Festival and Civil War: Agony of a Seven Year Old

By Tony Okonmah

There is nothing as entertaining as reliving some forlorn events. This account is of some events that a young man thought he had lost, but in fact, they are alive in retrospect, in his psyche, and his personality. For him to be able to bring back this vivid recreation of the past and to make it alive are the handiwork of a gifted craftsman with great imagination and a vivid sense of history and emotional balance.

Anyone who had witnessed the Nigerian Civil War at the Asaba/Illah axis would really feel this genuine rehearsal of the events as if they happened just a few days ago. Festival and Civil War: The Agony of a Seven Year Old is a book of legacy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543417111

Tony Okonmah

Tony Okonmah, a writer and author is a career finance and business processes development and management consultant. A Fellow Member of the Chartered Management Institute, UK, Tony has written several other books including “The Lies of an Honest Man”, and “The Mystery of our Friendship”. Tony a seasoned columnist for most international financial newspapers and magazines, holds a Master degree in Business Administration from the prestigious South bank University, London, and a BSc in Estate Management besides other financial qualifications and memberships. Tony is also a Minister of religion and event speaker, and social and equality activist. Tony resides in London with his wonderful family and is well travelled.

Book preview

Copyright © 2017 by Tony Okonmah.

Library of Congress Control Number:         2017906132

ISBN:                  Hardcover                  978-1-5434-1709-8

                             Softcover                    978-1-5434-1710-4

                            eBook                          978-1-5434-1711-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The right of Tony Okonmah to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 06/17/2017

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Foreword

Synopsis

Chapter    1 Introduction

Chapter    2 Akpaibo The Start Of The Ekpensu Festival

Chapter    3 The Forest Spirit Mythology And My Curiousity

Chapter    4 The Night Festival - Ifeilo & Egede Anyasi

Chapter    5 The Disruption By Nigerian Civil War

Chapter    6 The Pains And Cost Of The Civil War

Chapter    7 The Last Drama, The End Of The War, And What I Missed Most

Chapter    8 Obi Okonmah The King - Strength And Inspiration To Endure The Civil War Experience

Chapter    9 Igwe And Ayuweh, The Bewildered Child

Chapter    10 The Mortal In The King – His Masked Nature

Chapter    11 Omu Nweme Ogoh, A Pillar And Inspiration To Her Brother, The King

Chapter    12 His Highness Obi Chime - A Loyal Deputy And Worthy Successor, The Man Behind The 27 Years Successful Reign Of His Highness Obi D.b.g. Okonmah (Jp)

Chapter    13 Omu Nwatumujo – Omu Of Illah

Chapter    14 Post Civil War Illah - First Generartion Of Biafran Immigrants

Chapter    15 Resumption Of Ekpensu Festival

Chapter    16 The Village By Village Carnivals

Chapter    17 The Festival Break And The Final Carnival - Otutu Fishing Competition

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my dad the king, and his noblest wise men and women that graced the glorious land of Illah Kingdom and made his 27 years reign a blessed memory. These worthy names in the Illah Hall of Fame shall not be forgotten

HRH Obi Okonmah (JP) – Ogbeleani of Illah

HRH Obi Chime – Deputy and successor to Obi Okonmah

Chief Chukwuma – Iyase of Illah, Chief Nwabuzor Ofili – Diokpa of Umuagwu

Chief Ogobuegwu – Diokpa of Ajaji, Chief Ofili – Diokpa of Umutei

Chief Osadunkwu – Diokpa of Ogbeoji, Chief Peter Onwordi – Diokpa of Ogbeolu

Chief Edebeatu (SA to Ogbeleani) – Ukwumege, Chief Thomas Nmedo Gbemudu (Senior Adviser to the Ogbeleani)– Umuogwu

Chief Mordi Appah (Ireaza – Palace Chief of Staff) – Umuogwu, Chief Omesiete Gbemudu – (Senior Adviser to the Ogbeleani) Umuogwu

Chief Omeni (Senior Adviser to the Ogbeleani)– Umutei, Chief Ebuwa (Senior Adviser to the Ogbeleani) – Ogbeoji, Chief Ogah Onelum (Secretary, Ogbeleani in-council, pre war era)- Ukwumege, Chief Nwankolo (Member, Ogbeleani In-council)– Ajaji,

Chief Egwele (Senior Adviser to the Ogbeleani)– Ogbeobi, Chief Paul Esenwa, (Member, Ogbeleani in-council)- Umuyagbo, Chief Adaba (Member, Ogbeleani in-council) – Ajaji,

Chief Okolo-Odili (Member, Ogbeleani in-council)– Ajaji, Chief Eziashi, Diokpa of Ogbeobi,

Chief Ikebude, Ozoma Obi of Illah, (Senior Adviser to the Ogbeleani) - Ogbeobi, Chief Onyekabu (Member, Ogbeleani in-council) – Ogbeobi, Chief Ojinji Ilabor, Odu Nwankata Ukwu of Illah, (Senior Adviser to the Ogbeleani) – Ogbeonaje, Chief Agwuobodo (Member, Ogbeleani in Council) – Ukpologwu, Mr Azi, (Member, Ogbeleani in-council) – Umutedem, Chief Onwuli (Member, Ogbeleani in-council) – Onya,

Omu Nwatumujo – Omu of Illah, and Omu Nwaeme Ogoh (Omu of Asaba, pre war era) - Senior sister to the king.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am most grateful to God Almighty, who preserved me and my family, and our entire town from destruction throughout the civil war time in Nigeria, and made it possible for the beautiful story of this book to be made available for posterity.

I am also immensely grateful to an erudite scholar and a proud son of Illah Kingdom, Mr Clement Uzo Chukwudifu, who graciously edited the original manuscript of the book, and carved it into the beautiful form we are proud to present to the world as a well crafted piece of literature. That you also wrote the forward of the book adds further to my debt of gratitude. I am indebted to a dear friend of mine, Katey Giles, and the entire Hurrel family for their love and belief in everything African and their faith in me. Your interest about our culture spurred me on to write this amazing piece of stories.

This book can’t be complete without mentioning the cherished memory of the parts played by so many Illah youths of the 50s to late 70s especially, the youths of Umuogwu and sons and daughters of people connected to this great quarter of the Umuagwu village. You made Illah the envy of the neighbouring towns in Aniocha and Oshimili. Illah youths were great, and left fond memories of this wonderful town. I must dare say, it was a tradition we inherited from the ones that were our seniors who were also taught by our fathers. I will like to say, we remain grateful.

I can’t thank enough my wife and two sons for their belief in my passion and writing, and their encouragement, even when I should be using those times for what others considers as most productive and lucrative endeavours. You have always wanted me first to fulfil my God-given talent and do what gives me happiness than the chase for money. I smile when they tell me, The money will come when you’re first fulfilled in your dreams, just do what gives you joy. We know you are at your best when you are crafting your stories, typing away. We love your stories and we believe in you talent.

Lastly many special people and friends have asked to remain anonymous but special mention must be made of my wonderful family, the Okonmahs. You are amazing people that cherish and adhere to the high standards and values of our fathers, their believes in humanity and respect for one another. I am proud I was raised from this noble family. Most importantly, is my love and adoration to my eldest brother Ogugua, a compelling and endearing character of the book, his wife and their amazing children. You all made the story of this book possible and I say Thank you.

FOREWORD

There is nothing as entertaining as reliving some forlorn events. This account is of some

Reviews for Festival and Civil War

[Nneka Ulor · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It very educative and full of illah culture arranged plot by plot