Cascades

20 Poems for 20 Years

OKEY UZOECHINA
 © Okey Uzoechina, February 2019

Ofala Publishers Ltd., Abuja

Cover design and layout by Samson Nnah

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written
permission from the author.

i
 About
Okey enjoys writing—whether it is creative writing, research
and analytical, or just for fun. Writing is his best friend and
ally at work, at play, and for reection. He has a distinctive
owing style. Okey was born in Onitsha, Nigeria in March
1981. He is also a lawyer, an entrepreneur and a diplomat. He
loves to capture beautiful moments of joy and wonder
through poetry and travel photography.

Cascades is an attempt to capture some of his owing

feelings expressed in writing. It covers two decades of
expressing emotions in writing from his university days in
Enugu, Nigeria, through his work travels to many parts of
Africa, Europe and America, to his current abode in Abuja,
Nigeria. The collection of 20 poems for 20 years embraces a
rainbow of emotions like joy, love, hope, beauty, wonder, faith
and soul searching.

ii
 Dedication
To Spring— a time of rebirth and renewal
Of blossoming life and colour
Of chirping birds and carefree butteries
Of hope, joy, wonder and promise
Of lovers kissing in the sun
Of harmony and fervor
Of perfect balance of day and night
Of the full moon in royal veneration
Of triumph and transcendence
—Witnessed by the greatest conjunction of celestial order.

iii
 Preface
I must have been a singer-songwriter in a former life. When I
started writing poetry in 1999, it was purely a form of
expression that came naturally to me as a young adult in
early university years in Enugu, grappling with myriad
experiences, expectations, entanglements and emotions. At
18, I never intended to publish the works, so I felt comfortable
writing for my sole audience: myself. Looking back, that early
start helped me develop a unique voice, a reective outlook,
and a distinctive owing style devoid of any pretensions.

In my second year, I connected with a multitalented young

lady who was also exploring creating with words. She wrote
songs and poems, and she became my partner-in-writing. We
exchanged pieces, crossbred ideas and encouraged each
other to let it ow. Over time, my writing evolved to become
more or less unencumbered by the xations of any genre or
the expectations of any audience. And yes, I must have been a
singer-songwriter in a former life. I still get downloads of full
songs in my dreams— complete with verses, choruses,
tunes and rhythms. Just like the poems, I never took the
songs seriously at rst and the demands of work life remain a
challenge. But the story is just beginning.

iv
Cascades is an attempt to capture some of my owing
feelings expressed in writing. The collection of 20 poems for
20 years covers two decades of expressing emotions in
writing from my university days, through my work travels to
many parts of Africa, Europe and America, to my current
abode in Abuja. It covers a rainbow of emotions like joy, love,
hope, beauty, wonder, faith and soul searching. The
collection is divided into four parts. It is dedicated to Spring,
the time of my birth.

Okey Uzoechina
Abuja, February 2019

v
 Contents
About ii
Dedication iii
Preface iv
Contents vi

I. Of Love and Beauty 8

l Paint me a picture 9
l Tear-drops from my heart 10
l Diamonds are forever 11
l 22 seashells 12
l April bloom 13

II. Of Hope and Faith 14

l Sunset in Saraka 15
l To a dethroned king 16
l Paradise fullled 17
l Land of nobles 18
l Tomorrow 21

III. Of Joy and Wonder 22

l Wonderlust 23
l Ijele 24

vi
l Oktoberfest 25
l The dream 26
l My village bathroom 27

IV. Of Soul Searching 28

l Airborne 29
l Lucy's rapture 30
l Heart-to-heart exchange 32
l The Cross and The Crescent 34
l Prologue 35

vii
I. Of Love and Beauty
 Okey Uzoechina

Paint me a picture
Home, Abuja 31.05.2017 03:49 am

PAINT me a picture of fairytale

On the worn slate of my beating heart
Sketch it so loving to sate my longing
Sprinkle tints of sunshine and hues of rainbow
To evoke dreams yet unscripted
Illuminate beauty and ne-tune harmony
And varnish time to make it last forever

Palette of colours I see in you

Gift from Iris, exuding charm of a goddess
Velvety-smooth voice escaping glossy-red lips
Hair—shades of brown, honey and gold
Ever so loving with every carefree stroke
And a warm sunny smile up for gladness
My imperfect picture of fairytale

Take me yonder to fairytale land

Where cares are airbrushed into oblivion
And brave hearts fall to get lifted
Free from fear, loving with abandon
Portrait of perfection we create on our own slate
Content to let the world marvel
As we make fairytale our reality

9
 Cascades

1
Tear-drops from my heart
UNEC, Enugu 15.06.2002 08:32 pm

TORN hearts and souls would sometimes mend

Emotions and dreams enliven; only love becomes
A façade
Real love, to you, is not luxuries
—gold wrist-watches, ashy cars, candlelit dinners,
bubble baths—
Demonstrating wealth and riches
Rhythms of cascading waters
Of love so pure and innocent
Playing a soothing tune won't drive
Swift Cupid's dart to pierce your heart

Fetters of faith or silent tears

Rolling with pleas of mea culpa
Or the tear-drops from your torn heart has
Moulded you plain and lovelorn

My heart cries out loud;

Your heart wails louder

Heartened hearts are often set free

Engaging without passion like
An erratic kaleidoscope
Real love, when lost, little remains, but
To kiss goodbye with tear-drops
10
 Okey Uzoechina

Diamonds are forever

UNEC, Enugu 16.05.2004 Evening

A DIAMOND is like a maid's heart—

Fair to the eyes of her lover
Who can't but her face admire
Her eyes glitter like a lodestar
And her smile makes his skies brighter
She has skin as smooth as silver
Which will never wear forever
Her touch is gentle and tender
And her name bestirs desire—
A diamond is such a wonder

But when a maid's heart turns sour

Her love withers like a ower
Then her face becomes a stranger
Whose eyes are ery as re
All her bright smiles turn to anger
And her touch deadly as murder
Pray, lest her name bring disaster—
So when you love please remember
A maid's heart will often falter
But diamonds are forever

11
 Cascades

22 seashells
Ocean Bay, Banjul 17.05.2017 05:37 pm

TWENTY-TWO seashells I pick combing the beach

Half-buried on the calm shores of the smiling coast
The waning sun behind me, the triumphant sea before
Some wash up at my feet with the eeting currents
Bringing the sea and its precious gifts to me
Favours from nether realm I count at day's end

Twenty-two wishes I make upon each seashell

Accepting of the gifts of life, of love and wonder…
That stuff of fairytales, the art of the possible
Shell, shelter, shield— numb to worry and pure of soul
Timeless wisdom etched into endless grooves
As every end gives birth to a sunny new beginning

12
 Okey Uzoechina

April bloom
Home, Abuja 09.04.2018 06:22 am

APRIL blooms brightly outside my window

The sweet scent of freshness
Diffuses into my soul with every peaceful breath
The joyous warmth of spring
Pollinates my being with renewed hope
And like a buttery drawn to nectar
I—exultant in gratitude to the April bloom

Love blooms brightly inside my heart

Every pulsating beat
A lease of life to the billion lives within
And like a lotus unsullied by its backdrops
Unfurls triumphant every new morning
Love is a lifetime in a heartbeat
Captured in the wonder of the April bloom

13
II. Of Hope and Faith
 Okey Uzoechina

Sunset in Saraka
Sarakawa, Lomé 30.05.2018 5:00 pm

SUNSET in Saraka means…

Sanity: victory without battle.

Discerns the blurred lines
To swim with the tide
Or against a thousand “ayes”
Faces death to birth renaissance
Gets lifted in sacrice

Strength: striking back or holding back?

Mindful that forbearance is mastery
Chooses whole-heart over imsy
Is unmoved by virtual reality
Double assurance in ambiguity
And godlike with Thor in vanity

Serenity: body, mind and spirit in harmony.

Life burnished by the three seasons
Wears a smile in the face of beeng
And nds calm in chaotic setting
Beats swords into “amen”
As thanksgiving turns to thanks-living

15
 Cascades

To a dethroned king
UNEC, Enugu 20.02.2002 Evening

HIS voice came reverberating

Like the roar of angry thunder
Driving panicked weaker species
Scurrying for safety in hidden niches
Then he emerged, with swift, dignied strides
His magnicent mane, like Apollo's wreath
Adorned his glorious face in a halo
So the daring conqueror
Claimed dominion over the wild
And he reigned for many years

To as many as pledged allegiance

She became a dear, devoted caregiver
The litter of her feeble cubs
Sought refuge in her majestic bosom
And the thirsty suckled on her rich milk
To grow in dignity and honour

Alas, his giant frame is felled

By green-eyed rivalry
While he slept defenseless
And his crown lost in pathetic struggle
To restore his lofty lair
Look how he now lay, undignied, piteous sight
Fatigued by the savage, dripping wounds
And paralyzed by his fractured limbs
Yet his undaunted spirit still cries:
“Regulus reigns forever!”
16
 Okey Uzoechina

Paradise fullled
Paradise, Banjul 28.08.2018 7:15 pm

ORANGE sun setting on the smiling coast

Picture-perfect invite to time away from toil
To witness the fated dance of the heavenlies
Mars exalted on the tip of Neptune's trident
As the ship sails into the sun-kissed horizon
The page smiles—paradise beckons on the other side

17
 Cascades

2
Land of nobles
Home, Onitsha 20.03.2002 Afternoon

MEN and women, young and old

They trudged along a path unknown
Husky voices, wizened faces
All tired and heavily laden.
It wasn't much unlike the exodus
Of the Jews in search of a haven
Where milk and honey owed.
A long and tortuous tour it was:
3
Blessed decades the journey cost
Behind lay the ancient city
And their kith and kin abandoned;
Before spread the routes to vastness
Each leading to a new wilderness.
But they weren't freed from slavery4
Neither were they led by Moses
Indeed there was a Moses—
Chima,5 the Patriarch, was leader.

Of all lands in the vast province

His ears witnesses none more homely
Than the destined land of promise:
His emissaries brought good tidings
From a secret expedition6
Which enlivened forlorn faces.
His ears witnessed
18
 Okey Uzoechina

7
But his feet ne'er treaded
On the destined land of promise.
So the mantle fell on Joshua—
Oreze, his son, became king.8
So the great march progressed farther
Till they came upon the Niger
But rather than bid it divide
To journey through to the east side
They chose to be ferried across
9
By the shermen at the banks.

So goes the tale of the sojourn

From the ancient Benin kingdom
'Bout four centuries and half gone by.
Libation graced the earth goddess10
For grace, guidance and protection
Onicha11 Ado n' Idu 'twas called—
The Onitsha of Edo extraction
Ere the land was fully secured
They fought holy battles and won
12
And drove the aboriginals forth.
Hither the touring crowd settled
And increased, and multiplied, and prospered.
In the dynasty of potentates13
Chimezei, son of Dei, was fth.
He begat Nwora, who begat Agwonye;
Agwonye begat Uzoechina, who begat Omata;
19
 Cascades

Omata begat Azubike, who begat me.

Land of nobles, land of promise

Of gracious trees in tropic bliss
Rich in culture and hospitality
A land where milk and honey ows.
In all walks of life she prospers:
A giant in trade and commerce14
15
In crafts, in arts, and in science
God's own people blest with prowess.
A welcome home for all and sundry
Which ne'er lacks food for the hungry
16
And gives shelter to the weary;
Her rainfall and wind are healthy
And the rising sun17 is splendid.
This great city our fathers toiled to build
This noble heritage we must all shield
This precious gift we dare not yield
Till death, I'm proudly Onitsha!

20
 Okey Uzoechina

Tomorrow
Home, Onitsha 24.06.2004 Morning

LIKE HOPE that is never lost,

Tomorrow will come back to us;
Like the immortal turns death tame,
Tomorrow dies and lives again;
Like the wind-blown waves unsteady,
Tomorrow is so uncertain;
Like the honeybees love nectar,
Tomorrow never grows bitter;
Like the dawn fades the night away,
Tomorrow becomes a new day.

Like a journey to eternity,

Tomorrow remains a mystery;
Like the sun that never fails,
Tomorrow gives hope when we wail;
Like an invincible lion,
Tomorrow will surely triumph;
Like a never-ending story,
Tomorrow never grows weary;
Like a milestone on life's journey,
Tomorrow brings closer the grave.

21
III. Of Joy and Wonder
 Okey Uzoechina

Wonderlust
Le Lagon, Dakar 28.04.2016 05.23 am

WAKING up to the gentle roar of the sea

The exhaled waves crashing at my feet
Content staring into the vastness
Horizon—boundless; possibilities—endless
The gentle roar
Ovation to the marvel yet to become
The exhaled waves
Emissaries to wonderlust

23
 Cascades

Ijele /ɪˈdʒɛlɛ/18
Home, Abuja 27.05.2017 09:26 am

I CELEBRATE Ijele
A rare species among spirits
Heralded by lesser spirits and seven-gun salute
Her crown is adorned with delicate neries
Her garb an effusion of heartwarming colours
Her style is fusion of art and wonder
Her form, ife nkili, one-stop carnival
Virtual showcase of consummate beauty

I adore Ijele
Testament to royalty and majesty
Her outing—rare as is—foretold for many years
Her legend retold many years after
Her dance is graceful and carefree
Like Noah's Ark buoyed on the sea of new life
Phantom, desired by many and adored by all
Time, space and passion compressed in a heartbeat

24
 Okey Uzoechina

Oktoberfest
Labadi Beach, Accra 20.10.2017 05:58 pm

I LOVE life like I love October: a delicious affair

Seasoned with energetic cheer and buoyant longing
A tantalizing mix of delicate tastes and certain renewal
October is telescopic reality of far-ung adventures
And stubborn desire to live every day with relish!

October is a sweet fair lady giddy with glee come to dance

Frock multicolor-stained, face splattered with smile
Unsure if she's dancing to the booming exotic tune
Or her inner alcoholic tune, I make for the momentary sanity
Of familiar faces swimming in a sea of sultry white

October is folk esta grafted from Bavarian München

Onto gold coast, my invitation to life in jagged contrast
And initiation into brotherhood of the booze, with me
Caught in a riot of attering dresses and delirious merriment
Gleefully partaking in celebration of Labadi Oktoberfest

25
 Cascades

The dream
UNEC, Enugu 08.04.2000 Evening

THE silence is outrageously maddening

The disposition incredibly uninspiring
Only breeds puzzlement and weakens encouragement
To x the jigsaw of thy complicated heart

And the feeling, inexplicably unspeakable

Gives me warmth and cold, strength and weakness
Certainty and doubt, happiness and madness
Drowns me into chaotic calmness

But, I must utter in amazed realization

But the utterance ends in confused syncopation
Comprehension is surprisingly arduous
And the dream, the dream.... wondrous

I dream of my dream, my dear dream

To nurture it to life, my wonderful dream
And I always wish to tell my dream:
“Thou art my priceless dream”

Behold another dream—a dreamless dream

Dreams of me, its wonderful dream!
And always tells its dream:
“Thou art my priceless dream”

Admittedly, the dilemma is irresistibly tempting

My emotions tangled into dreamy brooding
But even if I would forever be helpless
26 I'd rather not be dreamless
 Okey Uzoechina

My village bathroom
Home, Onitsha 23.12.2016 08:30 am

MY VILLAGE bathroom brings back memories of my childhood

Sublime encounter I get lost in and bliss to escape into
In the creative chaos and organized dysfunction called life in Onicha
My very own <<Pause. Play. Rewind>> which I produce, direct and star in
In this spot, time stops to tick and tock. It may take ve minutes
Or it may take ve years, and I little notice the difference
It took the master craft of my dear friend Ozii Baba
To create the masterpiece fully integrated with nature

My village bathroom is a second- oor penthouse, an open-roof wonder

Six times smaller than my Abuja bathroom, no luxury, just pure bliss
Here I renew my lease on life every village morning, or day, or night:
The warm drizzle from the shower, the cool wind on my skin
A peek at white clouds sailing over the blue sky on a sunshiny day
The chirping tone of a songbird af rming that life's truly beautiful
It is my transformation chamber, so small yet so signi cant
A cocoon to pupate in before I spread my wings

My village bathroom was the one soothing feeling I stubbornly held on to

As I journeyed over unrelenting potholes through Lokoja and Auchi and
Uromi
So as I awaken this morning to heavy beats of Flavor N'abania
Below me, the marketplace of voices of siblings and aunties and cousins
And the concert of generator sets screaming “I pass my neighbor”
It's surely a blessing to be wrapped in my own exalted little haven
Momentarily unminding of the million muf ed sounds begging attention
One thing prepares me to face the music: a cool shower, my village bliss

27
IV. Of Soul Searching
 Okey Uzoechina

Airborne
Airborne, London-New York 20.06.2016 Noon

ALL of life is connected, this you know

What has been, what is, and what is yet to be
The known, the unknown, the seen, the unseen
The worlds above and the worlds below
And to make sense of your role in the whole
You get lost in the spaces in-between

Now, you travel for some perspective

In a time machine piercing through space
You get giddy from losing gravity
As uffy silver clouds obliviously sail by
And shiny tin roofs smiling back at the sunshine
Like a thousand shards of broken glass

Midstream, you witness real-time transitions

Between realms seemingly unconnected
Cruising at jet speed yet lived in slow-mo
As pale brown—morphs into fertile green—meets the deep
blue
All shrouded in speckles of white in harmonious display
Of the uncanny beauty of unintended art form

In the end, you're not the centre of the world

But in witnessing you kinda get the sense
Of how small a dot you are in the big picture
Yet, in the miracle of the here and now
Through space and time unending
The force that connects the elements
29
 Cascades

Lucy's rapture
UNEC, Enugu 07.11.2001 Evening

SHE lay still at a corner

Very old and dog-tired, in the still dark night
She could hear her master snore in his bed
And solemnly she muttered to herself:
“My cries of despair never would be heard
By those who treat me like a slave
Yet I am their arms and their feet.

“I keep watch while they slumber

And guard the close while they are afar
But they never would treat me
As the guardian of the weak
But still waters run deep
I am resolved to run to the wilds
And abandon them to their cruel world.

“When we went for the game

In the woods in the valley to conquer
Gallantly I fought tooth and nail
And with my skills subdued the catch
But they never would take me
As a brave breadwinner to be treasured
They treat me to the crumbs from their table.

“I am friend when they are blue

Only then they call me Lucy
And fondle my uffy garb with pleasure

30
 Okey Uzoechina

But when they are merry they forget

That I give solace in times of grief
They forbid me to visit Caesar
And shackle me when they go gallivanting.

“And I never would forget nor forgive

When they seized my pretty little ones
When they'd seen but two grim moons
And sold them off to farmers from afar
Never to be seen again till death's call
They used the money for strong wine
And beat me when they had drunk to the dregs!

“And even when I die, I know

They will not bat an eye
As they mourn a dear one
They will not give me a funeral
Cause I'm not worth the trouble
But heavens know for sure
That I have toiled without a grumble.”

At the brink of dawn she died

And was buried at the foot of an oak
Un-mourned, unsung, uncherished
And in her little grave
She sang sweet songs of praise
Waiting for the day of rapture
To a haven she could not picture.

31
 Cascades

Heart-to-heart exchange
Home, Onitsha 13.09.1999 Morning

SON to father:

Why so, father, it beats explain

Life's but a forlorn journey.
Silver-spoons are fated to glory
And bounteous fate deprives us fair gain
Each day is a constant worry
To live, to strive to live again.
The heart's crave for fortune is vain
Only cruel death stills the urry.

Father to son:

Be brave, dear son, and you will learn

Life is never a jolly smooth ride
Nor is fortune so cheap to woo:
You'll cross seas, and climb hills so high.
I've seen men mauled by thorns, weakened;
Some get drowned in waters of strife
Browbeaten—
Poor souls, they that lose faith in life.

There are days so bleak men would whine

For the road is taunting and grim;
And nights so eerie stars won't shine.
So be tough, son, and you will win
'Cos after these long gloomy days

32
 Okey Uzoechina

When it seems that fate deprives us,

Our pains and strains will go away
And bounteous fate will smile on us.

33
 Cascades

The Cross and the Crescent

UNEC, Enugu 08.04.2001 Evening

THE Cross and the Crescent—

Sacred sires of two great nations

Hostile brothers of long consanguine connexion
Turned uneasy neighbours by sinister suspicion
Tell me, will their wars of vengeance ever cease?

Each takes a different direction

In its quest for the soul's salvation
Yet both declare for the same destination
Tell me, which will enter the Pearly Gates?

They preach peace and love to all creation

And give opium-soaked minds camouage consolation
As crimes and wars increase by multiplication
Tell me, wherein lies such gross hypocrisy?

When they partake in political communion

They cross swords with fanatical aggression
Like ery ends stirred to destruction
Tell me, does atrocity win a crown of conquest?

They attract mammoth congregations

With cozy creeds of true redemption
And defer paradise with promises of heavenly
transguration
Tell me, which will serve the divine intention—

34 The Cross or the Crescent?

 Okey Uzoechina

19
Prologue
Ime Obi, Onitsha 12.08.2002 Afternoon

A company seeks the Crown's blessing

To play Trick or Treat at the royal court
At the pleasure of the noble guests
And, pray, for His Majesty's amusement.
The Crown gives his carte blanche,
Setting the stage for performance.

The plot is doubly perfected;

The theme unequivocally directed.
The knowing actors revel in the parody
Like eager kids waiting on Santa's bounty.
The reward will recompense the risk;
The craved victory and glory a catalyst.

The guests are all aglow with delight

As the actors take a bow, all uneasy.
Presently the Crown rises with grace
His countenance betraying his distaste.
He ings a silver coin at their feet
And bids them adieu from the meet.

They stare at the accursed farthing

Realizing their hope for glory was misplaced.
How mean life is when one's food
Rests on another's precarious mood!
Hence, the mind to pick the part we play
Be evermore the staged trafc of our lives.
35
 Cascades

* * * * *

ACT ONE: SCENE ONE

Present day. Anywhere on planet Earth.

[We are all players on life's stage

Flip the page, write your own script
Be the hero!]

36
 Okey Uzoechina

Notes

Tear-drops from my heart

1
This is a borrowed title, a reply.

Land of nobles
2
This popular epithet most suitably captures the culture, values and
mores of the Onitsha people. The Onitsha man is known for his sense
of pride and respect for tradition, dignity, integrity and honesty.
3
The emigrants temporarily settled from time to time at different
locations in Agbor and Obior before they came upon the Niger River.
Some of the entourage discontinued the journey due to old age or
inrmity, while others chose to live permanently at such settlements. It
is believed that it was in this manner that the towns of Onitsha Ugbo,
Onitsha Olona, Onitsha Ukwu and Onitsha Ibabo were founded in parts
of the Mid-West state.
4
The reason for the emigration was that they were disappointed by
their loss of a title (traditional stool) dispute to their relatives, and
after a ght, left their fatherland for good to their newfound land. At a
stage during their journey, messengers were sent by the Oba to plead
with them to return home, but they turned this down.
5
Actually, Chima was never crowned king, but was a great ruler and is
reputed to be the rst Obi of Onitsha. The people still proudly identify
themselves as “Umuezechima” which means “Descendants of king
Chima”.
6
Chima sent out spies to scout the land to know how suitable it was.
They reported that the land was beautiful, peaceful and fertile.
7
Sadly, just before the crossing, Chima took ill and shortly joined his
ancestors at a very old age. His remains was interred in Ogbe Utu in
Obior and the grave has since been turned into a shrine.
37
 Cascades

8
With the demise of Chima, Oreze assumed leadership of the people.
But he was not crowned until they had sailed across the Niger due to a
dispute with his brothers, Dei and Ogwuezi.
9
These were shermen from Igala who helped to convey the Onitsha
people across the Niger River. They settled with the people and have
since been assimilated into the communes. They are often referred to
as “Olu” to distinguish them from the indigenous people. Progenies of
the Olus presently occupy the villages of Ogbeotu, Obikporo and
Mgbelekeke.
10
When the people rst settled on the land, they consecrated a
sanctuary to the earth goddess near the Niger River and called it “Ani
Onicha”. A grove was planted there and the shrine still exists. Efgy of
the shrine is duplicated in all the villages where the people set up their
dwelling.
11
The people were great warriors and are recorded to have used
rearms as early as the 15th century in Benin. Thus they were
nicknamed “Onicha” which means “despiser”, by the people whose
territories they marched through on their exodus from Benin because
of the manner they dealt with opposition from adversaries.
12
The aboriginal inhabitants of part of the land are the people of Oze.
They were driven northwards far beyond the Nkissi stream when they
made war against the Onitsha people. Their descendants now dwell
around Nkwelle in Anambra State.
13
Notably, the Obis of Onitsha are direct descendants of Chima, the
Patriarch. Such is the criterion for choosing a king. Thus, the crown is
hereditary and is exclusive to the royal family which now comprises
several villages and clans. By convention, the crown is made rotational
among the clans, but this convention is not sacrosanct. The Chima
dynasty has produced 21 sovereigns of Onitsha till date. The Onitsha
sovereigns and their regnal years are recorded thus:

38
 Okey Uzoechina

1. Obi (Eze) Chima — mid 16th century

2. Obi Oreze — 16th to 17th century
3. Obi Chimaevi — 17th century
4. Obi Chimukwu — 17th century
5. Obi Chimezei — 17th century
6. Obi Naa — 17th century
7. Obi Tasia — 17th century
8. Obi Eze Aroli — 17th to 18th century
9. Obi Chimaedia — 18th century
10. Obi Omozele — 18th century
11. Obi Eze Olisa — 18th century
12. Obi Ijelekpe — 18th to 19th century
13. Obi Udogwu — about 1820 to 1840
14. Obi Akazue — 1840 to 1873
15. Obi Diali — 1873 to 1874
16. Obi Anazonwu — 1874 to 1899
17. Obi Samuel Okosi I — 1901 to 1931
18. Obi James Okosi II — 1935 to 1961
19. Obi Joseph Okwudili Onyejekwe — 1962 to 1970
20. Obi Ofala Okechukwu Okagbue — 1970 to 2001
21. Obi Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe—2002 to date

The time gaps between some regnal dates were caused by lingering
kingship disputes.
14
The present day Onitsha Main Market was founded as Otu Nkwo
market on the beach of the Niger River in late 17th century. Today, the
market has grown to become the largest of its kind in West Africa.
15
In early times, the people were well known for their traditional
vocations: metal works, bronze casting, weaving, art works, farming
and trading. Today, Onitsha sons still excel in their chosen elds:
Professor Chike Obi, a world-acclaimed mathematician; Philip
Emeagwali, the greatest computer genius; Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, an
accomplished poet and foremost nationalist; Sir Louis Mbanefo, a
pioneer legal luminary, to mention just a few.
40
 Cascades

16
Early sojourners to the growing metropolis included tradesmen and
other itinerants from Aboh, Atani, Idah, Igala, Ijaw, Lokoja, Nupe,
Odekpe, Yoruba, etc. Some of them were allotted portions of land free
of charge during the reign of Obi Akazue. Today, the city has grown into
a metropolis which accommodates people from different tribes.
17
The analogy to a rising sun originates from a poem written by Nnamdi
Azikiwe entitled “Land of the Rising Sun”, in a collection he calls Civil
War Soliloquies. It is so called because the people journeyed towards
the rising sun to Onitsha. The land itself sits on the east of the Niger
River.

Source: Much of the details used in the explanatory notes is obtained

from the book: Groundwork of the History and Culture of Onitsha,
written by Nnanyelugo S. I. Bosah.

Ijele
18
For a description of the Ijele masquerade, see:
http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/RL/ijele-masquerade-00194

Prologue
19
A parody of truths.

40
ISBN: 978 - 978 - 960 - 998 - 7