Dr. NGOZI OLEJEME: AN AMAZON PAR DIFFERENCE

BY PATRICK OGBOGU

Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Juliet Olejeme is a woman of many parts. She is an acute administrator, Finance and Insurance expert, Entrepreneur, Management consultant, Philanthropist, Politician, Social Mobilizer, Human Rights activist, Nationalist and a devout Christian.

She rose from a humble background to national prominence during the military regime of late General Sani Abacha between 1993-1998 when she fearlessly joined other progressive forces in Nigeria to raise a strong opposition against the military dictator taking cognizance of the fact that military incursion into Nigeria politics is an aberration to democratic ethos. 

An alumnus of Ivy League Universities in both the US and the UK Ngozi is an Amazon with much piety and sagacity and has distinguished herself as an exemplary public officer who uses her skills, wisdom, and uncommon brilliance as the board Chairman of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) and as the Convener of Subsidy Re-Investment And Empowerment Program (SURE-P) On Public Works to steer the ship of these trust funds to enviable heights amongst other government agencies.

 Apart from Ngozi's transformational drives as Chairman of Pension Trust Fund Plc, a subsidiary of NSITF, the Amazon won the admiration of Nigerian workers and labour leaders when she spearheaded the passage of the sumptuous Employee Compensation Scheme (ECS) bill into law. 

The scheme among other benefits provides for adequate compensation to all categories of Nigeria workers both in the public and private sector and their dependants in the event of any injury, sickness, disability or death arising in the course of employment.

No doubt, Ngozi has tore down barriers and has overtaken her contemporaries and surpassed men of timber and caliber. The secrets behind her success in life is based on her philosophy about life, which is "Faith in God and rendering selfless service to humanity" 

Ngozi's personal character, humane nature and her ability to impact on people's lives particularly the widows and the less-privileged ones in the society through her official contacts and financial capability has endeared her favorably to the generality of Nigerians who described her as a benevolent woman who is filled with the milk of human kindness, Ngozi's pet foundation the U and I and widowhood projects designed to improve the lives of widows and the down-trodden persons had in Asaba donated cash prizes to 200 widows cut across her Oshimili South Local Government Area to enable the widows establish the trade of their choice and be able to carter for their entire families. 

She has equally made some cash donations to each market woman to enable them improve on their trades. While committing her personal resources to afford educational facilities for indigent and brilliant students in different parts of the country, she has equally assisted many displaced youths and graduates to secure gainful employments in government establishment. 

Aside from giving financial support to the old people's homes, Ngozi has equally given priority attention to our traditional institutions in ensuring that royal fathers uphold our rich cultural heritage, encourage family values and promote peace and unity among various ethnic groups a well as to contribute to the political system of governance. 

As a woman, Dr Ngozi believes that women should be given the necessary support to reach high leadership positions and should not be discriminated against as a result of their gender. Surely, Ngozi has weathered all storms and has performed more than Napoleon Bonaparte. In recognition to Ngozi's outstanding contributions to nation building and for bringing more dignity to her home town Asaba the Delta State capital.

Dr Ngozi who was first appointed as board Chairman of the NSITF by late President Umaru Musa Yar Adua in 2009 and re-appointed by President Good luck Jonathan in 2011 for another four year term in office was on Saturday November 16, 2013 in Lagos honored overwhelmingly by her Asaba people who came from different parts of the world defiling all odds to confer on Ngozi the "Distinguished Citizen Award" in a colorful ceremony which was well attended by dignitaries such as the Asagba of Asaba, Obi (Prof) Chike Edozien (CFR) and the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar amongst others. 

The award event which was organized by the Asaba Development Union, Women Wing, Lagos, during their 65th Anniversary and Special Award Ceremony brought to the fore, the Asaba Amazon and NSITF boss who had been working round the clock under the presidency towards resolving the FG/ASUU impasse.

Ngozi, had earlier bagged an honorary Doctorate Degree from the American Heritage University of Southern California and the prestigious African International Award (AIA) in Ghana. 

She is a Fellow of the Civilian Institute of Democratic Administration and Life Member / Commonwealth Ambassador of Royal Commonwealth Society among others. 

No doubt, these laudable achievements have not only endeared Ngozi favorably to the presidency but have also established her names beyond the frontiers of the Commonwealth. 

No wonder, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, a former US Secretary of State had described Ngozi as an excellent class of African women leaders who are championing democratic leadership in Africa.

How APC YOUTH and Others Marked 2013 World AIDS Day In Delta State.

Ekwensu: What Catherine Acholonu taught Dr. Aniedobe

Dr. Aniedobe shared with Asaba Post News-Wire what he felt when his good friend, and mentor, Professor Obiechina died, he told us that a part of Igbo history died with him. Very few were as versed in Igbo history and culture as Prof. Obiechina. Very few are more organically Igbo than he was. He said the shock of his death still have a sharp grip on him over the death of a well grounded mentor and it has been so hard to write a tribute to him.

When Prof. Obiechina couldn’t tell me the philological derivation of “ekwensu,”as an Igbo word, I knew that there might be no other place to turn. I turned to my own biological father, quite a historian himself, but he had no clue. Many of us know ekwensu as the anti-God principle; the devil, Satan, Lucifier etc; but few have wondered why and how the Igbos began to call that anti-God principle - ekwensu.

Why is that important? Because few things are more important to us than our religion.

Our relationship with ekwensu, that anti-chukwu element, does inform tremendously about the Igbo world view. No other phrase in Igbo language evokes as much fear and loathe as ekwensu. But was ekwensu an anti-chukwu element known in traditional religion? Did that anti-chukwu element carry over as the anti-God element of the assimilated Western religion? What in fact was the role of “ekwensu” in shaping Igbo culture and belief system.

One way to deal with that problem was to do a philological deconstruction of “ekwensu.” Prof Obiechina and I tried. “Ekwe” we know could be a wooden gong; could be an affirmation as in “we agree” but the “nsu” term just floored us. Does “nsu” have ties with “esu” as in ogu esu (fight breaks out) so that one can say that “ekwensu” literally means a wooden gong that announces war or generally that announces a bad thing. Professor Obiechina and I parted ways on that day promising to get back to each other once we find the meaning of “ekwensu.” He died before I could share my discoveries with him.

I reasoned that “ekwensu” could be a corruption of “ekwensi” a phrase which means, “not capable of being poisoned,” or “refusing to be poisoned,” but that did not seem to jive with the religious underpinnings of “ekwensu.” I discarded that theory.

Next I theorized that “ekwensu” could be a corruption of “ekwenshi” but ekwenshi had no philophical bearing as far as I could tell. Somehow, though, I figured out that if I could find out the meaning of “nshi” in Igbo language, I could in fact crack the riddle of the “ekwensu” phrase.

When I met Catherine Acholonu, Igbo’s foremost master comparative philologist, I experienced a new dimension. In one of her writings, “the Origin of the Igbo – the Chosen people of the true God,” Catherine used the methodology of comparative philology and wrote as follows: Please read carefully. My analysis continues afterwards:

From Catherine Acholonu
“The Niger-Congo belt is the home of the dwarfs also called Pygmies of the Congo Basin. Ikom folklore says that dwarfs which they call Mong-kom (and which the Igbo call Nwa-Nshi) were the authors of the monoliths, known to the natives as Akwa-Nshi. Dwarfs were known in antiquity as adept workers of metal and great magicians. The link between the Ikom name of the monoliths - Akwa Nshi - and the Igbo name of the dwarfs - Nwa-Nshi - indicate that it was an Igbo-speaking Nwa-nshi community that authored the monoliths and invented the ancient sacred script known to thee Cross River indigenes as Nshi-biri – (which in Igbo means ‘Written by Nshi’), used by the members of the Ekpe cult whose sacred temple is the monoliths capital located at the monoliths circle in the village Alok, Ikom. The fact that the Cross River people of the monoliths have little no in-depth knowledge about the Nshi phenomenon so deeply rooted in Igbo Weltanschauung and central to the identity and cosmology of the creators of the monoliths, is ample testimony that the authors of the monoliths and the creators of Igbo culture belong to the same cosmological bloodline. This explains the link with Igbo Ukwu bronzes!”

“Akwa Nshi means ‘Property of Nshi’, and Bantu, as we have earlier indicated, has its origin in the Ikom/Benue linguistic belt! The root etymon Kwa in Akwa Nshi, would tend to connect the Nshi dwarfs with the Kwa language family to which belong quite a number of West African tribes including the Igbo.”

“[t]he native name of the monoliths which the Ikom oral tradition says were made by dwarfs, is Akwa Nshi. An Igbo mythology known as Ndi Ichie Akwa Mythology or Folklore Origins of the Igbo (I.N.C.Nwosu, 1983) maintains that God gave the Law in the form of stone tablets to the ancestors of the Black race, and that these stone tablets were called Ichie Akwa (a cognate of Akwa Nshi). The story says that leadership of the Black race, hence the world fell on the Igbo nation by primogeniture.”

“The Akwa Nshi stones of Ikom are each a representation of an ancestor. It features the ancestor Eve (whom the Ikom indigenes call Shishe (by an uncanny coincidence, Shishe happens to be the same Hebrew name which Adam gave to Eve the moment she was created), the first woman on earth to ever bear a child by pregnancy! Another monolith among those that have been transcribed so far, bore the name Kheme (Ham). Ikom indigenes translate the term Akwa Nshi as ‘Spirits in the Earth’. This may mean that the stones above ground are representations of god-men who have gone underground, died, or were god-sons of the earth goddess.”

“Native legends say the monoliths were made by dwarfs who acted with one mind (having a group soul), who were called Mo-nkom in the native Ikom dialect, which literally means ‘the little people (mo), of one mind (nkom)’. The word Nshi/Eshi and variations of it were also used by Egyptians and Cushites as a secret name of pygmies and Blacks from the land of the gods. Chami noted that the Egyptians attributed the origin of Pygmies to the land of Punt … and they identified the Puntites as being “nehsi” … The Cushites maintained the same concept for Black people whom they called “nehesyu”. The Swahili of the coast of East Africa have maintained the word “nyehusi” for black.”

“It must be noted that their discovery of the autochthons, “the little heaven beings”, the Akwa Nshi or Igbo Nwanshi in Punt/Panchea/Nigeria-Cameroon geographic environment was the ticket to the colonization of the world. “

My Analysis Continues

From the above excepts, “nshi” probably referred in ancient Igbo to autochthons, little heaven beings, spirits of the earth who acted with one mind. “Ekwenshi” or what is known today as “ekwensu” therefore probably refers to a rebellious character who did not agree with the autochthons.

Now tell me if the above story does not sound eerily similar to the Biblical legend of Satan. Now ask yourself which theory predated the other. Precisely what Catherine is trying to say. Before Adam and Eve and Moses, etc; there were the Igbos, the sons of the true God. Call them angels or call them autochthons, there is a striking convergence in belief systems across the world that tend to point to a common origin of all religions.

Whether Catherine is right or wrong, our challenge today is to commit to exploring the rich ramparts of Igbo history and culture. Let’s not easily discard our traditional belief system as those of a barbaric, illiterate, tree dwelling Africans who needed to be civilized. Chances are, we once civilized everyone else. That is the case that Catherine has so eloquently made. To boggle your mind just a little, how many times have you seen extraterrestrials depicted as dwarf like beings. Sounds like the ancient Igbos knew about spirit sons of the earth who were dwarfs.

As for my “discoveries” about the origin of the word “ekwensu” I regret deeply that Professor Obiechina is not here today to share that “discovery” with me. That active mind of his would have listened intently at me and smiled approvingly and would have probably added something like, “Chris, look at the words relationship, kinship for the etymonic interplay of “nshi” in those words. I agree with you that comparative philological analysis could in fact point to those words as being derived from the Igbo word “nshi” tending to mean working with one mind.”

“Indeed,” I would have said, “the Igbo origin of Adam and Eve is not as far fetched as many later day Christians may want to us to believe.” There is a lot to the Igbos than meets the eye. Be Igbo, be proud!

Love, Marriage and the meaning of 'I love you' in Igbo tradition of old

*The ABC of Igbo Romance

By Christopher Aniedobe

Recently, I received news that still makes me sad till this day. An Igbo couple I know and respect parted ways. One day, the man came home from work and there was no wife and no kids. Just like that. Gone. Moved out with the kids. Marriage over. After 18 years. Chineke!

Infidelity was not the issue. Basic nice man and woman they still are. Just irreconcilable differences. Could this be you? Not your portion, I say.

Many Igbo marriages are hitting the rocks and that is because romance like everything else must be rooted in its originating culture. Igbo marriages have gone Hollywood and are hitting the rocks like your typical Hollywood marriage.

Imagine a bouquet of flowers to an Igbo girl. Plain insult. Prefers cold cash or hot cash or money to send to her family. Not nonsense bouquet. Otua ka odi [that's the way it is]. All romance is local, my good friend.

Years ago someone wrote a best seller. Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus.

But your grandfather already knew that and practiced that and had a very successful marriage and you are a living testimony to how well he navigated the white water rapids that is men-women relationships. He gave you all the tools: structural and emotional. He even gave you the aphorisms to boot. The only thing worthy, he says, to hold in the mouth is the tongue. He was talking sex there and a whole lot of sense.

Realizing that men were from Mars and women were from Venus, your grandfather made outhouses called nkpuke for his wives. He warned you of the dangers of sleeping on the same bed with your wife 360 days a year.

Not only do you insist on living in the same Obi with your wife, you share the same bed too. Well, you see, your grandfather's nkpuke had many uses including sequestering your temper-prone grandmother. Umu Nwoke adi acho nkpali [a local saying that 'men don't like insult'] even if the lady was temporarily insane at that time.

Your grandfather knew that a man who could predict a woman’s behavior from moment to moment had not been made. He knew that your grandmother needed space to sort things out. But it was more than that. Nkpuke allowed your grandfather to renew his romance on a periodic basis. Nothing recharges a romance like temporary absence of lovers. True that. Nothing kills a marriage like a no-space marriage.

You see, Igbo marriages are hitting the rocks because most people are going Hollywood style also known as no-space marriage. With all the pressures of life in modern times, marriage has become like locking up two stressed out people under one roof for life with no space.

Every woman, you see, needs a little space to do women stuff.

So did your grandfather. His little castle, his Obi, was his and everyone else, including your grandmother was an invited guest. Many will crack under that psychological pressure of no space marriage and they do crack.

Your grandfather knew that no-space marriage was a bad idea because women and men are from different planets. Why tempt nature.

Imagine learning the secrets of romance and relationships from Hollywood of all places. But that is how messed up the Igbo family has become.

Women now want flowers but you need to hear them cursing you in their heart if you think that a kiss and a flower will take care of it all. Mbanu!

Your grandfather knew that a good sized tuber of yam and a grown cock or hen always brought smiles to your grandmothers heart. Guaranteed.

If you go flowers on an Igbo wife and forget some of the real tangible stuff, you will be disappointing grandpa and there might be serious consequences.

When you finish doing like Oyibo, do like Igbo man or face the consequences. Here is the simple logic. If you do traditional wedding and Western wedding, why did you dump traditional romance in favor of Hollywood romance?

The tragedy for most of our men is that they went Hollywood on their marriages and forgot all
the basic stuff. If you learn your disco, no forget your ajasco. Our women now want it all since they began to get their own pay checks. If you don't deliver both ajasco and disco, bad things could happen. Otua ka odizi [that's how it is now].

Not only does your relationship with Madam have to be organic, you have to watch the language.

Ever wondered how your grandfather expressed his love to your grandmother? No, not "I love you." There is no such thing as love in Igbo language. 'Afulu ngi na anya' is how Igbos say I love you. But wait a minute.

What is grandfather trying to really say here literally and figuratively, "I see you with my eyes" is the literal meaning of I love you. Chineke! How is that the equivalent of I love you? Makes zero sense. Not even Afulu ngi (I see you); to also add I see you with my eyes - like he was going to see you with someone else's eyes.

Imagine grandfather holding grandmother and saying I see you with my eyes in Igbo. Really awkward way to express love. Wouldn't grandmother think that grandfather has gone nuts? That is the point. Watch
the language.

Say what the misses can understand and appreciate. Many of you say "I love you," forgetting that it makes no sense in Igbo. As well as 'I see you I'm my eyes' makes no sense whether said in Igbo or in English. Just bring the love already. That is how grandmother appreciated his man - action, not words.

Many go Hollywood and they try to sweet talk through their marital difficulties. Action O! not words is what grandfather would say.

But have you ever sat down to wonder how the Igbos came up with 'I see you with my eyes' as the Igbo
equivalent of 'I love you'?

Your naughty grandfather is to blame.

You see, when an Igbo man's lecherous urge is aroused, look at his eyes. He is leering and ogling and trying to hold conversation like his heart is in the conversation.

Watch his eyes as he slowly turns them to assess the aspects of the woman of his fancy. Yap, that lascivious gaze gives his heart away all the time.

You see, the Igbos say, "I see you with my eyes" to mean "I love you" because they know that the eyes are the windows of the heart.

So you see, when grandfather looks at grandmother with lascivious intent, grandmother understands that
grandfather's heart desires to have their romance renewed that night. Nothing much needed to be said. In fact, all grandfather has to do is shove some hen and yams at grandma and grandmother looks at his eyes and sees that 'I see you with my eyes', and she knows that it was going to be a night to be remembered.

Simple gestures that write romantic volumes. 'The eyes', they had it all for grandfather and that is why for them amorous love was always preceded that deadly Igbo romantic look. Hence 'I love you' became "Afulu ngi na anya."

Think of grandfather's bed. It was a raised mound of hard clay in a house with thatched roof. But his marriage worked.

Your bed, your grandfather would say, is over rated. The heart, not the genitals is the proper equipment for love. If you mean it, it will show in your eyes and nothing much needs be said.

So to recap give space, say what makes sense, or keep quiet, and forget them flowers.

It does not show seriousness in Igbo culture. Hard cash is to your grandmother what flowers meant for Elizabeth Taylor.

And, don't over rate your bed.

POEM

                 




                                                       It was all a ruse.

They all gathered at the market square that sunny African morning to watch the home-coming of Egwugwu, the glorious ancestral spirit of the village of amaka'mma.

Amaka'mma [I am too beautiful] was one of the six villages that made up the land of the Dark and Adept.

In this land deep divisions prevailed.

Each village was entitled to one glorious ancestral spirit big spirit, and so the gods gave them one that did great wonders.

As spirits in the land of the dark and adept are wont to do, they danced, toasted, usurped, and wasted all the precious stones the collective community had gathered.

The people loved it. It was the life.

They only had one rule: waste the precious stones all you may like, but do not get caught.

They were spirits, all right, and so their rules were the people's antithesis of order.

The people, for instance, could see the substance of the things not hoped for; the evidence of the things seen.

Hahaha!

The people generally loved their spirits, but hated in equal measure, the spirits of the next village.

There were some who loved the spirits of other villages. These found sharp reprimand amongst their people,

"Efulefu" [lost one(s)] they called them.

"But they are progressives" some would argue.

"Nonentities" others would oppose.
"There must be something good about them, let's call them progressive-nonentities" the wise, old, die-hards would say, with a tint of sarcasm.

Haha!

And so spirits like Fani, from a distant village would say in treacherous candour, "I once bedded a spirit of amaka'mma," and all would gasp.

"Ah! Is it conceivable that spirits can do what humans do?"

"Alu!" [forbidden], they spat, "it must not be heard in public"

"And how did the people hear this?" they queried. "Since when did spirits speak to humans" the people hissed.

And the elders of the village of Fani, blamed the gods for giving them a spirit that was bereft of the virtue of discernment, but a few secretly loved it.

The people of the village of amaka'mma simply called Fani, 'Ulili' [hare/squirrel] or 'Ulili n'ofia' Fani was the proverbial hare in the farm that ravaged and scattered the people's farm in the pursuit of their own food.

The spirits communicated through their long, faceless cloaks, but only to the collective communal elders.

In spite of themselves, all in the land of the dark and adept collectively turned against any spirit that got caught.

The punishment was a public unmasking. At such times, the community was no longer at ease.

Today, the spirit of amaka'mma had to be punished.

It was alleged that she had scattered 2 precious stones and got caught.                                                                                      
And they talked about the two precious stones paraphrasing their wisest.

"Why did it take the stones in the day time when it knew that stones could only successfully be taken at night?", some asked all and sundry.

"If it knew the stones were problematic, why had it not let it go, albeit with a bit of bad grace?" others quipped.

"Was it not a saying in the land that a spirit should not, out of pride and etiquette, swallow its proverbial phlegm?" The wise ones counseled.

The spirit entered the center of the courtyard and the people gasped.

They marveled at amaka'mma's beauty.

"Did you see her colours?",

 the people whispered to one another. No egwugwu wore colours like Amaka'mma.

"Did you see Amaka'mma's height... and grace...?"

The people knew the village of Amaka'mma only sent female spirits to the center.

This one was something to behold, but today, it would be unmasked.

No sooner had the spirit entered the courtyard into the presence of the communal elders, something happened.

Actually, it was so quick it appeared nothing happened. It was like a Mike Tyson fight. Over in 10 seconds.

Haha!

"Wetin happen?" [what happened?], everyone asked the other.

And the people had only one thought, "I carried my bench on my head and walked 6 miles to see this; how do I go home without seeing anything?"

"Wetin happen?" they asked those who had sat in front; and who were now walking slowly through the centers, making their way home.

They shook their heads, slowly and sadly in response; not giving away anything.

"Wetin happen?" the people asked again.

Finally, as they shuffled through, they ventured, each in their own language but all saying the same thing:

"Aka a di'ria"

"e hand no dey"

"Her hand was not in it"

And the people understood.

It was all a ruse.