Welcome to Aro Onyokometer. It is a rare column in any news stand. It will mean so much to Aro Community because it will open a lot of cankerworms in Aro community, check our inadequacies and help correct a lot of social ills. Aro Onyokometer is in all Aro villages. Mind you, from Ugwuakuma to Amuivi. The Onyokometer is seeing every village events, burials and marriages. The Onyokometer is seeing you as you are reading this piece. It knows every Aro man, woman and visitors. It knows your behaviours and characters. Onyokometer will find you if you are a bad man or woman in the society, Onyokometer will report you if you are a thief, a womaniser, a cult member, a gossip, a lair and in which ever form you portray yourself. Onyokometer knows all those involved in uziship, those who go after married women, men to destroy their homes, those involved in diabolism and evil men, Ezes who give bad judgments in their villages and use their position to intimidate others. We even know those who help others to survive. So, you have no place to hide if you are evil or good in Aro Kingdom. Interestingly, Onyokometer is even sitting comfortably in every home and will report you to the public if you misbehaved.
So, this is a time to behave ourselves. The good news however is that Onyokometer will not witch hunt or tell any story to assasinate characters. No! Only the true stories would be told of any event or incident in Aro. You are once again welcome.
Today Onyokometer will take you to one good thing that happened in Aro recently. It is good because Aro leadership took a firm decision to avoid a calamity that was rearing its ugly head to destroy the kingdom. Before that decision some of the ancestral Ezes were involved in that unfortunate exercise of taking Umu Aro or complaining about Umu Aro to any shrine of their choice for a case they could ordinarily handle. These Ezes made those occultic shrines superior to their own powers of deciding on issues brought before them. They advertently surrendered their authorities to those shrines for their selfish reasons. Perhaps, you have heard the powers of two famous shrines in Aro local government “ The UGWUDIKE ASAGA” and “NDE NDU” shrine of Ihechiowa. These two shrines are heavy weights in Aro circle and so there is panic once you are there. Sadly our Ezes by constantly patronising these shrines inavertently surrendered their powers of authority to the shrines because they now refer their subjects to those shrines for final abiteration. And thus the shrines are basking in the euphoria of fame because patronage was high. And who will not when who is who in Aro, respected ancestrial Ezes and people from all walks of life are referred to the shrines for solutions to their problem. God was simply pushed it aside.
It was a very unfortunate period in Aro history that matters are now settled in front of shrines rather than in villages and by Eze Ogos. Perhaps due to lack of confidence in the village judiciary, individuals also took their quarrels with neighbours to those shrines who now took the centre stage of Aro matters. Thus today you hear people going to complain to the shrine. Tomorrow you hear a shrine has invited Onyeze to come and answer to the complaint of his brother, sister or neighbours or even political associates at the end of which heavy penalties are imposed or if luckily he gets exonerated by the shrine. That had lingered in Aro circle for sometime now and given some prominent Aros a cause to worry. God intervened. And the tides changed.
Discussions on the use of shrines to settle disputes in Aro became a source of worry to many. People have died in the process and it was believed that they were killed by the shrines. It was a terrible moment in the history of Aro kingdom. For example, some people accept to take the oath to exonorate themselves from accusations or allegations levelled against them.
They do so to declare their innocence from accusations and when they survive, they celebrate their survival. Aro leadership found themselves in control of the shrines. The shrines took over village administrations and Aro was heading for total doom.
However, Aro highest ruling body Okpankpo Aro became embarrassed by this practice and in 2005 announced orally that any such practice will attract heavy punishment and that persons who took brothers, sisters or neighbours and political associates to any shrine will be fined and suspended from participating in Aro activities. Notwithstanding this threat, the practice moved on unabated and the consequences can better be imagined than experienced. But God was working. He knows the right time to put a stop to the evil in Aro kingdom. And so, a solution came. A letter dated 6th May, 2021 signed by the three principal ancestral Ezes in the Kingdom – HRH Eze Okoroafor Uro, (Eze Eze Agwu); HRH Eze (Dr.) Kanu Nwa Kanu, (Eze Ibom Isii) and Arianzu Arochukwu Kingdom, Mazi Augustine Kanu Okoro in council and Ndi Eze Ogos put paid to that ugly trend. The letter re-emphasized that the practice of taking umu Aro to a cult and a shrine for settlement of disputes cannot continue and must stop forthwith. Aro decreed therefore that any person or persons that drag anyone to any shrine without the consent of his village head or kindred Eze will be fined by the council and if found guilty will be suspended forthwith from other activities of the community. The suspension according to the letter will only be lifted if such a person pays the fine levied on him. This will serve as deterrent measures to offenders in various communities. For now, the letters are served to leaders of various Aro villages for implementation and now calm has returned and matters are decided by village leadership and not by shrines anymore.
Onyokometer is happy with Okpankpo Aro for initiating this action since 2005 although lately implemented. It is better late than never.
We also salute the courage of the three ancestral Ezes for echoing the voice of the Okpankpo faithful to allow villages decide the fate of their subjects in local court. That is the right way to go. Besides that, there should be good judgments by Nde Eze Ogos in their various councils. This is necessary because bad judgment on any of your subject breeds anger and can force one to look for alternative judgement in which case shrine could be a better option. Onyokometer agreed totally with the decision by Aro leadership on matters of taking Aro sons and daughters, neighbours, political associates to the shrine without the knowledge of the village leadership. That is a serious offence in Aro today, punishable by suspension from Aro kingdom activities in addition to other fines attached. Onyokometer is watching you and all villages or group of people who go contrary to this decision and we report that accordingly to Aro authorities. Don’t forget that Onyokometer has a big eye bulb that can see beyond human comprehension, so be warned and properly guided. Onyokometer will make a return in the next edition of Aro news. Be careful in what you do because Onyokometer is watching. Thanks to my PA Precious Chiemela for assisting me to package this story. Nice girl.
The practice is still going, letter or no letter; decree or no decree.
The People have no reason to be confident in, or respectful of, the leadership of either the kindred Ezes or their Eze Ogos because one does not expect honesty and fair treatment from these Ezes, most of whom are heavily compromised. Hence, the patronage of the likes of ugwudike and other personal gods.
Back in the day when our kingdom was in good hands, we had aboroma Ibom and one or two other feared deities which were used to checkmate the excesses of some Ezes and some so-called powerful individuals. So, this practice is not a new thing. Nde aruru ala akariala na Aro these days, something needs to be used to curb their excesses.