Sometime in 2020, after years of informal interactions, Engr. Obiora Manafa set up a Whatsapp group – Umu Chianwu. This generated a lot of excitement! You see, Chianwu was one of the wives of Igwe Eze Joseph Onyekomelu, a great king of the Idigo dynasty of rulers, who ruled about a century ago. Chianwu’s children were remarkably close, and her daughters remained particularly so even after their marriages into families outside of Aguleri. They made certain to maintain these bonds and to pass them onto their children, and were known for living by the refrain – ‘Obu okpa ka’eji eri nwanne’, which translates literally as ‘you maintain family relationships with your feet’. In fact, it simply means that family relationships are maintained through personal interactions.
I am named after my grandmother, Theresa – daughter of Chianwu. She was married to Chief Isaac Ananwude Akpe of Ikem Nando, a warrant chief and the colonial representative of the court of Igwedo in the Onitsha District. Chuks’ grandmother was Anne, Theresa’s sister. Anne was married into the Nwokedi family, another royal dynasty in nearby Achalla. Theresa and Anne made certain that their children Augusta, Mary (my mother), Michael and Joseph Akpe, and Rosaline, John, Cecilia and Caroline (Carosa, Chuks’s mum) bonded firmly. This next generation effectively grew up as siblings, using the suffix ‘nwanne’m’ in all their communications, and the attendance of the Ovala festival in Amaeze Aguleri was an annual pilgrimage that none dared miss.
Chuks was 10 years younger than I am, just as he was 10 years older than my son, Ike. And just as they built and maintained a close relationship in spite of that gap, so did I with him, especially aided by my closeness to his older siblings whom I’ve known closely since the 1950’s. He straddled generations with his warmth, wit and wisdom. My husband, Charles, who also taught him as a law undergrad, thought very highly of him, and actively encouraged our closeness. He had also been independently close to Mama Carosa too, having spent many years working in Otuocha as a young man.
And so back to the Umu Chianwu Whatsapp group; Chuks had a key role in the wider family as would a tailor with a thimble – he stitched with sharp precision, and yet was protective to avoid prickliness. A deathly pall fell upon the group with Chuks’ passing. He’d been an active member of the group, and some of the last photo posts on that forum were his, from the traditional marriage of another Chianwu descendant and daughter of Chief Chuka Idigo. We must ensure that his legacy endures by continuing the culture of iji okpa n’eri nwanne, in spite of and aided by the marvels of technology. That way, we will keep Ekene, Chioma and Chukwuemeka close and continue our culture of filial fondness.
Rest in perfect peace Chuks nwanne’m!
Dr Theresa Obialunamma Ilegbune
Nwa Chianwu