By Mike Egwuibe
That small clean square called Mbara Nta Ocha, I say adieu. Yes adieu also to many ideals our fathers revered. Adieu to respect for authority, respect for elders, respect for culture and tradition, respect for “whatever is pure and whatever is of good report”. Adieu to community ethos. No thanks to a generation that has lost the values passed on by our founding fathers.
In the days of our fathers, when weaklings run to the strong for protection, when purity and chastity were to be coveted, when honour and integrity had a pride of place in the hearts of men, when a spade was not called a farming implement – “mbárá ntà ọchá” was revered. In those days, only the strong and pure could traverse its breadth with boldness. Then, man and animals existed side-by-side only at Mbara Nta Ocha. When men of valor gather in response to the call of the Ikoro, animals observed the proceedings with trepidation and women retreat to the recesses of their kitchen or backyards making supplications to the gods not knowing where the weapons of warfare of their gallant husbands will point to. One thing was certain; the frog does not take to the race track in the day time in vain.
Mbara Nta Ocha was known as “Ama Ike”. Some say it is the place of blood. It was not the place for the feeble minded. Hard decisions were taken there. Only the truth, no matter whose ox was gored, was spoken. It was not a place for double-speak. It was not a place of merriment. That was reserved for Mbara Edere. It was not a place for exchange of goods – that took place at Ahia Nma. One of those times when Mbara nta ocha played host to Ogbuebulle warriors was in 1945. Then, the Hyena invaded Ikwuano and took out a man from Ogbuebulle. The Ikoro called, the warriors answered. The hyena met its waterloo.
We also cannot forget the year 1942. Life was unlawfully taken by a hunter from Ogbuebulle. Again the Ikoro beckoned and the men shouted ebule-o. The hunter was identified and the law of the land took its course. Revenge was authorized by the elders and the deceased man’s brother avenged his brother’s untimely death. Blood for blood! Mbara Nta Ocha, as its name implies, is simply the place for justification.
There are many mysteries surrounding mbara nta ocha. History has it that whenever a wrong judgment was passed on an innocent person, a swarm of bees would come from nowhere stinging and disturbing the people present.
Nobody came to Ogbuebulle in search of slaves. Rather, Ogbuebulle took slaves. Even the warriors of Abam recognized the shout of ebule-o! Ancestral links must be respected. They steered clear of Ogbuebulle people.
At Mbara Nta Ocha, the gods of the land were honored. The Egbu tree, the Ofor tree, the Iroko tree and even the Udara tree – all grew side-by-side. Nature replicated! That was the Mbara Nta Ocha of our fathers. Mbara Nta Ocha has changed. Development has caught up with the square. One of the Community transformers is sited there. Indeed, my generation, under Ebuleukwu HomeComing2012 researched into the past, and was in the process declaring Mbara Nta Ocha a historical site to be developed and preserved for posterity. Then the catastrophe struck. In one moment of youthful exuberance and infantile acts of indiscretion, mbara nta ocha lost its allure.
Mbara Nta Ocha – December 31 2008 | Before It Was Destroyed
How life changes! How are the mighty fallen. The youth, misguided though they may be took matters into their hands. With the active connivance of a man best described as in a religious bigot probably in search of business, Ama Ike fell. The youths, boys, girls, women and some uninformed lay-about stormed Mbara Nta Ocha. In the days of our fathers, none of these groups would have been allowed at Mbara Nta Ocha. But they gathered with fuel and matches in their hands and anger in their hearts, and an ignoble history was made. Mbara Nta Ocha has become history. It was desecrated.
After some gallons of fuel, the Ikoro was destroyed. The great Iroko tree fell. As if that was not enough, they set back the hand of the clock as electric poles and the transformer, evidence and symbols of the development they supposedly crave for was destroyed. Over two hundred thousand naira of community effort at Mbara Nta Ocha was wasted. The despoliation of mbara nta ocha was completed. The crime – the youths accused the small clean square of hindering their progress in life. How absurd! The community’s loss has become a bigot’s economic gain.
Very illogical because my community has produced men and women of timber and caliber while Mbara Nta Ocha lasted. How can we forget engineer Chibuzo Ajuka of blessed memory. He attracted the first borehole in the community to solve our water problem. Now, there are boreholes in almost every family in Ogbuebule, both public and private including the by the World Bank under the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) project located at the Community Secondary School. The who is who in Ogbuebulle includes Engineer Chiegiro Nwaogbo, formerly of Power Holdings Nigeria Plc. He has his fingerprint on every development project in the Community since the eighties. Mbara Nta Ocha did not stop him. We remember Dr Umesi that is making waves in the USA. He began his career at Central School Ogbuebulle. The fact is that you must pass Mbara Nta Ocha before getting to his house.
Engineer Chibuike Joshua Mbagwo Ohuh who retired from shell is a man of honour. Engineers Ule Chimbo and Ugochukwu Egemba are later day examples of success with Mbara Nta Ocha in existence. The house of Mr. Festus Akobundu is within earshot of the square. It did not stop his success. Some of the irate youths that destroyed Ama Ike cannot be older than them. The late Anyalewachi Jibueze who became an AGM Personnel at Union Bank in the seventies also succeeded. Elder Ekenkwe Okoronkwo, an accomplished Accountant succeeded.
Have we forgotten the generation of The Jacks all of blessed memory. From Umukpabi to Obuodo, from Umuoyi to Umuchukwu, from Abala to Umuebuleukwu , Obuokporo to Nkporo Igwe – they have produced men and women that we all are proud of. Men who have distinguished themselves in their chosen fields of study! From Central School Ogbuebule to Community Secondary School, Ogbuebule; the community has progressed. I remember in my own days at the group (the Central School), we competed with pupils from other nearby villages who attended the Central School. At the end of each term, we took pride in beating them in academics. Pastor David Oleka was there, late Omeokachie Chief Sunnie Ifenkwe was there. God blessed them all.
Tree Stump At Mbara Nta Ocha, 2008
According to Chief Henry Chimbo (JP), mbara nta ocha hosted other trees. They included the native Pear tree and African Oil-bean (Ukala) tree. Together they form a huge umbrella that gives shade to both man and animals. It is interesting to see the Iroko leaves, revealing the nakedness of the branches with the nest of kites exposed. The leaves cover the ground like a lush bush carpet, smiling and saying, ‘here I come again.’ I remember we used to pick Udara at the square. Like all other Udara Trees, parents forbade their children from picking udara at noon when the gods were said to come to the land of the living in search of wives. For girls, picking same would have amounted to consenting to being their wives thus opening doors to being haunted by spirits. For boys, that would have amounted to picking Udara meant of their wives and thus opening door to incessant harassment by spirits on account of taking what was meant for somebody else. Some superstition you may say. All were part of the mysteries of mbar nta ocha.
Bye-bye to history. Chief Henry Chimbo (JP), whose house overlooks mbara nta ocha knows what he is talking about. Write no more Chief for your small clean square is no more. The house of the great late Apostle Joseph Ikechi, the founder of St Joseph Chosen Church of God is just a stone throw from the square while the church he founded directly overlooks the place as if stationed there to ensure no evil took place at Ama Ike. The Obu of the present oldest man in the Community overlooks this square. The only (Transitional) Chairman of Ikwuano LGA to have come from our Community must pass through Mbara Nta Ocha to get to his house. This “centre of evil” allegedly militating against the progress of our young men has allowed some of the brightest brains in Ogbuebulle to flourish politically, academically, and otherwise. In religion, the Community, unarguably, has the highest number of avowed Ministers of God in Ikwuano; and they are prospering.
The Late Apostle Ikechi is famed to have cut down one of the trees at Mbara nta ocha in the early days of his ministry in the late fifties. Oral history has it that it took 14 days to achieve that feat. And no sooner has he finished cutting it down than another grew in its place. The Church flourished. Mbara Nta Ocha flourished. Businesses flourished and academics did flourish. The law of multiplication has thrived amongst us, in spite of Ama Ike. It was as if the gods were saying – give to Caesar what belongs to him and to Jesus what belongs to him.
As for our Mbara Nta Ocha, when the history of our Community is written, we shall revisit this place of valor.