How a Hereditary Ruler, Obi Or Igwe Emerges & Functions In Igbo Land [Using Nnewi As a Case Study]

Ofala festival in Nnewi

By Anayo Matthew Nwosu

THE MAKING OF AN OBI
Every nuclear family in Igbo land has a head who is also the father of the home. This head of the family is referred to as the Obi.

The Obiship is transferred from a father to the first son of the family. The first and the surviving most senior son of the dead Obi automatically succeeds his father as the Obi and this continues ad infinitum.

CHANGE OF OBI LINEAGE
The first change of Obi lineage recorded in Nnewi  happened in a nuclear family of a man called Nnewi or Ewimga where he bestowed the Obiship to his second son named Digbo instead of Okpala who later settled at Umunearam in the present day Umudim.

Otolo, the eldest son of Digbo succeeded his father. Otolo’s younger brother was Ikwuabor later took the Ozo title of Ezekwuabor.

But the second son of Otolo named Nnofor assumed the Obiship instead of his elder brother called Enem. Even Nnofor made Udude his second the obi instead of his first son, Nlorñu.

More dramatically, Udede’s son, Obi Ezeagha transferred the Obi Nnewi IND Otolo to his nephew, Ezeoguine.

From the time of Obi Ezeoguine, the Obi Nnewi has been transferred to the first Son or the eldest surviving son of the preceding Obi up to the present Obi Kenneth Orizu.

This cannot be said for other three quarters of Nnewi. While all the families have their own Obi following the similar trajectory of Otolo but the persons who today are the village Obi at one point in history were settlers in married Nnewi daughters and became so powerful enough to become the political heads of their villages.

However, the so called settlers were remote and immediate uncles, cousins, nephews of Nnewi in Oba, Ojoto, Oraeri and Aguukwu Nri.

Just like Obama who became full American through his settler Kenyan father and by the virtue of being born in America, we are all Nnewi.  Also, a daughter’s child or “Nwadiana” has the same or more rights in Nnewi than other children in the family. Once a stool is lost by a generation, it is lost because “adighi eje nyahu eje” meaning “yesterday is gone for good”.

THE FOLLOWING WERE/ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSS OF OBISHIP BY THE FIRST SON

A lot of factors were are responsible for  a shift of an Obi to another person. A few can easily penned down here:

1. A father who is an Obi can appoint any of his sons he feels that can protect his stool as the head of his family. This he must do in the presence of Isi Obis (the obis of the constituent families) otherwise it would be nullified upon his death.

2. The person who provided the money used to cater for the funeral ceremonies of the father could lay claim to the Obiship. He can only succeed if supported by the Isi Obis.

3. There are cases of voluntary relinquishment of the seat as Enem the first son of Otolo did to his brother Nnofor.

4. An ambitious brother, uncle or nephew could wage a war against his elder brother and claim the seat with the support of his kinsmen.

5. The elder brother could quietly acquiesce and allow his brother take over to avoid an early death. It was recorded that Okpala Nnewi simply deserted the community and returned long after his junior brother Digbo had assumed their father’s stool.

6. Sterling exploits as a warrior would naturally leave an elder brother allow his  junior stronger brother take up the leadership position for assured protection.  Obi Ezeagha before he died, bypassed his sons and named his brother’s son as his successor. It stood till date.

MEANING OF OKPUNO
The very house or location where the ancestor/progenitor of a family or a community or a town lived is called Okpuno.

For instance, Okpuno Otolo was the place Otolo Digbo, the son of Nnewi lived and died. The man called Nnewi lived in that patch of land behind Okwu Ulasi, bordering Convaj Event Centre and Ikedife Hospital on Igwe Orizu Rd.

The residents of an Okpuno in any village ought to be the first settlers and their Obi must be found therein.

THE REASONS WHY AN OBI MAY LIVE OUTSIDE OKPUNO

An Obi may move to another location to site a home for the following reasons:

1.He may decide to migrate to a more fortified location as a fortress in the time of war.

2.It could also be to move to an unblemished land. His ancestor might have committed a lot of atrocities or nso ani that would require expensive cleansing rituals or "ikpu alu" and the new Obi would want to start on a clean spiritual slate.

3. Sometimes, the Obi would want to remain in the house he built by himself and was living in before his aged father died. That’s the reason why the current palace of Obi Orizu is not at Okpunu Otolo.

4. An Obi could leave his father's compound for his youngest brother or the children of his elder brother who died before their father.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OFOR AND OBI

You can take away the Obiship from the Diokpala (i.e the first son) but not his father's ofor.

Ofor is a symbol of authority akin to the mace of the National Assembly or the Hammer and Gavel of a judge.

 It is made from a stem of a sacred tree named "ofor".

The eldest son inherits his father's ofor and would hit it on the ground as would a judge to bring a finality to a matter in a properly constituted family, community and town meeting.

Though disinherited from Obiship, the eldest descendant of Okpala, the first son of Nnewi, regarded as "Okpala Nnewi" is the custodian of Ofor Nnewi and is called upon to hit ofor Nnewi on the ground to signify a finality to a matter discussed and agreed as the Senate President would.

Ofor of Digbo the father of Otolo is still with the children Enem the first son of Otolo. The oldest man in Ndiogbe, the first son of Enem still keeps it. The man who carries the ofor lives opposite Ibeto Group on Igwe Orizu Rd, Otolo Nnewi.

Please note that only the oldest man in the family "carries" or keeps the Ofor. The custodian of the Ofor needs not be an Obi.

An Obi can also carry the Ofor if he is also the oldest man living in his lineage.

The Obu Ofor or the Ofor custodian must be a pure breed without a scandal. No descendant of a slave or adopted son is allowed to carry an Ofor.

If an unqualified or a tainted person carries the Ofor in error, not only will the person die mysteriously, a calamity of screaming magnitude would visit the errant carrier’s family. This would require some form of appeasement of the gods for wellness to be restored in that family.

Some Umunna have now deemed the wooden Ofor of their forefathers as idolatry and have replaced it with Bible.

The oldest man in some families now carries a Bible in place of Ofor.  It is that bad!

LEVELS OF OBISHIP IN NNEWI

In Nnewi, a nuclear family consists of a man, his wife or wives and children. Each nuclear family is a member of an extended family. Extended families form  an Umunna.

Umunna is the unit of administration in Nnewi.

Each head of an umunna is regarded as Isi Obi, that is the first amongst obis of the extended consanguine families or a family having the same descent.

An Umunna needs not be consanguineous. It may be an agglomeration of families of both master's families and those of his slaves, a phenomenon imposed on us by the abolishment of slavery worldwide.

Not all slaves returned to their homelands upon the abolition of Slavery as many were assumed into their former masters' families.

Only few families like Umuezenwegbu Ezeoguine of Otolo in Nnewi can be said to be purely consanguineous. All the constituent family members are blood relations.

All the Isi Obis in Otolo defer to the Obi of Otolo just as all the Isi Obis in Uruagu report to Obi of Uruagu; this is the same in Umudim and Nnewichi.

The Obi Otolo is the first amongst his counterparts in Uruagu, Umudim and Nnewi.

The Obi Nnewi has chosen to be called Obi of Otolo and Igwe Nnewi in 1980s to accommodate the ego of his brother Isi Obis and to bring peace to modern Nnewi town.

For many decades and since the turn of the last two centuries till date, the Obi of Nnewi has been in Otolo.

Whoever is the Obi of Otolo automatically becomes Igwe Nnewi.

The man regarded as the ruler of Nnewi is Igwe K.O.N Orizu III who succeeded his father. We have had three generations of Orizus on this throne.

Orizus are descendants of Ezeoguine Nnofor, the son of Otolo Digbo.

MEANING OF IGWE
The word Igwe means "the sky". It is a metaphorical description of a man above his fellow men as the sky is above the earth.

Igwe is the Primus inter pares, the first amongst equals.

All the the Isi Obis are somewhat Igwes to the obis below and from his consanguineous extended families.

DECISION MAKING IN NNEWI

Every man living in his own house is an Obi. He makes his own rules which must be obeyed by his children and wives.

A man's rules must be in compliance with those of the extended families'. Also the rules of the extended families are subject to that agreed my Umunna. Those of the Umana are subject to those enunciated by the Isi Obi.

The agreed rules sanctioned by all the Isi Obis with the Igwe presiding become the tradition and laws of Nnewi.

The Igwe in consultation with the Obis of Uruagu, Umudim and Nnewichi decide on Nnewi-wide matters. He does not lord it over his fellow Obis.

Very critical meetings that required neutrality or where contentious issues needed to be discussed were  held at Nkwo Triangle. This is a point that borders all the four villages of Nnewi. It used to be at Okwu Oyo but not anymore.

The man, Nnewi lived and was buried at Okwu Oyo in Okpuno Otolo.

The pattern of settlement shows that all the Okpuno lands of Otolo, Uruagu, Umudim and Nnewichi meet at a triangular spot defined by that land where a big mall is being constructed and in front of Nkwo Nnewi Primary School.

In a town’s meeting, Obi Otolo and Igwe Nnewi presides. Okpala Nnewi from Umunearam comes with Ofor Nnewi.

For a very serious meeting, the Igwe would usually be escorted by an Okpala Otolo from Umuenem who would cross the Ofor Otolo beyond the Otolo boundary marked by an Ukpaka tree Opposite Izuchukwu Park on Nnobi Rd.

Note that Obi Otolo who is same as Igwe Nnewi is not the custodian of Ofor Otolo and Ofor Nnewi as custodianship of an Ofor is an inalienable right of first son and his descendants.

This is the way Nnewi had been as shall ever remain despite modifications being forced on it by war, greed and modernity.