Uchechi: The Triumph of Love

By Chukwudi Eze

Uchechi grew up in a rural village before winning a scholarship to study at one of the major international universities. There he met Annarossa who challenged him to an academic competition. In the process of a very bitter rivalry, she fell in love with him. Annarossas family refused to accept the relationship. Someone attempted to kill Uchechi because of his affair with Annarossa. What happened next?

This book captures in high drama, conflicts created by differences in cultural backgrounds and the triumph of love, as set in a university environment. It highlights some of the difficulties, which people face in a world of increased human mobility and cultural contacts. It is an example of how people can transform their new environments, overcome challenges and use available opportunities to affect in positive ways, how their future is shaped. It is a global story that is worth telling.

Intense drama, intense passion....the audacity of love. Emmanuel Akinwumi

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 14, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456749446

Chukwudi Eze

Eze graduated Phi-Beta-Kappa from Vassar College and received the William Kinne Travelling Fellowship, as a graduate student at Columbia University in New York. He is the author of four successful books – The Positive Dream Actualizer (1997),Yes Lord (2002),Leadership Stories of Mother Hen (old 2006 & new expanded 2012) and Uchechi – The Triumph of Love(2011).

Book preview

The Triumph of Love

Chukwudi Eze

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AuthorHouse™

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© 2011 Chukwudi Eze. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 10/19/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4567-4944-6 (ebk)

ISBN: 978-1-4567-4945-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4567-4946-0 (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011903559

Printed in the United States of America

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Contents

Chapter One

Land Of A Thousand Dances

Chapter Two

A Dream Fulfilled

Chapter Three

Clash Of Values

Chapter Four

Confronting The Reality

Chapter Five

Dilemma Of Homecoming

Chapter Six

Outreach Of An Uncle

Chapter Seven

In The Enemy’s Den

Chapter Eight

Songs Of A Wedlock

Chapter Nine

Voices Of Reconciliation

To

Chidinma, Chidiebere, Nkechi and Ikechukwu who all helped to produce this book and Chukwuemeka with Janet, for a most valued relationship.

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale.

Anonymous

Those who have never loved have never lived.

Chukwudi Eze

Chapter One

Land Of A Thousand Dances

It was in the very early morning of a beautiful day that he was born. That was two whole weeks before he was due. A great sense of joy filled his father when he saw the newborn baby. So happy was he that he did the sacred atilogu dance right there in the room, where the child was born.

In Umuabi, the atilogu dance with its elaborate hand movements and waist-twisting was only reserved for very special events. That had been the tradition since the place was founded very many years ago. But to the baby’s father, no event was greater than the birth of his family’s first child. Such was the happiness that filled him that he named the baby Uchechi right there and then.

However, that again was not in accordance with the custom of the land. Indeed, it was the tradition of the Umuabi people that the naming of a newly born baby occurred on the eighth day after the child’s birth. That was usually a few days before the baby’s circumcision.

As he proudly lifted the baby up, he gladly announced to all those in the room that the child’s birth was by divine will. That was why he named the baby Uchechi. In agreement with his happy speech, the child’s mother greeted every word spoken by her husband with a gentle smile. She gladly followed his dancing moves with interest and approval. She too was very happy to see the bundle of joy that had arrived from the depth of her womb. And, when on the eighth day the formal naming ceremony took place, Uchechi was confirmed as the baby’s true name.

Uchechi was a great eater from the moment he was born. He usually clutched his fists as he drank his mother’s milk. He always seemed to be in a hurry whenever he fed. He had a habit of always sucking away as if he was very hungry. While his father, Tochi, found this behavior funny, his mother, Amaka, could not understand this part of him. The milk is available and plentiful. Why are you in a hurry to drink? she always wondered.

Another thing she found interesting was the way he maintained a constant eye-to-eye contact with his mother while he fed. This, she said, created a strong bond between mother and son. To her it seemed that the child was saying through his steady gaze, Thank you, mother, for the food and the assuring warmth of your presence.

As he grew up under the loving care of his mother and the protective eyes of his father, Uchechi knew life mostly as a village boy. He had no experience whatsoever of what life in the nation’s capital city was like. His earliest contact with the city would come many years after, because of an opportunity he would later have to attend high school there. Actually, he had looked forward to making his first visit when his uncle, Acho, invited him to spend a summer holiday in the city with his family. That never happened and so his dream was delayed.

Uchechi had looked forward to a visit with much expectation, because of the many good things he heard about life in the city. He was told that airplanes, commuter buses and trains transported people about the city. This was different from the village experience of trekking, bicycles rides and canoe transports. He also heard that city dwellers did not walk long distances to fetch drinking water from the stream. Instead, they simply opened taps in their homes to collect fresh water.

All that fascinated him, but never took anything away from his first love for village life. This he adored with a deep passion. To him, village life was simple, pure and natural. There was always a sweet freshness to every aspect of the village life and Uchechi loved it very much.

There the water they drank came from the bowels of the earth. The spring water in the village arrived distilled by Mother Nature herself and was served with a refreshing natural taste. Also, people plucked fresh fruits off trees and took only what was needed for each moment. Nothing was wasted or left to rot. It was a good life in the village and Uchechi adored it.

One of the things Uchechi liked about life in the village was the biennial wrestling competition, which took place with much fanfare. History had it that the wrestling competition was as old as the village itself. The one for that year had been planned as the event of the decade. The fame of the competition was well known in Umuabi and all the lands beyond the two great rivers.

There was something very particular about the wrestling event, which made it extremely popular. Such was its importance that even international dignitaries attended at different times, as guests of honor. Royal chiefs, many other prominent citizens and their friends also came to the wrestling competition. The King was always the chief host of the ceremony. A part of his role was to give away the gold trophy to the winner of the match.

The indigenes of Umuabi had made long and colorful preparation to host the event. The activities were building up to be carnival-like. The schoolchildren were happy that a public holiday was declared, so that everyone could take part in the event. The entire village was in a very festive mood.

Mothers prepared food for the feast, which would follow the well-publicized match. Usually, there would be a lot of dancing and singing, as the people witnessed the wrestling clash of great champions. The men were expectant too. For beyond being spectators to the match, many of them made plans to host their family and friends to lavish dinners. These usually consisted of nkobi, akpu and ugba, which were the major delicacies served to celebrate the event.

The two champions in the finals were representing Umuabi and Atani. Both of them were well-known for their distinguished records and winning streaks. They had between them won the trophy the most times. It was usually a great and very exciting event whenever wrestling champions from those two lands met at the finals. Very unusual things had been known to happen and predictions had been difficult to make, whenever they met.

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The spectators began to fill the village square early. Those who came at the beginning were guaranteed good spots from where to view the event. Colorful banners had been placed throughout the village to announce the competition. The village square was large and open. The only part of it that was shaded was reserved for the dignitaries who came to grace the occasion. The shade consisted of chopped tree branches on which were fixed bamboo poles, on top of which were strewn palm leaves. The covering was not waterproof and it was hoped that it would not rain on the day of the event.

The town crier had woken up much earlier before sunrise. With his massive gong he reminded everyone about the wrestling competition. The gong was only used on a few occasions, when important messages from the King’s palace must be passed on to the people.

Kong, Kong, Kong. The town gong sounded.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hear Ye, the town crier bellowed. His Royal Highness, the great King, cordially invites everyone to a great wrestling competition. This comes up at the village square today. Come out and cheer our champions. And may the best person win.

Kong, Kong, Kong.

For four market weeks, the event of the wrestling match was the single most discussed issue in Umuabi. Who would emerge as the new champion? This was the focus of much speculation. The children discussed it on their way to school. Mothers spoke about it on their way to the market. Fathers made predictions about the match’s outcome as they tilled their farms. It was even rumored that babies shared in the debates and discussions.

The village square had been swept clean and covered with colorful decorations in most places. The young men had woken up early to cut the meat, which the women would use to cook the food, as everyone was expected to eat something. The place for cooking was located at a good distance from the square, behind the bushes.

There was always a bonfire lit where the meat was butchered. Small slices of beef were thrown into it from time to time for roasting. They helped to keep the mouths of the youths who worked there busy, as they chewed on roasted meat dipped in a soup of palm oil, salt and pepper. This was their compensation for hard work. It was believed in Umuabi that the roasted meat helped to ease the strain from the difficult job of butchering.

What they did was in agreement with an adage of Umuabi, which literally meant that a piper needed time-out every so often to blow his nose. It was another way of saying that the