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Christmas is a season of fun. It also comes with frenzy, roughness and downsides. Both the young and old look up to Christmas; not necessarily for their deference to the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose birth is annually commemorated, but because it comes with a flurry of end of year activities. It is a season of much travels across the globe. The people living abroad usually make trips to their home countries. Those in the cities travel to their villages to connect with their families. Hence, Christmas is a time of reunion, celebration, and exchange of gifts and show of love to one another.
Notwithstanding the costs and risks, Igbo people in all parts of the world strive to return in their numbers to savour the festivities in their ancestral birthplaces. Neither news of insecurity nor exorbitant airfares could stop the adventurous Igbos from coming home. The airports are besieged by passengers. The roads are very busy with moving vehicles. I returned to my home town – Isuochi, Umunneochi LGA, Abia State. Mapping Isuochi’s location depicts its uniqueness. Isuochi sits on the hill and is connected to a range of hills which begins at Nsukka in Enugu State and terminates at Amuda, Isuochi. It is at the epicentre of Southeast, Nigeria which shares borders with Anambra, Enugu and Imo States while a section of the LGA, Umuchieze, shares border with Ebonyi State. Isuochi is blessed with clement weather and undulating lowlands that stretch from Amuda to Umuaku and connect the Ajalli planes in Orumba North of Anambra State.
Beyond geographical endowments, Isuochi is the home town of the iconic Giant Alakuku whose real name was Mr. Nwokoroukwu Onwubunta. In those days, he was referred to as the tallest man in Africa – eleven feet, six inches (11ft, “6) tall. He was born in 1913 but loomed larger than life in the 1950s. It was his stature that gave away the impression that Isuochi people are generally tall and energetic. According to Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo,”Giant Alakuku was a wonder of a man, extraordinarily tall who lived in Eastern Nigeria in the 1950s and was made a spectacle of by being moved from city to city, in an open vehicle to be viewed by people.”
A renowned traditional ruler, Eze Professor Sunday Nwankwo notes in his published work that Giant Alakuku was a form of tourist attraction to Isuochi as people travel from far and near to see the legend at his family compound in Mballa, Isuochi, and that he “could take on several of his mates during wrestling and threw them down in one swoop.” It was also noted that he was so fearsome that the colonial district officer used to deploy him as a bodyguard to ward off intruders to the government rest house at Nkwoagu, Isuochi. There was no known record about his marriage but it was reported that his height scared away ladies approached for marriage on his behalf. Thus, the possibility of procreation was foreclosed. His means of livelihood was entertainment. He was however reduced to a “gentle giant” by the powers-that-be. Professor Ihechukwu Madubuike notes that “The story had it that the giant was extremely strong, and sometimes violent; that the colonials tricked him and had his veins or arteries weakened through a medical process.”
Another fascinating thing about Isuochi is that there used to be a bat colony around Umuelem axis. It was reported that a swarm of bats which is usually between 1,300 and 1,400 species used to move out to unknown places between June and July of each year and return by October. The buzzing was a site to behold and lovers of bat meat, especially outside Isuochi, always longed for it. The circumstances surrounding the movement and return to their base has no logical explanation. However, Professor Ihechukwu Madubuike notes in his book that if the bats failed to return at the appropriate time, a native doctor by the name Enwereuzor, would, through his native charms, cause them to come back. Before Enwereuzo died, the mantle was handed over to Maduadibeyamma and from him the late Umeregini Otite who, it was alleged, treated the oracle’s instruction with contempt. Madubuike said that is believed that it was because of this contemptuous treatment that finally drove away the bats.
For me, the most significant part of the Christmas at home was the celebration of the life and times of a quintessential leader who joined his ancestors. The remains of the first paramount ruler of Isuochi ancient kingdom, His Royal Majesty Eze Godson Irononso Ezekwesiri, the Ochi 1 of Isuochi were committed to mother earth. Isuochi was a carnival of sorts. Though in the words of William Shakespeare, “some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them,” the late king of Isuochi was not born great, but he had greatness emplaced on him, and over the years, the momentum of greatness did not wane in his 51 years on the throne. His reign was peaceful. He was a servant-leader who led with grace, humility, and fear of God.
Indeed, under his watch, Isuochi witnessed peace, unity, stability, and tremendous human and infrastructural development. He never allowed the position to swell his personal ego, rather he humbly dedicated his life to the service and upliftment of his people. May the lessons of history no elude our generation history.
