Arochukwu people are known for their rich cultural identity and cultural values with emphasis on integrity, wisdom, support system and enterprising spirit; they engage in valuable endeavors – Nchụka or Igba-mbọ. Their cultural values and identity are driven by wisdom, spirituality, integrity, tranparency, humility, and a strong support system for one another. Umu Aro are called Umu Chukwu, the children of God or Umu Aro Oke-Igbo, the great people of Igboland.
Aro leadership values lay emphasis on: Vision (purpose and direction), Integrity (truth and honesty), Wisdom (knowledge, experience, and good judgement), Influence (ability to inspire and guide people to act in a desired way), Collaboration (cooperation and unity), Service (good governance, care and community service), Humility (respect and trust), Courage (dare to take a risk, make tough decision), Resilience (perseverance, ability to stay strong and navigate challenges successfully), among others.
Aro cultural values have elements of “Igwe bu ike” (unity is strength), “Nwa Aro Icho, Nkpola Icho” (integrity and dignity), “Ako bu Ije” (wisdom and good judgement). Aro people display Igbo-Aro centric behaviors that are rooted in communalism, extended family, respect for elders and leaders, hard work, high ambition, determination to succeed and spiritual ability to strike a balance between individual responsibilities and accomplishments and community members’ collective service and success through support system that enhances inclusive and collective prosperity that is mostly driven by individual desires to succeed and extend their success to benefit their extended family members and community.
The cultural value of collective prosperity creates support system for mentorship (Inya Akpa or Igba boi) or apprenticeship (Imu Avia or Imu Oru) whereby successful people inspire and empower the next generation to succeed so that there will be continuous thriving of wealth and success within the family and community, often expressed as “Aku ruo Uno ọbasa na Ezi na Uno”
Aro people were famous in long distance trading or commerce (Izu Avia) and in other profitable enterprises. In Igbo parlance, “Nde Aro bụ nde Avia”. They are originally traders. Aro cultural values include mentorship system (“Izi mmadi Uzo aku n’uba or Izuputa mmadi”) which provides guidance and coaching to the next generation within the family and community) to undergo apprenticeship or mentorship training under a successful master (Nnam-Ukwu ) in a chosen line of business, often in trades and commerce (Izu Avia). The aim is to help the young generation mentee to become independent and successful entrepreneur in such a way that he will also train the next generations following him to become successful. This ensures there will always be successful people within the family and community to continue to accelerate economic growth for inclusive prosperity to many people to achieve progress and development in the community.
Inya Akpa is a disciplined cultural mentorship process; it is one of the Aro cultural values in leadership training. While serving their masters, the mentees are trained and motivated to learn from their mentors or understudy their masters and humbly carry their master’s bag (Inya Ikpa) to demonstrate their loyalty and willingness to serve their elders and mentors, who will guide them to become successful leaders too.
Most often people from different communities succeed or fail in life depending on how progressive or retrogressive their cultures and cultural values are. People with cultural values that encourage wisdom, education, peace, progress, productive enterprise, economic growth, development and support for one another often prosper more than people with retrogressive culture and toxic cultural values. Aro cultural values are progressive and attractive. They align with Aro leadership values.
Cultural values define what a society considers important, desirable, and right; they often shape the beliefs, behaviors, attitudes, and perceptions of the people of various communities. Cultural values of the Aro identify them as Aro and shape their economic, social and cultural structures and behaviors. These tend to govern how Aro people everywhere live their lives. Cultural values and identity often act as moral or ethical principles that drive and guide Aro people to understand who they are, how they behave, their personal ambitions, aspirations and the roles they are expected to play to improve the quality of their life, enhance development and progress in their families.
Aro Cultural values and identity represent those values which Arochukwu people are well known and respected for – “Ihe eji mara Aro”. They play important roles in influencing the behaviors, perceptions, interactions and leadership styles of the Aro. Therefore, incorporating Aro cultural values and identity such as mentorship (Inya Akpa) and commerce (Izu Avia) into Aro leadership values will enhance collective success, progress and development in Arochukwu kingdom. It becomes imperative now.
Inclusive prosperity mindset is a cultural value that supports mentorship – coaching, teaching and guiding the next generation to humble themselves to serve and follow the path of success some successful people have earlier passed through to become the success story they are; so that the mentees may learn and become successful or even more successful. It requires disciplined attitudes on the part of the willing mentee to show genuine willingness and humility to serve his master and learn from him how to become successful in an honest way.
We advise the younger ones who may wish to succeed in life to follow those who know the right way to success; humbly carry their bags (Nyatara wo Akpa); serve them faithfully; you will learn much from them; and you may excel and succeed even more than them. Every mentor is like a good father; he is delighted to see his mentees succeed and do much better than him.
Success is not necessarily seen only in riches or wealth alone. Success may include creating peace and happiness in you as well as in some others around you. Your success tells its story clearer by the people you have supported with your success to grow and excel. Success may mean improving your personal value in addition to helping others improve their own worth. Success may mean your ability to meet your vision and expectations, and in helping other people meet their own expectations too.
People who may wish to follow the footsteps of successful people to become successful must have disciplined and cultured inquisitive mindset; they should be willing and ready to serve their elders or mentors humbly and truthfully to learn something good from them that may help them improve their skills, knowledge and values to succeed. Smart skills without values are useless and nothing.
Mentees must be humble and willing to carry the service bags (Inya Akpa) of their mentors to be able to learn from them. The act is known as “Inya Akpa Nnam- ukwu”. It is a remarkable service disciplined act every successful mentee goes through with their mentors to become successful. Service, humility, integrity and genuine determination to work hard the right way are the master key to unlock the door to success.
Sometimes people may be asked: “Onye ka Inyara Akpa?” Who have you carried his or her bag as your mentor? Or who did you pass through or see as your mentor or mentors to get to where you are today. You may see and hear some people arrogating that nobody has ever helped them to excel in their careers to become who they are. There is no value of humility and truth in such people. Your mentor is your leader. He or she could be your parents, teachers, friends, family members, colleagues or other people outside your immediate environment who have influenced and impacted positively on your way to success in one way or the other or have helped you to grow and excel in your business or career.
Everybody has at least a mentor whether in learning something new or in doing business such as Izu Avia. Mentors have helped people develop higher skills in specific trades or professions for better future careers; some have helped others go through apprenticeship training (Imu Ọrụ) or acquire higher education or travel outside the country in quest for better opportunities that helped them improve their worth. Always value and appreciate your mentors.
Although Igbo people believe that everyone’s destiny is in his or her hand, it is true that your destiny helper may also be your mentor who may have provided you certain strategic connections, guidance and support to achieve your important goals. It is good to be grateful to your mentors. Aro cultural values of mentorship system (Inya Akpa and Izu Avia) often help people to grow and prosper in honest ways and behave appropriately, knowing the right thing to do either as mentees or even as mentors in service and leadership.
Before people begin to complain about other people not helping them to become successful, let us examine our conscience and ask ourselves the following questions:
*Who have you as a person mentored to succeed or helped become successful in life?
“Mmadi ole za na-aka gi buru Oke Mmadi taa?
*Can you remember who your mentor or mentors were? Who have you carried his or her bag (Inya Akpa) or learned something useful from as your mentor that guided you to success?
“Mmadi Ole ka Inyara tere Akpa – Izi Uzo?” (Izi-Uzo means to show someone the right way to excel).
How grateful and respectful have you been towards those who had helped you to succeed?
Did you know being grateful and respectful are essential cultural values Aro people cherish? People who are ungrateful for favors they received lack discipline and respect in them. They do not have cultural values of gratitude in them. Being grateful and respectful often attract greater favors and blessings from man and God.
We all have roles to play to help promote Aro identity and cultural values that emphasize on the following essential Aro values:
“Onye ahana nwanneya:
Do not abandon your brethren. We are our brother’s keeper. We must always try to help members of our family and community as much as we can. Even if people do not appreciate the good deeds you did for them; do not be discouraged; keep doing good to as many people as you can. It is our cultural value.
“Ọkukọ anagi echezọ Onye voro ya abụbọ na Ụdụ Mmịrị” : Always remember those who helped you in time of need; be grateful to them. Do not bite the fingers that fed you.
“Onye Nweta, ya nyetụ ịbe-ya”: Those who are successful should remember to extend compassion to others by helping them to rise and succeed. The more the success spreads within the family and community the better and merrier! So, extend whatever good, wealth or success (your talents, knowledge and skills) God has blessed you with to your kit and kin. Aro cultural identity and values emphasize collective and inclusive prosperity, success and happiness.
“Akọ na Ụche” is the ancient wisdom that birthed Ako bu Ije that always guides Aro people in everything they do; it guides them in service and leadership and gives them the ability to make judicious decisions and navigate challenges wherever they go. “Akọ bụ Ịje” is one of the principal Aro cultural values and identity metrics; it encourages people to learn wisdom from those who have it, and to apply wisdom in whatever they do – in business, service and leadership.
“Ịbe zim Akọ” is one of the Igbo – Aro cultural values that inspires people to humble themselves to learn from those who know more than them in certain areas or aspects of life.
“Onye mara Ụzọ ịhe Oma, ya zị Ịbe ya”: “Ibe Zum Akọ”: Those who know the right way to find success the honest way should help guide their folks to follow same right way to excel and become successful. It is a master key to the opening of doors of knowledge, inclusive or collective prosperity. It guided the Aro of the past in their mission to buidibg mabt Aro diaspora communities. Aro people do not go to places in quest of valuable enterprises or success all alone, they attract their kit and kin to follow them or join them because there is strength in unity (Igwe bu Ike) and for collective or inclusive prosperity. Aro do not eat alone.
“Ijide, Ibe gi jide, Aku eju na Uno”: When you get rich and others around you are rich and successful the honest way in line with Aro cultural values of Nwa Aro Icho, Nkpola Icho, the more there will be plenty of good things in the family and community to go round; and so, many people will benefit from the wider success. The outcome may enhance peace, collective progress and success in the society.
“Aku Ruo Uno” is Igbo-Aro cultural value that emphasizes the need for people to make their success or wealth get to their native homeland, family and community. And so, let your success and wealth impact positively on your home people. It is our Aro-Igbo cultural value.
“Nwa Aro Icho Nkpola Icho”emphasizes Aro values of honor above riches, integrity, honesty, dignity and discipline as Aro cultural value and identity metric. Any wealth or success that comes without values is deemed wealth derives from dishonest enterprise; such wealth is evil.
“Igwe bụ Ike” is Aro-Igbo cultural value that inspires strength in unity and unity in diversity, solidarity and cooperation; it encourages collective action, mutual support for each other and in community service and development; such as when people collectively build community school to train their younger generations and equip them with relevant knowledge and skills that will prepare them for future success and inclusive prosperity in leadership.
“Onye Azụputara, Ya Zuọ Ịbe ya”: Those who were helped to succeed should also help others to succeed too, so that the chain of inclusive and collective prosperity in the family and community would continue to expand. Do not break the strong chain of inclusive and collective prosperity in your family or community. Help others excel.
Individual support system becomes effective where successful individuals in the community support other people attain improvements in what they do and in what they want to do, including thriving in knowledge and trading (Izu Avia). The essence of a support system is to help people improve quality of their life. Your compassion or empathy may be a lift or tonic someone may need to rise, grow and become successful in your family or community.
Aro people originally embraced commerce or trading (Izu Avia) as a profession or the business they knew how to do. Nde Aro were famous as traders. They bought and sold many profitable things available in the market. Every Aro originated from a certain traditional compound in Arochukwu. In every Aro traditional compound there is an Inyama Avia temple that hosts the spirits or gods of trade and commerce (Izu Avia) and other enterprises that enhance success and prosperity of the people. Traditional Aro people offer sacrifices of thanksgivings at their Inyama Avia temples in their traditional compounds during every Ikeji Aro, to their ancestors for the success and accomplishments they have made during the year. Indeed “Nde Aro bu Nde Avia”.
In Conclusion: Aro cultural values should as a matter of necessity be incorporated into the Arochukwu kingdom community leadership values to enhance knowledge, understanding, wisdom, mentorship, productivity, inclusive prosperity, good governance in leadership that will emphasize integrity, honesty, transparency, respect, and support for one another, among others. As Umu Aro we need to help our people excel in life. It is a path to collective prosperity. Aro people do not eat alone; they share with others. They do not go alone to places of success. They go with their folks and family members to ensure wealth and success expands within their family and community. That was one of the secrets that helped Aro people to establish several Aro diaspora communities in so many places outside Arochukwu. Aro people were courageous, resilient and successful merchants and entrepreneurs. They dare to deal where others fear to get near.
We all need to serve others; and where possible serve as mentors to many people as we can help excel. Leadership is about creating impactful influences, encouraging progessive cultural values and giving quality service to the people that can help meet the vision and aspirations of many people in the community, kingdom or nation to enhance progress, development and wellbeing or happiness and peace of members of the society.
