Nurse Marystella Nwokekeh

03/06/2023

May 1803 will forever be remembered in Black history as one that showed the courage of the Black race in the face of subjection.

During the transatlantic slave trade in Africa (present day Nigeria 🇳🇬 ) the Igbo Nation were revered because they were industrious, proud, independent, performed their duties with little or no supervision.

As such, John Couper and Thomas Spalding purchased Igbos for export to the US to work on plantations in Simons Island.

Each was to be s0ld for rates as high as $100. Among those taken càptives were 75 Igbo men.

In Dunbar Creek on St. Simons Island, Glynn County, Georgia, there is a deeply historic site called Igbo Landing. So named because of the mass s.uicide of Igbo people captured as slaves in 1803.

The history started when about 75-100 Igbo people from what's now known as Nigeria were càptured, were bounded and put on ship to be s0ld as slaves in plantations across the Americas.

Most of the Africans who were enslaved were captured in battles or were k.idnapped, though some were s0ld into slavery for debt or as punishment.

The captives were marched to the coast, often enduring long journeys of weeks or even months, shackled to one another.

Rather than head to the arrival port, one of the Igbo chiefs taken captive gives a directive and suddenly, they turn back to the Dunbar creek singing that the water spirits and their god Chukwu take them back to their land.

During the voyage, the Igbo slaves rose in rèbellion and drowned their captors.

The ship was grounded. Left with no clear direction of how to go back home and refusing to proceed to the land of the enslavers, all the slaves marched ashore singing, led by their high chief.

Then at his order, they all committed s.uicide by walking into the marshy waters of Dunbar Creek. They chose to d.ie rather than be a slave in an unknown land.

Today, the story stands as a cherised cultural history of bravery for millions of African-American.

The Igbo Landing story is now part of the curriculum for coastal Georgia schools, reminding young African-Americans that some of their ancestors were brave people who would rather diè than live in oppression.

03/06/2023

The Igbuzo (Ibusa) Kingdom:: Tracing the Roots of a Brave Igbo Community in Delta State, Nigeria"

Igbuzo, also known as Ibusa, is a vibrant Igbo community nestled in Delta State, Nigeria. Its roots can be traced back to around 1450 when waves of Igbo migrants embarked on a journey westward, ultimately leading to the formation of Igbuzo.

The name "Ibusa" is derived from "Igbo bi n'ụzọ," meaning "Igbos that live by the wayside" or "Were you the first to settle here?" This moniker was bestowed upon them by neighboring communities such as Ogwashi-Uku, Asaba, Oko, Ilah, and Okpanam, as well as European missionaries who struggled to pronounce the community's original name.

Historians believe that a group of settlers who embarked on a journey from Benin alongside Ezechima, heading eastward, may have found their final settlement in Igbuzo. It is speculated that these settlers, either due to illness or a lack of interest in continuing their journey, assimilated into the existing Umejei and Edini groups in Igbuzo.

Ibusa comprises two distinct units: the Umejei and Ogboli settlements. According to oral history, Umejei Nwa Eze Isu, the prince of Isu, was involved in a wrestling bout that resulted in the death of his opponent. Traditionally, this act was considered an abomination punishable by death. However, Umejei's father, the king of Isu, commuted his son's sentence, and Umejei was exiled with a gourd given to him by his father. He was instructed to settle wherever the gourd dropped, leading him to establish Igbuzo at the present site of Ani-Oshe in Omeze.

In another tale, Odaigbo of Nshi (Nri) had relations with one of his father's wives, which usually carried a mandatory death sentence. However, Eze Nshi spared Odaigbo's life and instead exiled him, accompanied by his father, mother, and younger brother, Edini. Each of them carried a pot and charms, instructed by Eze Nshi to settle wherever the pot fell. Edini's pot landed at Ani-Nshi (Nri) Ogboli in Ibusa, while Odaigbo's pot dropped at the current site of Ogwashi-Uku, where he settled. The groups of Edini and Umejei eventually merged to form Ibusa, with the Ogboli community becoming part of the larger Nri (Nshi) community.

Ibusa is renowned among the Igbo and Anioma people of Delta State for their courageous spirit, often described as "Isu (Igbuzo) fu ogu ju nni," meaning "Ibusa people who refuse food to fight wars." This statement exemplifies their bravery in times of conflict. Researchers are currently delving into the history of wars fought by the Igbuzo people, particularly in the homes of their kinsmen in Nnewi, Anambra State, to uncover any historical connections between the two communities.

03/06/2023

Florence Nwanzuruahu Nkiru Nwapa. (13 January 1931 – 16 October 1993).

Was a Nigerian author who has been called the mother of modern African Literature. She was the forerunner to a generation of African women writers, and the first African woman novelist to be published in the English language in Britain. She achieved international recognition with her first novel Efuru, published in 1966, While never considering herself a feminist, she was best known for recreating life and traditions from an Igbo woman's viewpoint.

She published African literature and promoted women in African society. She was one of the first African women publishers when she founded Tana Press in Nigeria in 1970. Nwapa engaged in governmental work in reconstruction after the Biafran War; in particular, she worked with orphans and refugees who were displaced during the war.

Flora Nwapa is from Oguta.

03/06/2023

In 1978, the pioneer of Afrobeats, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, married 27 women in one day. This should not be strange to those who know the life and style of the Nigerian music legend nicknamed Abami Eda (strange creature).

Many of Fela’s band members became homeless after the devastating soldier attack on Fela’s commune (Kalakuta Republic) in 1977. In order to keep them together, Fela decided to do the unusual.

He gave a piece of paper to his female band members requesting the names of those that would like to marry him; the entire twenty-seven female band members put down their names.

After getting their consent, Fela Kuti married the 27 women on the 20th of February, 1978, at the Parisona Hotel in Anthony, Lagos, with the blessings of twelve Ifa priests. It was alleged that some parents of the ladies objected the marriage.

Fela married the women to protect and keep them together. The marriage ceremony was attended by Fela’s families, friends and other band members.

During the marriage ceremony, Fela rendered a short speech, pressed naira notes on his new wives’ foreheads and gave them marriage certificates. Fela embraced a rotation system of 12 wives at a time. After the marriage, Fela took his 27 wives to Ghana for honeymoon.

However, in 1986, shortly after his release from prison, Fela Kuti divorced his 27 wives on the claim that marriage brings jealousy. It should be noted that they were not forced to leave his house after the divorce; some lived with him till his death in 1997.

01/04/2023