least, the story under reference is grossly misleading. It is a
historical distortion and a travesty of Igbo history. We find it difficult
to believe that a prominent member of the family of Eri, the progenitor of
the Igbos, and of all personages, His Royal Majesty Obidiegwu Onyeso of
Nri, is credited with such a grievous falsification of facts on the history
of the Igbos. This is why we have waited this long to react to the story,
expecting that he would disown it or disassociate himself from the
misrepresentations therein. But since he has not done so, we are now
convinced that the views and assertions in the story were correctly
attributed to him.

 Igwe Onyeso's present stance, as reflected in the story, is a shocking
 contradiction to what he knows and believes to be the correct situation, as
he practically and faithfully demonstrated during his visit to Aguleri in
1988, as part of the necessary traditional rites for the traditional ruler
of Agukwu-Nri. For him to be singing a different tune now, even to the
point of contesting the headship of Eri clan, and by extension of Ndi Igbo,
with Aguleri is, indeed, unfortunate. We do not wish to engage in a public
controversy with our brother, the Eze Nri, over a matter all of us know the
truth. That explains why Aguleri has never bothered to make an issue over
the wrong impression held by some people that Agukwu-Nri is the head of the
gbos, believing that our brothers, the Nris, are aware of the truth, and
that there is no need publicly debunking the misconception. However, the
erroneous assertions by Igwe Onyeso in the said publication have now made
it necessary to correct that impression and set the records of Igbo history
straight, particularly their settlement in Nigeria.

THE FACTS

 From historical findings, Eri from Israel was the fifth son of Gad, the
 seventh son of Jacob (Genesis 46:15-18 and Numbers 26:16:18). He migrated
 from Egypt with a group of companions just before the exodus of the
 Israelites from Egypt many centuries ago. They travelled by water and
finally arrived at the confluence of Ezu and Omabala (Anambra) Rivers,
 located in present-day Aguleri, where, according to oral tradition, it was
 spiritually or divinely revealed to Eri that the point was to be their
 final destination and settlement. They moved into the hinterland and
 settled in the present-day Aguleri. Eri lived and died at Aguleri.
 Agulu was the eldest son of Eri, and not Menri, as claimed by Igwe Onyeso.
 This is supported by oral tradition in Aguleri and in other communities of
 Eri clan. It is also confirmed by historical accounts by many writers of
 Igbo history. For instance, Alaezi J.G.C, in his book: “IBOS: Hebrew Exiles
 from Israel,” stated that “Aguleri was the oldest of the Eri descendants in
 Nigeria. Eri himself was the fifth son of Gad and Gad the seventh son of
 Jacob or Israel (See Genesis 46:15-18; Numbers 26:16-18; Exodus 1:1-5). Nri
 was the most prominent, but the last-born.” Menri (Nri) was prominent
 because, just as Levi was the Priest in the House of Jacob, Menri was the
 Priest in the House of Eri, and he performed priestly and spiritual
 functions throughout the Igbo settlement.
 As the population at the settlement of Eri at Aguleri increased, and in
 combination with other factors, the children of Eri and/or their
 descendants left the settlement and founded various other settlements
 outside Aguleri, while Agulu, the first son, remained in their father's
 home at Aguleri with his descendants. Agulu, fondly called Agulu-Nwa-Eri,
 appended the name of their father, Eri, to his name and founded Agulu-Eri
 (Aguleri). Menri left Aguleri and settled at a big forest, where he engaged
 in hunting and farming, while also performing his spiritual work. He called
 the settlement Agu-Ukwu. When he was getting very old, he told his children
 to take him back to his ancestral home, as he would not want to die outside
 his father's home. Menri was brought back to Aguleri, where he died and was
 buried. His grave is still marked at Okpu, in Ivite Aguleri, till this day.
 There is no other grave site of Menri, the founder of Nri, anywhere else in
 Igbo land, even in Nri itself, except in Aguleri.
 It is pertinent to mention also that one of the foremost researchers on
 Igbo history, Isichei Elizabeth (1976), stated in her book, "A History of
 the Igbo People”, that the point of Igbo dispersal in Nigeria was around
 the Anambra valley/basin. No doubt, that point was at Aguleri.  This fact
 was corroborated by Ujah (2006) when he stated in his book, “The Origin of
 Ibos,” that Arodi, the younger sibling of Eri, was one of the people that
 migrated with Eri and settled at Aguleri, from where he later left and gave
 birth to Arochukwu and Arondizuogu, as well as other Aro communities in
 Igboland.

 Also, in 1995, a group of five Israeli anthropologists came to Nigeria,
 looking for evidence that the Eri of the House of Jacob was the same Eri in
 Nigeria. They went to several Igbo communities without much success in
 their mission, until they finally came to Aguleri. They were led on the
 visit to Aguleri by Senator Ben Obi (Ojeligbo) from Awka, accompanied by
 Chief Okoye Ojibeka from Nri and Chief George Odum from Mbaukwu. At
 Aguleri, the Israelis found several evidence that Eri of the House of Jacob
 was the same Eri in Aguleri. Among other things, they saw one of the sacred
 places in Aguleri, known as Obuga, at Enugwu Aguleri, established since
 ancient time and dedicated to the memory of the father of Eri, Gad. The
 name “Obuga” is really “Obu-Gad” (the House/Sanctum of Gad). They also saw
 a strange writing with cowries on the floor of Obuga, which they recognized
 as an ancient Hebrew writing.  They later decoded the writing and the
 impression conveyed by its meaning was in accord with Aguleri traditional
 belief of Obuga as a sacred place of purity, peace and justice.  The
 Isaelis were also shown the grave sites of Eri and Menri in Aguleri.

 It is also a known fact that, by tradition, no Nri man would break the
 kolanut where an Aguleri man is present, except with his permission. This
 is in deference to the fact that Agulu (Aguleri) was the elder brother of
 Menri (Nri). Furthermore, in recognition of the fact that Aguleri is the
 first son of Eri and the ancestral home of Ndi-Igbo, as well as the
 custodian of all the spiritual sites and places of Eri kingdom, traditional
 rulers of Agukwu-Nri, from time past, till date, including the famous late
 Igwe Tabansi Udene, visited Aguleri for certain traditional rites, without
 which they would not have become traditional rulers of Nri. All the above
 facts amply confirm that Aguleri was the first settlement and the ancestral
 home of the Igbos, and not Nri, as erroneously claimed by Igwe Onyeso.

IGWE ONYESO AT AGULERI*

 In fulfillment of the age-long traditional rites for kingship in Nri, Igwe
 Obidiegwu Onyeso, as Igwe-elect, visited Aguleri in 1988, accompanied by a
 delegation from Nri, which included the late prominent lawyer, Chief
 Ezebilo Umeadi (SAN). Igwe-elect Onyeso and his delegation spent seven days
in Aguleri, from 9th February to 15th February, 1988, visiting sacred
 places, paying homage and making sacrifices to certain deities/shrines. On
 arrival at Aguleri on 9th February, 1988, and after a brief reception at
 Obuga, at Umuezora, Enugwu Aguleri, Igwe-elect Onyeso and his people, the
 same day, went to Igboezunu Aguleri, where they visited the Okpanime shrine
 and Ama-Ovo (Ofo).  At Okpanime, at Eziama, Igboezunu, they told the elders
 of Igboezunu that they had come to the shrine to ask for its blessings, to
 ensure a successful coronation of the Igwe-elect, Obidiegwu Onyeso. They
 presented kolanuts and thirty Naira in support of the kolanuts (i.e.
 ‘ego-oji’), some bottles of hot drink and tubers of yam, as well as a ram
 and a cock, as items of homage and sacrifice to Okpanime. Thereafter,
 Igwe-elect Obidiegwu Onyeso told the Chief Priest of Okpanime shrine that
 he had come with his people to perform the traditional rites required of
 him as Igwe-elect of Nri, as his predecessors had done, and pleaded with
 Okpanime to forgive whatever might be their shortcomings and bless him.
 Responding, the Chief Priest recalled that two Igwes-elect of Nri had come
 in the past to the Okpanime shrine in his life-time for their coronation
 rites. He took a kolanut, presented it to ‘Chukwu Abiame’ (the God of
 Abraham), and called on Okpanime and two prominent deities of Aguleri, the
 Otutunzu Aguleri and the Ajana-Ukwu Aguleri, and also on ‘Anyanwu and
 Agballa’ to grant the Igwe-elect a successful coronation and reign as the
 traditional ruler of Nri.

 From Okpanime, the delegation went to Ama-Ovo (Ofo) at Umumba, Igboezunu.
 The Chief Priest of the Ofo deity at Ama-Ofo mildly rebuked Igwe-elect
 Onyeso and his delegation for going to Okpanime shrine first, before
 visiting Ama-Ofo. He explained that by tradition the Igwe-elect and his
 delegation must have the Ofo before visiting Okpanime and other
 deities/shrines in Aguleri, hence the need to visit Ama-Ofo first, so as to
 receive the Ofo. The Nri people apologized for the error.  Again, they
presented kolanuts, with ‘ego oji’, some bottles of hot drink and tubers of
 yam, as well as a ram and a cock, as items of homage and sacrifice at
 Ama-Ofo. The Chief Priest pointed at the Ofo tree in the place and remarked
 that the tree was as old as Aguleri. He prayed for a long and successful
 reign of the Igwe-elect as the Eze Nri. Speaking at the occasion,
 Igwe-elect Onyeso reiterated that he was following the footsteps of his
 predecessors by coming to Aguleri for certain traditional rites for Eze
 Nri.  He affirmed that according to their oral tradition, Menri, the
 founder of Nri, left his father’s home at Aguleri on a hunting expedition
 and finally settled at the present-day Agukwu-Nri. The Nri delegation later
 danced for the Ofo deity, as directed by the Chief Priest, and in
 compliance with tradition.  In conclusion of the ceremonies at Ama-Ofo, the
 Chief Priest handed over three Ofo sticks tied together, representing the
 three quarters of Aguleri, to a member of the Igwe-elect's delegation, on
 his behalf. He explained that he did not give the Igwe-elect the Ofo
 because the Ofo did not belong to the Eze Nri alone, but to the entire Nri
 people. From Ama-Ofo, they left for Ama-Okpu, at Ivite Aguleri.
 On arrival at Ama-Okpu, Igwe-elect Onyeso and his people immediately
 performed the ritual of praying at the Oye shrine, with their hands raised,
 in total submission to the god of their father. The Chief Priest prayed for
 the support and blessing of Oye towards the success of the coronation of
 Igwe-elect Onyeso, as well as for his long reign as Eze Nri, since he and
 his people had complied with tradition by coming to the home of their
 father and before the Oye shrine. As was the case at Okpanime and Ama-Ofo,
 again, Igwe-elect Onyeso presented kolanuts, with ‘ego oji’, some bottles
 of hot drink and tubers of yam, as well as a ram and a cock, as items of
 homage and sacrifice at Ama-Okpu. The Chief Priest of Oye Shrine told the
 Nri delegation that Okpu was their ancestral home, from where Menri, the
 founder of Nri, and his descendants left for their present settlement at
 Agu-Ukwu.  He said that any Igwe-elect of Nri who failed to come to Aguleri
 to perform the necessary traditional rites would not be Eze Nri, and
 recalled that one or two of such people in the past did not end well. After
 the ceremonies at Ama-Okpu, the delegation left for Obuga, at Enugwu
 Aguleri, at about 7.30pm, marking the end of their activities on their
first day in Aguleri.

 The following day, 10th February, 1988, at Ama-Obuga (Obuga Public
 Square), Igwe-elect Onyeso and his delegation, again, and for the fourth
 time, made a presentation of some items as homage and sacrifice to the
 gods. This time, instead of a ram, they presented a cow, as well as
 kolanuts, with ‘ego oji’, some bottles of hot drink and tubers of yam, and
 also a cock.  One of the elders of Enugwu Aguleri, Ogbuanyinya
 Chinwuba Nweke, prayed for a hitch-free coronation for Igwe-elect Onyeso
and pleaded with the gods to reveal  to the oraculists, diviners and seers
 assembled at Obuga from Aguleri and beyond the identity of the person they
 (the gods) had chosen to collect ‘Ududu-Eze’ from the bottom of the
 confluence of Ezu and Anambra rivers (‘Agbanabo-Ezu-na-Omabala’) for the
 Igwe-elect of Nri, according to tradition. The next day, 11th February,
 1988, one Igbanugo Ajana, a young boy from Umuezeora family of Enugwu
Aguleri, was identified as the person to undertake the assignment. Igbanugo
 Ajana, who was then at Okombi camp, at Aguleri-Otu, was sent for by
 the head of his family. On arrival, Igbanugo Ajana was made to undergo
 three days of spiritual purification at Obuga.  Meanwhile, Igwe-elect
 Onyeso sojourned at Obuga, waiting for the completion of the traditional
 rites.

 Very early in the morning of the seventh day of the visit of Igwe-elect
 Onyeso and his people to Aguleri (i.e. on 15th February, 1988), an elder
 from Enugwu Aguleri, Ogbuevi Ekwuo Agbasionwe, led a young virgin boy and
 Igbanugo Ajana, accompanied by Igwe-elect Onyeso and his delegation, as
 well as other Enugwu Aguleri elders and youths, on foot, from Obuga to the
 Anambra river, a distance of about three kilometers. Igbanugo Ajana,
 together with Ekwuo Agbasionwe and a few young men were then taken in a
 canoe to Agbanabo, while Igwe-elect Onyeso and others waited at the river
 bank. At Agbanabo, Igbanugo Ajana jumped into the river, while those who
 had accompanied him moved away and waited around for him to surface. After
 About two hours at the bottom of the river, Igbanugo Ajana emerged with
 some white clay in his palms. Those who had been hanging around for him,
 picked him up and took him back to the river bank, where others, including
Igwe-elect Onyeso, had been waiting for him.
 With the white clay in his palms, Igbanugo Ajana went to where the
 Igwe-elect and the virgin boy, who was now carrying a traditional wooden
 saucer covered with white cloth, were standing, and dropped the white clay
 in the wooden saucer. Ekwuo Agbasionwe wrapped the clay with the white
 cloth in the wooden saucer, which was then presented to Igwe-elect Onyeso,
 and he took the white clay, representing the Ududu-Eze. According to the
 elders of Aguleri, any object in the palms of the person that went to the
 bottom of the river at Agbanabo, be it clay, stone, stick, or whatever, is
 the Ududu-Eze, also known as ‘Ikekelu-Eze Nri’ (the power that creates Eze
 Nri). So, immediately Igwe-elect Obidiegwu Onyeso removed the Ududu-Eze
 from the wooden saucer, there was great jubilation, with praise singers and
 drummers from Nri singing his praise and thanking Aguleri and the gods for
 making their visit successful by giving their Igwe-elect the Idudu-Eze. By
 this time, everybody was hurrying back to Obuga, because, according to
 tradition, the Ududu-Eze should not spend the night at Aguleri, since it is
 the power/authority for rulership over Nri, and not Aguleri.

 Back at Obuga, Igwe-elect Obidiegwu Onyeso now had the Ofo, which was
given to him at Ama-Ofo, in one hand and the Ududu-Eze in the other hand.
 At this stage, His Royal Majesty, Eze Chukwuemeka Eri of Enugwu Aguleri,
 sat Igwe-elect Onyeso down on the replica of the throne of Agulu, which is
 at Obuga. From that moment, Igwe-elect Obidiegwu Onyeso became
 traditionally confirmed as the Igwe of Nri or Eze Nri. As soon as he got up
 from the throne at Obuga, Igwe Onyeso went back to the deities/shrines in
 the various quarters of Aguleri on a ‘thank you’ visit, for helping him to
 become the traditional ruler of Nri. Thereafter, he and his delegation left
 for Nri. After three native weeks (i.e twelve days) of Igwe Obidiegwu
 Onyeso leaving Aguleri, Ogbuevi Ekwuo Agbasionwe, acting on behalf of
 Aguleri elders, and in keeping with tradition, went to Nri to recite to
 Igwe Onyeso the do’s and don’ts (‘Igu Nso’) of being in possession of the
 Ofo and Ududu-Eze from Aguleri, as the traditional ruler of Agukwu-Nri.


 TRADITIONAL OBLIGATION*

It is, indeed, unbelievable that after going through all these coronation
 rites, Igwe Onyeso could refer to his visit to Aguleri in 1988 in a very
 casual and less-than-honest manner, by saying that “any coronated Eze Nri
 must obtain clay from the bottom where two rivers meet; the nearest place
 that meets the requirement was the confluence of Ezu and Omabala. I
 therefore went to Agbanabo to collect the clay for Udu Eze meant for Eze
Nri. That I slept in Obuga was to shorten the distance to where I obtained
 the clay soil for the moulding of Udu-Eze. Aguleri and Nri do not have much
 in common". Igwe Onyeso knows, from the bottom of his heart, that he was
 being very economical with the truth. From the details given above, his
 visit to Aguleri to collect the Ududu-Eze or clay from Agbanabo is not a
casual affair. It goes with a lot of ceremonies and tradition. Besides,
 Agbanabo, in the oral tradition of Eri clan, including Nri, is not just
any place "where two rivers meet". It has great spiritual significance,
 because it was at this point that Eri had a divine revelation that they had
reached their ordained place of settlement.  Members of Eri clan, including
Nri, therefore, have a strong spiritual attachment to Agbanabo. And this
has made it an important and mandatory feature in the coronation rites of
 the people of Nri.  That was why Igwe Onyeso had to go to Agbanabo, at
Aguleri, as a matter of traditional obligation, and not merely as any place
 "where two rivers meet".

 As for Igwe Onyeso's reason for spending the night at Obuga, one may ask:
is Obuga a guest house, or a hotel? The fact is that Obuga is a place for
spiritual re-dedication and the evocation of the proud ancestry of Eri
descendants and Ndi Igbo in general.  It is a sacred place for royal
empowerment and self-purification.  Igwe Onyeso knows all this.  And that
 was the real reason he went to Obuga.  Also, it is quite misleading for
 Igwe Onyeso to give the covert impression that he spent only one night at
 Obuga, when he said: “that I slept in Obuga was to shorten the distance to
 where I obtained the clay soil for the moulding of Udu-Eze”. This is very
 untrue.  He spent seven clear days at Obuga, in the performance of certain
 traditional rites at Aguleri for the Eze Nri, and was sleeping on the floor
 with a mat, as demanded by tradition.
 Perhaps, it should be mentioned here that the visit of Igwe Obidiegwu
Onyeso, as Igwe-elect, with his people to Aguleri in 1988, including the
places he went to, making sacrifices and paying homage to certain
deities/shrines, was well captured in a video coverage. The video is
 available in Aguleri archives for anyone who cares to see and is interested
 in knowing the truth.

*KINGSHIP INSTITUTION IN AGULERI*

 We find it difficult to believe that Igwe Obidiegwu Onyeso of Agukwu-Nri
 is genuinely ignorant when he claimed that "Aguleri people have never
 produced Eze Aguleri since the beginning of time". If that is so, then it
 is a terrible exhibition of an unpardonable ignorance.  According to
 Aguleri oral tradition, kingship started in Aguleri ‘ube eri’ or ‘mgbe
 eri’, meaning since the time of Eri, hence, one of the coronation rites
 Igwe-elect Onyeso performed at Aguleri was to sit on the replica of the
 throne of Agulu-Nwa-Eri at Obuga. But, specifically, there is the Umuezeora
 family of Enugwu Aguleri, which produced over thirty kings of Aguleri, up
 to the 18th  century, and has continued, in recent times, up to now, to
produce the Eze of Enugwu Aguleri. We also have the Idigo dynasty of
 Iruokechi family of Eziagulu Aguleri, which has produced Eze Aguleri from
 1900 till date.  Both dynasties are from Ugwunadegbe Aguleri.

*CONCLUSION*

 We have gone into all the above details, in order to effectively debunk
 the false claims of Igwe Obidiegwu Onyeso.  In the process, we believe we
have also proved that Aguleri, and not Nri, is the first son of Eri and the
ancestral home of Ndi-Igbo. We do not know what propelled our brother, Igwe
 Obidiegwu Onyeso, to engage in virtual apostasy by repudiating the
 traditional rites he went through at Aguleri, as well as the unwarranted
 denigration of Aguleri and the sacred and spiritual facts about Eri and his
 descendants, even to the extent of saying that “Aguleri and Nri do not have
 much in common”.  This was after he had stated that Aguleri and Nri were
 among the direct children of Eri. We are, indeed, at a loss to understand
 our brother any more. We hope it is not a case of "he who the gods want to
destroy, they first make mad”.  Be that as it may, the spiritual and
 traditional bond between Aguleri and Nri cannot easily be wished away, just
 as we are reminded of the fate of some Igwes of Nri in the past, who failed
to visit Aguleri to consummate the traditional rites for kingship in Nri.
 Perhaps, what happened to them is instructive and should be a guide to all  it may concern!

 *ADDENDUM*

Our attention has also been drawn to another story on the same subject
 matter of Igbo history, captioned: “How Igbo migrated from Israel”,
 published in the Daily Sun of Wednesday, May 28, 2014, by Elder Edozieuno
 Ndive Aniegboke of Umueri. The write-up appears to be driven by a strong
 desire to re-write the history of Umuleri, recently changed to Umueri,
rather than an effort to enlighten the public. Of course, in doing this,
 Aniegboke distorted a lot of historical facts and manufactured stories to
 fit his design.  He also engaged in his usual pastime of insulting
Aguleri.  Be it in spurious petitions written by him  or his ilk against
Aguleri, or in articles, such as the instant one, the “mercenaries from
Aguleri” must be an issue.  For instance, in the story in question, he
 concluded that “it is these mercenaries from Aguleri  and co that are
 forcing (these) names of different known and unknown communities on Eri
 which the Aguleris don’t belong to”.  He also falsified history when he
 insinuated that the name “Aguleri” was originally “Agu-Eri”, but because
 “the whiteman could not pronounce Agu-Eri hence he added the alphabet (L)
 to become Aguleri”.  This is absolute fiction. The name Aguleri is
 supported by empirical evidence, for Agulu was the first son of Eri and the
 founder of ‘Agulu-Eri’ (Aguleri).  It has also remained constant since the
dawn of the history of Aguleri.

Indeed, Aniegboke’s article is more of nuisance value than any serious
 contribution to Igbo history.  It is as confusing as it is full of
 historical inaccuracies and contradictions. At best, it is a comic relief.
 However, in the maze of confusion in the story, Aniegboke labored hard to
assign a new founder to Umuleri, in the person of either Dabaw or Eri, as
 he appears not to have made up his mind yet on which one to stick to. In
one instance, he claimed that Umuleri “are direct descendants of Dabaw”,
and in another place he referred to Umuleri as “the original Eri
 descendants.” But the truth of the matter is that Igbo history is short or
 silent on the historical paternity of Umuleri.  Rather, there is historical
knowledge that Adamgbo, the daughter of Eri, was the founder of Umuleri,
 hence Umuleri and Aguleri are generally regarded as related communities,
 since Adamgbo was the sister of Agulu, the founder of Aguleri.  Another
 school of thought has it that Umuelri was founded by Iguedo, an itinerant
 woman, hence Umuleri is a prominent member of the ‘Umu-Iguedo’ communities,
 till date.  These are easily verifiable facts.  And they
 are confirmed by the oral traditions of Umuleri and Aguleri, as well as of
 the ‘Umu-Iguedo’ clan.  As a matter of fact, the original name of Umuleri
 bore evidence of the above circumstances of its founding.  The name then
was ‘Umu-Ulu-Eri’ (children of profit to Eri), since  they are the
 children/descendants of Adamgbo, the daughter of Eri, who was not known in
 history  to be married.  It was later shortened to ‘Umuleri’, and just
 recently changed to ‘Umueri’. A more detailed comment on Aniegboke’s
 concoction of history will be made later, if need be.

 Long live Aguleri! Long live Ndi-Igbo!! Long live Nigeria!!!

 Signed by:

 Chief Ralph Igwah

 Chief Eddy Okoye

 Chief Osita Chinwuba

 Chief (Hon) Jerome Nnechi (JP)

Chief Paul Nnamah

 Prince Raph Chikwenze

 Chief Emma Ikem

 Chief George Ejimofor (JP)

 Chief Charles Chieze