In the first part of this article published last September in this paper, I had indicated I was going to point out some areas of trado-cultural aberrations that take place in Arochukwu today with regard to the traditional rulership of the town that weren’t happening in those good days of quintessential trado-cultural exactitude and valued administrative ambiance of the people of the ancient town of Arochukwu, the acclaimed bastion of the trado-cultural heritage and practice of the Igbo nation. This is in fulfillment of that promise and we must begin immediately in the discussion.

The number one bothers on the administration of justice traditionally and using traditional structures and templates, and even super-structures if you like, in doing this. It is important we begin and make it clear, abundantly and categorically from the outset, that even before the presence of the White men here in Nigeria and Africa in general who had come through their conquest roles and explorative activities to Nigeria in particular beginning from 1859 when the hoisted their style of governance, and ruling us in colonialism throughout and leaving Nigeria in 1960 after one hundred years of their presence in Nigeria, the indigenous peoples of the kingdoms of the Black Africans were using their available institutions to arbitrate and settle conflicts and disputes among themselves as no society has ever existed or will exist without conflicts. Conflicts are an integral part of ALL political societies. They are inevitable. 

That was exactly the case in Arochukwu. Cases were settled among the people by their traditional leaders and rulers. So, when one member of the community felt injured by another or had been accused of something bad, such a person would approach the traditional ruler or the village head and file a suit for the arbitration of such a case traditionally. This was what obtained in those days in Arochukwu, and has continued till today.

During the life-long reign of His Majesty, the Eze Aro VII of Arochukwu, Mazi Kanu Oji (that lasted to 1987), the traditional rulership of Arochukwu was superb in this area of traditional dispensation of justice within the entity called Arochukwu, and even in the villages. Nearly every thing was done the right and correct ways always, as the dictates of the cultural heritage of Arochukwu were strictly followed.

So, in those days, any villager who felt their rights were trampled upon or were breached in any other way would take their complaint to their village head or to the palace of the Eze Aro, or Eze Ibom Isii, or and Eze Ezeagwu Na Okwara Agwu, as the case may be. In doing that, the concerned individual would follow the laid-down rules of engagement and all other things that were to be followed in laying such complaints. The adjudication of every matter had what the complainant would bring towards in instituting his case – in cash and other materials. Even in the modern-day law courts of government, the same obtains. It takes certain payments in some amounts to file cases in regular courts of law today throughout the country.  

In Arochukwu, the rite customary practice of the people required that a complainant would deposit a fixed amount of money to institute a case against a defendant. This still obtains till today. Once the complainant brings such a deposit, the defendant would be notified of the suit brought against him, and be told  to come and respond to such a suit by bringing an equal amount of money as the complainant before the case will be heard by the cabinet members. 

After the defendant must have brought the amount (and other things that might be required), the case is tried. Arochukwu traditional norms, practice and value require that if after the hearing of the case the defendant is found liable or guilty, the complainant will be refunded his monetary deposit while the deposit of the defendant will be retained by the village head or the traditional ruler and his cabinet, and vice versa. This is what the cultural heritage of the people of Arochukwu dictates. But is this piece of Arochukwu cultural value practised now by the village heads and the traditional rulers? A few recent examples will answer the question. 

A woman had approached her village head and complained about a case that bothered on a civil matter she had wanted the Ezeogo to settle. Her Ezeogo told the woman to come and formally institute a traditional suit on the matter before his cabinet, and which she did, depositing seven thousand naira while instituting that amount in doing that alongside a bottle of hot drink with the assurance that, in keeping with trite traditional practice of Arochukwu, that the party that lost the case would forfeit their deposited amount while the two bottles of wine would be taken by the cabinet members, as was the practice according to cultural dictates.

The case was tried and judged in favour of the woman, who had expected a refund of the seven thousand naira she had deposited but which did not happen. The concerned Ezeogo and his cabinet made a U-turn and said that they would no longer make the refund but retain the money from the two parties but did not give any acceptable reason for that except in ‘iri ochoochoo.’ Later, one of the cabinet members told the woman that the present traditional rulers and village heads ‘no longer refund such deposited monies because of the present circumstances,’ whatever that means. 

Thus, the age-long cultural nicety of refunding depositors their money when they win their cases in traditional, civil suits in their villages and Arochukwu as a whole has been jettisoned by many of the Ezeogo’s in Arochukwu today for no justifiable reason(s), and even other rulers of the town. Is this ignoble act of cultural aberration not occasioned by mere ‘iri ochoochoo’ that is widespread among some traditional leaders in Arochukwu today and even  village-union executives, or those of the town unions? In the first place, why should it cost a poor woman-villager as much as seven thousand naira to institute a case in her village? Yes; why? 

 I am inclined to wish we could bring back the sound traditional, golden era of the Eze Aro VII of Arochukwu, and the early part of the reign of the Eze Aro VIII of Arochukwu; for the traditional rulership in Arochukwu blossomed greatly during those periods, and Aro’s benefitted from them, really.    

Personally, I was recently affected by this act of trado-cultural aberration occasioned by mere  ‘iri ochoochoo.’ Somebody had accused me falsely of what I never did. I was unhappy so I complained to my Ezeogo and instituted a civil suit in his cabinet on directive, depositing five thousand naira I was required to do so with a promise the previous day that whoever won the case would be refunded his money in obedience to the cultural dictate of the people. The case was tried and judged in my favour, and I had expected my money back as should be the case. 

But I was told that I would not be refunded the money; with the explanation that ‘that practice is no longer tenable in Arochukwu,’ and no reason was given to me; and when I complained to one of the three traditional rulers in Arochukwu, he confirmed that such deposits were no longer refunded after judgment; and when I requested him to explain more on that and give me reasons for that cultural travesty  on why the refunds were no longer made, he gave no reason, and which made me to conclude that the practice was occasioned by mere ‘iri ochoochoo’ that has no cultural backing –it is a piece of cultural aberration.      

The implications of this act of ‘iri ochoochoo’ when it concerns refund of deposited amount for adjudications and refunding same to the winner of the case are many and varied. One of them is that the idea of letting the loser of the case forfeit his deposit was to discourage false claims or laying false accusations, has been defeated by this bad development. Regular courts even award costs to winners of certain cases brought before them. 

Again, people who find out that those they accuse and who may not afford to raise the money to come and respond to the cases filed against them will be forced to do more now, and no matter how many cases that are filed against such people. Such people are plenty in our midst and may not be seeking for justice as minimal costs again. This is a dangerous situation.

 So, in effect, somebody can decide to force another person to spend his or her money frivolously, whether such a person has such money or not, by filing multiple cases against such person, knowing full well that even if the case will be in the defendant’s favour, he will not be refunded the amount in responding to the suit. Really, this is where our present traditional rulers and village heads get it wrong; we are not wiser than our forefathers who introduced that system in the past. 

We should not jettison the practice now. The modern-day village heads must revive this piece of cultural nicety in the interest of the good people of Arochukwu.

But some parts of Arochukwu, including certain compounds, still practice this age-long value of refunding deposited money to the winner in any suit. One of such compounds is Ndi Agor, Obinkita. We must commend them for adhering to this piece of cultural beauty of the Aro man of the old. Others should emulate them, please, and preserve our cultural heritage in this regard. It is very good and well-meaning.