In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, one of the literature books the school authority had prescribed for us to buy and read in our Class Two days at Methodist College, Uzuakoli in 1976, the author had written that ‘All animals are equal but some are more equal ….’ The satirical work of George Orwell, as he displayed in this classical novel with regard to class struggle among the animal kingdom, actually transcends all spectra of human life – virtually in all societies and climes – even among the nineteen villages of Arochukwu! In Arochukwu, all villages are equal but some are more equal than others. Atani, Obinkita, Amannagwu are all great villages in Arochuwkwu today, among a few others.
Another great village is Amuvi (Uda Mbeleke). This village is unique in many features; it is really ‘one in a million.’ any person who has ever associated with Amuvi village (and her people) very well, or has lived in this village, will agree with me on this. Amuvi has exceptionally level landscape topographically, with fertile soil and streams surrounding it, with more kind-hearted, altruistic people in addition. I make this quantum-description attribute without reservations. To me, as the US is the God’s Own Country of the world so is Amuvi the God’s Own Village of Arochukwu! Yes, two of a kind, to be frank.
Amuvi is to Arochukwu in development what Johannes Guttenberg is to mass education, print-press, to the world, just as the way the Italian inventor, Guglielmo Marconi, is to radio and mass communication in the world through inventing and using radio first in 1895. Recall also that that German, Johannes Gutenberg, had invented the printing press in 1468 that revolutionised print-information dissemination throughout the world, as mankind uses today in reading, writing and printing! Amuvi village has contributed such invaluable feats and ‘inventions’ in Arochukwu. Permit me to explain more.
Throughout Igbo land, no town has a unique way the indigenes dress and a particular custom-wrapper they wear during their traditional occasions. I say this for free. But the Aro are different; we appear in our highly gorgeous, unique wrappers, ‘joji,’ with the Omu Aro symbol-insignia conspicuously emblazoned and embroidered on such wrappers! This is what makes every Aro person thick anywhere they are – in Nigeria, other parts of Africa, the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand. Then, who ‘invented’ the Omu Aro and how did it come about in Arochukwu? The answer is that particular family members in Amuvi had designed and patented it for Arochukwu as a town – the Okereke Brothers. They had done that in love and development; in ‘good thinking, good product!’
Today, out of the nineteen villages of Arochukwu, which village has built a secondary school for their children? None, except Amuvi! What Dr Alvan Azinna Ikoku had done for Arochukwu nay West Africa in 1932 through building Aggrey Memorial Secondary School, Amuvi has done, the first village to build the first community secondary school in Arochukwu! Other villages have allowed their children to continue to trek in the sun and rain to Aggrey on daily basis for studies! Again, the only federal (and perhaps the best) health centre in Arochukwu is located in Amuvi, as attracted by some of the villagers.
History records it, too, that the First Republic law maker from Amuvi, Hon Udenyi, helped in convincing the premier of the former Eastern Region, Dr Michael Okpara, and Zik, to bring back Arochukwu from Eniong Division, to Igbo land in administration, and towards the construction of the Umuahia-Uzuakoli-Ohafia-Arochukwu road that was started before the Biafra-Nigeria civil war broke out.
In Arochukwu today, the indigenes pride themselves of the existence of two periodicals which highlight the activities which go on in the town and publish them during Easter, Ikeji and Christmas periods for posterity. Then, how did Aro News and The Omu Aro come into existence; who founded them? Of course, they came into existence through the ‘good thinking’ of two illustrious sons of Amuvi – Azubike Okoro and Ndionyemma Nwankwo, a public servant and a lawyer respectively. Yes, Amuvi people have always been there for Arochukwu; it didn’t start today. The greatness of Amuvi and the love of her citizens for Arochukwu have never been in doubt.
And now, a factional Eze Aro connection! That HRH, Eze Ibom Isii, Maazi Kanu Nwa Kanu, had crowned Maazi Godwin Kanu Idei the Eze Aro IX of Arohukwu on Friday, 20/10/23 in collaboration with Eze Ezeagwu Na Okwaragwu and Eze Aro-In-Council, is no longer news, including the imbroglio, mudslinging, wrangling and protestations that followed the process thereafter. What is news, however, is that this illustrious prince from the royal family of Oke Nnachi at Oror has his maternal roots traced to the great village of Amuvi too; his mother had been married from Amuvi to Oror, and a few days after he was crowned the Eze Aro IX of Arochukwu, reports had it that he had visited his grandmother, and other relatives, at Amuvi in a hilarious re-union, and during which time he had performed one of his first official functions as Eze Aro – during a football cup presentation ceremony as organised by the Ego Bekee Football Academy which is, again, the first of its kind in Arochukwu and the whole of Abia North senatorial district. What can be better than this!
Mazi TN Okoroji, Eze Ogo, Amuvi
Actually, the greatness of Amuvi is multi-faceted. The biggest building materials store in Arochukwu is located in Amuvi, and which stocks all known building materials. Amuvi is home to more strangers in Arochukwu than any other village because of the way the people live their lives; making the village the Aba of Arochukwu. According to a private research conducted on the issue by an illustrious Aro academic few years past, Amuvi has the highest number of university degree holders in Arochukwu – even as far back as thirty years ago. It was Amuvi that also produced the first senior advocate of Nigeria, SAN, of Arochukwu origin – the late Dr Nwakamma Okoro.
This is in addition to Amuvi producing the first federal civil servant of Arochukwu origin in history to receive a Presidential Handshake for Integrity award, Orji Nelson Okoronkwo, not long ago – a one-in-a-million achievement and an honourable and glorious feat-achievement brought and done to the town of Arochukwu by this illustrious lawyer-son of Amuvi – particularly in this era of widespread corruption and greed in the land!
Yet again, it is common knowledge that philanthropy is most practised and is very much pronounced among the people of Amuvi – and love too. Amuvi villagers, alongside those of Atani, love themselves more and go extra mile to help each other more than what we see in many other villages, particularly in the area of formal education-acquisition and solving general societal problems. Today, Amuvi parades the best village market in Arochukwu, which was designed, built and donated by one of their sons based overseas – one of the Onyeador’s, who is known as the Duke of Asia, Chief Obinna Azubuike.
Amuvi is also the most planned village in Arohukwu in terms of how and where the people build houses and the provision of access roads internally. In my personal assessment as a public health practitioner trained in housing, no other village in Arochukwu has more planned pathways, lanes, crescents, et cetera than Amuvi! This began in the 1960’s through the pioneering efforts of the late Sir Alex Onyeador, Mr Martin Nlenanya Okoro and a few others who started planning the village then.
In point of fact, Amuvi people have always helped those who relate to them, their grandchildren and friends. Amuvi people are very altruistic and caring; they love to help more people. Many people who have benefited from the generosity of Ndi Amuvi are legion and remain eternally grateful to them for their kindness and hospitality. I am one of them. I lived with them from 1972 after the early death of my father in August 1968 when I was just seven. I plead for an editorial permission here to remember Deede Hyacinth Okoro, Deede Martin, Dede Goddy Amara and Nnenne Ukwu Udara (Mama Titi) and others, who had given us (their grandchildren) the best in love, care and educational training while some of us attended ACPS, Amuvi. Till today, many Amuvi people living outside Amuvi do not know I do not hail from their village but Isimkpu because of the highest degree of assimilation and inclusivity we had received in the village. We remain grateful to Ndi Amuvi.
Yes, long ago, really, it was widely said, in an insinuative reference, that a laa m Aro o bu Amuvi. This derogatory insinuation translates to mean that Amuvi was the remotest, underdeveloped and most isolated part of Arochukwu geographically – where no person would like to visit while in Arochukwu – in fact, the last village in Arochukwu! But today, many of those who travel to Arochukwu from Aba or Umuahia past through Amuvi first before going to their ime Aro villages in reverse order, because of the good, link road from Akwa Ibom State. This is the irony of life.
Yes, we salute the greatness of Amuvi and wish her to continue.
… and goodbye to Aro News
Many years ago, I’d stumbled on the then few-paged, black-and-white printed tabloid, Aro News that circulated in Arochukwu then. As a person who’d been introduced to reading widely while at Methodist College Uzuakoli, and who’d subsequently began actively to write articles and scripts; as someone who’d been motivated after my first article was published in August, 1977 by the Enugu-based Daily Star newspaper, I instantly developed interest in Aro News as a patriotic Aro man, who was born, reared and bought up in Arochukwu, and like Aro things. So, I bought and read all the editions I saw from then, and my interest in the publication grew tremendously and, finally, with time, I became the South-East zonal correspondent of the quarterly as appointed.
Obi Egbuna, writing in Elina, his classical novel, had clearly stated that, ‘Every writer has got a god-father;’ and that ‘Writers are made, not born.’ I totally agree with this thinker. All writers have god-fathers, including myself. After my classmate had introduced me to newspaper-reading and writing in 1977, I embraced it, and have gone ahead since then to write hundreds (if not thousands) of scripts and articles that have been published in many national dailies, or used as news commentaries by Radio Nigeria and other local radio stations even as I have authored four textbooks, Today, millions of Nigerians hear Ogbonnaya Akoma on Radio Nigeria and BCA radio as many of my scripts are read as news commentaries, even as others are published in some national newspapers.
Yes, I have been writing articles and news stories Aro News have been publishing since its inception in 1997. I had been its Arochukwu correspondent too, apart from being one of the columnists, both when it was privately owned and now it an Aro periodical. I am very much pleased I have used my talent, training and knowledge in writing to serve my community through Aro News, apart from making spotted editorial inputs, too, aimed at improving the editorial quality, news contents and its aesthetics in the past. Yes, I have been an integral part of Aro News even though no person had ever remembered me to ant Aro News activity, characteristic of the ego-centric, self-serving, self-centred and me-alone leadership choice and style of many of us in Arochukwu, all along; even during the recent twenty-fifth anniversary celebration of the periodical. But, lo, I am not unhappy in all this, and I begrudge no one at all, sincerely speaking. I am not disgruntled in any way on this. But it is good it is pointed it out for history.
But the Sweet Breeze band of musicians had sung in the 1970’s that ‘everything that has a start must have an end’ – even life itself; it is a law of nature that must be obeyed always. This article of mine for this December 2023 edition of Aro News, as it is read today, may be my last contribution to it. Yes, we are told that it is only tax payments, births and deaths that will last forever, not any other thing! What I had voluntarily started to do more than two decades ago in writing news stories and articles for Aro News has come to an end today in this piece.
I sincerely thank the editors and publishers of Aro News for publishing some of the articles I had sent to them these years. Whole-heartedly, I send my sincerest gratulatory regards to you all. I thank you for letting me use Aro News to contribute my quota to the overall development of Arochukwu in this regard.
Yes, it is now time to say goodbye to Aro News, and I say so.
I remain grateful to you all.
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