By Kres Wyse
Man is a funny being that often pretends to know more than his creator by trying to recreate his own world, perhaps, due to present advantage of life and circumstance of power. The good book says that God has put every one in his tribe and nation, yet some want to change where they were born.
Such could be the situation of a certain ONyesom NWike, who has come to assume the air of new cultural identity and progeniture, because of transient wealth and power. A man, who disowns his cultural root and heritage, and parental or ancestral lineage is truly a bastard and unworthy of the father's name, which gave him identity and social relevance.
The cultural association between the Rivers State mainland and the Igbo nation is as historical and true as the names they bear. Since the civil war, historical revisionists and ethnic apologists have strained to redefine the past on the altar of political expediency and social irredentism. From Egbema - part of which is in Imo state - to Ikwerre-Etche and Oyigbo are Igbo in ancestry and tradition. Their dialects, unlike those of the riverine people, such as Ijaw and Kalabari, are distinctly variations of Ibo language.
The debate over the origin of the mainland Rivers State coalesces around the history of the city of Port Harcourt, which was named after the Colonial Secretary, Lewis Harcourt. The city was a mere trading post for Igbo merchants, first to export slave, and after abolition, palm oil, because of its access to the sea, and the presence of European vessels.
However, in 1913, the colonial administration of Nigeria created the port to export coal from the collieries of Enugu located 243 kilometres, north of Port Harcourt, to which it was linked by a railway called the Eastern Line, further strengthening the economic and cultural bonds between the two areas. Port Harcourt economy soon turned to crude oil in 1958, which gave them new economic power, and the push for self determination. The civil was provided the final impetus to cast off the Igbo yoke, and indigenize Port Harcourt, and the entire mainland.
My uncle, who was among the late comers, won a council seat in the Municipal council lead by an Igbo, Chief Richard Nzimiro, who was its first Mayor before independence. Nzimiro, like Odimegwu Ojukwu in Lagos, owned a significant number of the properties in old GRA, so also were other Igbo people. All of these became the subject of "abandoned property."
Virtually all the streets in Port Harcourt bear Igbo names, now mostly corrupted after the war, and the "Abandoned property" absurdity, which proves the point of Igbo dominance of the city, because streets are usually named after its first resident, or prominent members of a place. My uncle lost three properties to the war as abandoned property.
Some of the most prominent people in the state of Igbo consanguinity are proud of their Igbo names, and did not make any attempt to change or disguise such. Former governors, Dr. Peter Odili, Celestine Omeihia, and Rotimi Amaechi; Austin Opara, former deputy Speaker of House of Reps, Uche Secundus, former PDP national chairman, Tony Okocha, SAN, Senator Mbata, the current President General of Ohaneze etc are proud Igbo, who are separated by the accident of history, and expediency of nation building orchestrated by state creation.
Culturally, a non bona fide member of a distinct community does bear the two names of that place. For instance, an Igbo cannot bear Yoruba names, as first and surnames, particularly the latter, which is an obvious indicator of cultural origin and ancestry. We have Igbo bearing Yoruba names, such as Balogun Azikiwe, Mustapha Chike-Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, all surnames reflecting their origin.
Conversely, it is abnormal for a person, who claims to be Igbo, to be known and called, for instance, Femi Adewole. It is so because there's no cultural affinity to his names, which simply implies that the imposter has lost his cultural root and identity. It would be difficult to prove otherwise.
Again, in Africa, names have deep meanings, deriving from either the experiences and expectations of the naming authorities - in this case, the parents and grandparents - or the circumstances of the child's birth. The name Onyesom has Ibo meaning; it could mean one who follows me, or a beloved person, as in Asaba dialect. Are there Igbo people bearing the name? Of course, many. Nwike is also an Igbo name, which means son of a strong or powerful man. Are there Igbo people bearing the name? Aplenty.
So, both names are culturally Igbo, because they have meanings in Ibo, and are common names among the Igbo. Now, the question is, how could a person bear two names that are not originally cultural to him? This is truly un-African.
Socrates was once asked his greatest wonder about man, and he retorted; his inability to learn from the past. Karl Marx said it in a different way, that history repeats itself; first, as a tragedy, and second as a farce or parody. Rotimi Amaechi once played the game of ethnic identity at the apogee of his reign until he was bitten by the bug of power to run for president, then he remembered that he is Igbo.
Politicians are really the worst of us, because they lack scruples and tend to suffer temporary and self-imposed amnesia. But even if they seem to forget, history will remind them. The Igbo say that a child who points to his father's house with left hand is a bastard, because he has denied his heritage.
Onyesom Nwike may pretend to forget his names, and what they mean, but being an ambitious person, the day is coming when history will remind him, or his scions, of being unknown and a stranger to the Igbo in spite of his adulterated names. As the famous British statesman, Edmond Burke, said, there is no permanent friend in politics, only interests. Yesterday's enemies can be today's friends, who may also become future foes.
My father-in-law once said that the greatest challenge of men is for one, who was once rich but became poor to ever forget his past glory; and for another, who was once poor but became rich, to ever remember his humble beginning. In both situations, it is a sign of self-denial and extreme paranoiac and inferiority complex.
A friend, who is greater than a brother is rare, and the Igbo say that when a corpse starts to stink, a best friend will suddenly remember that he is only a friend. ONyesom NWike current friends are also politicians driven by self interests; and all is fair in politics, and everyone is dispensable. What all this unsolicited advisory means is this: A day of reckoning is coming, when the Igbo will be called on to decide your political fate, then you will eat your humble pie, having stooled in your stew.
It was this your anti-Igbo obsession that denied the South East a shot at the presidency in 2023, because of your unbridled ambition to be president, because of ill-gotten wealth, as everything in Nigeria for foe sale. If you had seen yourself as part of them, perhaps, the presidency would have been in the east rather than the west. All because of your treachery against Igbo, which began with civil war, when people like Isaac Adaka Boro, led federal troop to dislodge Biafra from Port Harcourt.
The Igbo are a proud people, who defied the almighty British, and earned their eternal enmity. The feat of Biafra to withstand against super powers' support for Nigeria remains a wonder in world history. The recovery of the Igbo from the devastation of the war within a generation without any external assistance, and in spite of structural disadvantages, and psychological oppression deliberately imposed on them to perpetuate their servitude, is a testament to their greatness as a people, which makes them a source of envy to others.
Therefore, it is the height of impudence and condescension for a man of no parental and cultural pedigree, just because of oil money, which has done them more harm than good, and his stolen wealth and temporary position, to deny being part of such a people, who have changed and created history. He is welcomed to the roll of infamy and obscurity. Having denied himself, history is waiting also to deny him, when the time comes, as an iroko tree without a tap root. Time is the true judge of all things, so time will tell.
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