By Paul Osuy
The Omu institution is a peculiar culture of the people of Anioma nation (in present-day Delta North Senatorial District). It’s an institution for women and is said to have evolved for about 822 years. It involves the assigning of traditional leadership to a woman in a community, principally known as the spiritual guide of the community. Recently, Her Royal Majesty, Obi Martha Dunkwu celebrated her 20th coronation anniversary as the Omu of Okpanam. In this exclusive interview with Saturday Sun, the royal mother who doubles as the Omu of the entire Anioma, and Nneoha (Mother to All or Mother Without Borders), unveiled the intricacies associated with the Omu stool
Could you tell us more about the Omu institution, which is peculiar to the Anioma nation of Delta State?
The Omu institution is about 822 years old. And our forefathers, wise old men, set up the institution in the whole of Anioma. There is nowhere else in Nigeria that you find this culture. Now we sought to find out what is the origin, why the word Omu. In ancient mythology, yam is male; palm tree is female. And the palm frond of the palm tree connotes fertility. Without the palm fronds, there would be no tree. So they felt that since the palm frond which is Omu is fertility, a woman is about fertility. That is how our forefathers brought about the institution. Omu-mua, Omu-mu, which is giving birth. Whoever becomes the Omu will leave her marital home and come back to her father’s home to reign. In her father’s home, they would build her a palace; she would go through rites and rituals. After going through the rites and rituals, at the point of coronation, she is bestowed with both male and female rights. So she becomes a man and a woman put together. Why this? We found out that our forefathers decreed that the Omu should have her own palace just like the traditional ruler. We have our own chiefs just like the traditional ruler. As a matter of fact, the Omu has two sets of chiefs – the executive chiefs and the spiritual chiefs. The executive chiefs are like the Iyase Omu, the community has Iyase too, Odogwu Omu, and so on. The spiritual arm is the arm the Omu works with spiritually. The titles are patterned according to Omu’s body. Aka-Omu, the one who does things for her; Onu-Omu, the one who speaks for her; Ani-Omu, the one who sees tomorrow; Afo-Omu, the one who makes sure that she eats; Okuje-Omu, the one who runs errands. Our forefathers felt that since the Omu would have her own palace and chiefs and have meetings of women, they must break kola nut. Would they now go and manufacture a man somewhere to come and break the kola nut? Our forefathers said no. If this woman who is the Omu would have her palace and chiefs, she must have the right to break kola nut. That is how they bestowed male rights on the Omu.
Having spent 20 years on the throne, how do you feel celebrating your 20th coronation anniversary?
I feel very happy. And, do you know why I am happy? The world now knows that we are more civilised particularly the western world which felt they are ahead of everybody; they have now seen that we have institutions. And the whole world knows about the institution of Omu. I have tried to marry the ancient and the modern.
Could you recall the day you were made the Omu of Okpanam?
When you become the Omu, you are a little bit wary, I must confess. The institution is ancient; it is very conservative, very delicate, very dangerous. So on one hand, you are happy that you are chosen but you must know that there is no woman in Anioma, as we were growing up, who wanted to be an Omu; it’s a taboo. But if providence bestows it on you, you have to accept it. It is like when God called Saul to become Paul, did he say no?
That was where I was coming to. How were you chosen?
Well, the different communities have various ways of choosing who the Omu would be. In Ogwashi-Uku, for example, it is hereditary in one particular quarter. In Okpanam, the overwhelming majority of the Omus have come from my quarter, Umuosime, daughters of Umuosime. In some other communities, it rotates from quarter to quarter. So when it gets to a quarter, the elders will have to consult the ancestors to reveal who becomes the Omu. It is not by election or selection; you don’t campaign for it.
So there were no qualities that stood you out?
They consult God Almighty who reveals through the ancestors. I came back from England and America about 38 years ago. You know, when you are exposed, you feel you need to be in politics and help to bring about some changes. But God has a different purpose for me. I became the Omu.
So you were in Nigeria when you were chosen? What were you doing at the time?
Of course, I was in Nigeria. I was a media consultant to Omo N’ Oba N’ Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa, Oba of Benin of blessed memory. I was his media consultant for over a decade and a half. I was also a media consultant to the late Orodje of Okpe, and seven traditional rulers in Edo and Delta states. Then it was Bendel State. I was able to do that not because I trained as a media consultant but because I come from a core traditional home. My father was an Ogbueshi; my grandfather was an Obi, my great grandfather till seven generations I know were Obis. So I come from a solid traditional background. And, through consulting for the Oba of Benin, Orodje of Okpe and the Asagba of Asaba at a time, I learnt a lot.
Can we say these backgrounds prepared you for the role you are now playing as the Omu?
The elders don’t see with the physical but with spiritual eyes. So what you are physically has nothing to do with the Omu. It has to be revealed because the Omu institution is 70 per cent spiritual; ten per cent is to look after women, ten per cent is to look after the markets, and the other ten per cent is to settle issues. The Omu is the spiritual guard to the community and the traditional ruler. That is why when you become the Omu, if you are married, you must leave your marital home. In my own case, I didn’t marry, and I used to say it is by choice. But when I became the Omu, I realised that it was providential, that God was preparing me for the seat. I have one child and he is a lecturer in the university. So if I had six children, probably I would not have been able to do the work. If I didn’t have at all, people will say she has a lot of time. God has a purpose for everything we do in life. Like you said, having come from a traditional background and having worked for traditional rulers, and having lived in Europe and seen how they were protecting their institutions and values, it dawned on me that we Africans have to change our own positively; nobody can do it for us.
As the Omu, what do you miss as a result of the position you hold?
You can’t really miss anything if God has an assignment for you. When Jesus went for 40 days without food and water, do you know what happened? God removed the spirit of thirst and hunger. And so when you become the Omu, God, in His infinite mercy, gives you contentment. So I am not missing, if you think so, earthly life. But you must also know again that I have explored my life before becoming the Omu. I explored in this country, I explored in England and America before coming back. So how can I miss what I have explored? And God has called me to do different work.
Apart from breaking of kola nut, what other male rights do you enjoy?
The male rights you are bestowed with give you the right to break kola nut, to marry, and have children if you so desire.
Have you explored marriage right?
I have not. I may still do it because it is our custom, culture, and value that the Omu should marry one or two wives who will bear children for her. It is our right; there is nothing sinister about it. It is called the adoption of a wife. Do people not go to a sperm bank to take sperm? If the Queen of England can marry a man from another country who is a prince, the man left his country to come and live with her in England, is that not archaic ordinarily? But the British people have said it is fine; they have glamorised it. The man is not from England. But he had to leave his country to come to England. And all their children are bearing the queen’s name, not the man’s name. So what is more archaic than that? Is it because they have to glamorise it? So there is nothing wrong with the Omu institution if they say you can marry a woman who would bear children for you. You either designate a man for that purpose or give the woman the free will to choose who she wants. Anyway, the children belong to you. There is surrogacy. Yes, I will explore that option in the future.
What is your relationship with the father of your son, and how does your son see the institution?
My son grew up knowing that I am from a traditional home, so he is at peace with what I am doing. I did not marry his father; so there is nothing to worry about. And, even if I was officially married to him, and I became the Omu, the man knows that the relationship ends once you become the Omu. Not that you become enemies, just that there will not be contacts like that between a man and a woman.
You said one of your duties is to settle cases. Could you recall any issue you have settled since you became the Omu?
Very serious issue! We have four villages that comprise Okpanam. At a stage, almost all the villages were at war over a land issue which suddenly became gold. In one particular village, two young men were killed; houses were burnt. In another village, a young man was killed, houses were burnt. Our elders did everything possible to quench it but it did not work. So they approached me as the mother to bring in the female touch. And, that is one of the reasons our forefathers set up the institution – for a woman to contribute her quota as ordained by God. And, so I was able not only to settle them, I physically demarcated the villages by sixty feet – thirty this way, thirty the other way. I did that successfully and no life was lost. Today, no village is fighting over boundaries.
Can you tell us about your daily or weekly schedules?
The major part of my activities is prayers. I get up in the morning and pray to God Almighty. I have my Uzo-Omu temple, that is, the shrine for the staff of the office, I pray there. I have my water temple. I am the queen of the water; I go to my water temple to pray. I have my Ani temple, of which it is only the Omu that has it. Ani is the most important spot in our community where you have the sacred tree. Men who have it are titled men, and so I pray there. I take my bell as the queen of the water. I go round the palace every morning and evening. So the major part of my activities is to be in consonance with our Creator so as to receive messages that I can pass to the community. Then you have the physical activities where people come for courtesy visits – people come from all over the world to find out about the institution.
Can an Omu quit if she can no longer cope with the demands of the throne?
Since the institution was established 822 years ago, no Omu has ever abdicated her throne and no community has ever removed an Omu because our forefathers placed a curse on whoever will do that; you can’t remove your mother. Our ancestors also reasoned that maybe this thing is too burdensome and a woman might decide to quit, they put conditions in place. But the conditions are almost impossible, so no Omu has ever left. For example, if you decide not to be an Omu anymore, you go to the Ani shrine which is centuries old. You go to the most important sacred place in town which is the Ani-Isei, Ani-Okpanam, Ani-Ibusa. If you go there and drop your crown, you can’t come back to your house; you will leave the town and go into exile. When you go into exile, and you live for maybe 30 years, the community cannot have another Omu for those 30 years because you can’t have two mothers. Then when you pass on, the family will come and perform abomination rites so that the body can be brought home because the mother of the community cannot be buried in another community. You can see that it is an impossible condition, so you see why no Omu has left in 822 years and no community has removed an Omu. Like I told you, I met just five Omus, and we have over 150 communities in Anioma. But today we have increased the number to 15 as a result of my advocacy. I have brought visibility to the institution. I have registered an NGO, Centre for Omuship and Women Development in Anioma Nation. We designated one building here at the palace for that, so that we can start building institutions like the white people are doing.
What do you feel are the benefits of the institution to other Nigerians?
The first benefit is that God created man, and if a man were complete, He would not have created woman. So you have a father and a mother; you have a senior son and a senior daughter. These are important things in our communities. The future of humanity is in the hands of a woman. The man is the fire that is burning; the woman is the water that quenches the fire. And without water, there is no life. This is a female institution, and the benefit is that women will contribute their compulsory quota to the nation’s development; the nation cannot grow in isolation from the men. And that is the problem today because women are not contributing positively partly because the nation has not trained the trainer, that is the woman who will train the male and female child. When you have governors, national and state legislators misbehaving, look beyond that, there is a failed mother. This institution that represents women is very important so that the woman can play her complementary role. Man is first, a woman is second, there is nothing like equality; it did not exist in the past; it is not existing today. And, it will not exist tomorrow. I am not saying this from a negative point of view; it is the way of creation. If you have a female institution that can harness the potentialities of women for the benefit of the nation at large, then we can get to the first world. We will not be third-world again.
Would you now say Nigeria’s problem is as a result of inadequate representation of women in governance?
Of course, it is part of it. Women are sidelined. Men see women as competitors rather than complements. You look at the nation today, in politics for example, women are the clapping, of the people standing in line, and they vote for the men whom they have not trained because it is the woman who brings up the male and female child. And so she has not inculcated sound societal values into the male child. And that male-child becomes senator, governor, and all that. The nation needs to retrain the woman.
As we move towards 2023, would you support a female president for Nigeria and a female governor for Delta State?
We have to be very honest with ourselves. Certain states are ripe for female governors and deputy governors. Certain states are not ripe for them; that is the practicality. In Delta State, we are not ripe for a female governor but we are ripe for a female deputy.
So what would be your advocacy?
My advocacy is for women to stop being clapping members, and for the men to see that if they can allow women to come into the fold, then the nation will be better. A woman is more humane, the men are always thinking of how to carry money and put it in Swiss Bank and all those places. But women are thinking of their children, grandchildren, father, mother, and grandparents. Look at the various countries in Europe where women are leaders, you can see what is happening, that they are moving forward, positively.
You are also into the mentorship of the youthful population. What is your word for female youths in particular?
My word is for both male and female youth: to create their own environment. When you talk to our youths, they tell you that they don’t have enabling environment. In Europe and America, we see the youth creating their own environment. Power is never given to you on a silver plate anywhere. When a 31-year-oldman in Austria gathered his friends through social media to register their own political party, the older order thought it was a joke, a fluke until the 31-year-old won. Today he is the Chancellor of Austria. So I am challenging our youths. When we, the older generation tell you that you are future leaders, tell them that they are deceiving you. And you know what the elders are doing is just to pacify you, they are not telling you that if you are not educated, broad-minded, incisive, not willing to dare beyond the ordinary, you cannot be a leader of human beings. If you are not willing to give unselfishly, if you are not willing to give help when help is needed, if you are not willing to be creative to make bold moves, you cannot be a leader. Youths are the current leaders because leadership is going lower. So I am telling our youths to create their own environment and be positive, to not wait for their parents or government.
You also hold the title of Nneoha, what does that entail?
First of all, I was crowned as Omu Anioma 12 years ago because as I told you earlier when I became Omu, I met five elderly women. They suggested we should start meeting. And, we met once and they came together and said why don’t we continue to come to your palace for the meeting. As the youngest, I was very wary of that. And they said to me that it was through my activities that the government and the world have recognised the institution. That will tell you that women are different from men. They said Chief Ibori through you recognised the institution and started giving us certificates and started calling us royal mothers. And so our traditional rulers saw that the women themselves have picked me as their leader. I was the youngest among the six of us. In fact, my age would be like that of their first sons. So the traditional rulers merely cemented what the women had done by crowning me Omu Anioma meaning the mother of Anioma nation not to be boss of anybody but to promote our akwa-ocha, food, language, and values. And our people in the South-East kept inviting me to occasions to speak to them. One day, they said to me that they keep inviting me as Omu Okpanam and Omu Anioma, and that it looks as if we are distant. So they said they want to crown me Mother to all so that any Nigerian can claim me as a mother. And I took time to consult our traditional rulers here in Anioma, and they told me that it was a good thing, that you don’t reject motherhood. So almost two years ago, I was crowned, in Nsukka, as Nneoha which means Mother to All or Mother without Borders.