Memories of Umuahia, NIGERIA

 

Okpara Square, Umuahia

The time check is 7.00 am. I've just rolled out of bed in Puebla, Mexico. This time of the year brings back a lot of memories of my ancestral hometown. Because at this time of the year, temperatures drop, and Christmas is in the view. It was the time to take road trips with my parents back to our ancestral hometown from the busy chaotic city we lived in at the time—Lagos, Nigeria.

This morning I found a piece I had written same time four years ago when I lived in Nassau, Bahamas and I thought I would share it here. 

Time check  5.55 a.m. 18 ℃. in Nassau, Bahamas, I'm screaming it's cold. The cold woke me up among other things! It brings back memories of Harmattan in Nigeria. Especially on those Christmas holiday trips to my ancestral village—Umuokehi, Umuahia. The nights and early are chilly, and the afternoons, are hot and humid. And everyone in the family is home. Many mornings, we sit out on the balcony and watch people go by on the main road. Either on their way to their farms or to Umuyota, the next village. Or waiting to catch a bus to "Beach" which is the local name for the Umuahia town center.

I do not know why it's called a beach, because there is no coastline in Umuahia. Unfortunately, I never asked why the villagers called Umuahia town "beach", so, I cannot tell you. Early in the morning, visitors drop by to see dad, and pretty much anyone walking past the house. Well, anyone from the village, and it does not matter how early, no one warns you beforehand. But all are welcome with open arms and given something to eat and drink.

It's the tradition, no one needs an invitation. Once the news gets around that "De Aham, biara ulo" (Uncle Aham came home) you are welcome to visit. "De" does not exactly translate to uncle but it is what you call a male older than you in many parts of Igbo culture. it's a sign of respect. In many parts of Nigeria, you do not call anyone older than you by their first name, without a prefix. For females, it's "Da"

In the early 1970s, I remember on one of those holidays, when the older men and women saw us: my siblings and me at the village square, they would ask "Unu wu umu, Matthias? (Are you Matthias' children?) or unu wu umu de Matthias? (Are you uncle Matthias' children?).

I used to be amused at the way they pronounced: "Matthias" it sometimes sounded like they were saying "Matrass" or "Matayas" which really confirms the fact that Africans have no business being called English names. 

Perhaps that's why dad changed his first name but kept the initial "M" and his name became "Madu"  Well, Mattias was not originally Da's first name 'cos I know grandpa Omekara would never give his first-born son a foreign Christian name. Dad's first name is really Ahamefule, but back in the day when the missionaries converted you to a Christian. You had to be baptized and the foreign missionaries gave you a Christian name. So, your real first name became your middle name, especially if you attended one of those missionary schools. Dad attended Methodist Boys College Uzuakoli, so he had to be called "Matthias" his baptismal name.

When we got baptized in the Methodist church, he however insisted we keep our native Igbo names, so, I remained Ngozichi. And I'm grateful for that, so none of his children have a foreign name. But I digress, Christmas holidays in my village were fun back in the day, we were young and everywhere was safe. We could wander anywhere by ourselves and our parents knew we would be safe.

All we would say was " we were going to ama oche or uhu oche" which was the homestead, the compound of my ancestors, where my father grew up, where my grandparents had lived, and all of my ancestors Ehuriah, lived and walked the earth.

Looking back now, that was a pilgrimage, Back in the day, in the early, mid,1970s the compound comprised of mud houses, if you like to call them huts, they were made from natural products; the red earth and palm fronds for roofs. Always cool inside, no matter the temperatures outside which were always high. They were unique. These days they have all been replaced with houses built with cement and corrugated rooftops, and get hot inside if you have no electric fans and air-conditioning

Yes, at this time of the year, I miss those 8-hour road trips from Lagos to my village in Umuahia for Christm, like holidays with my family. It was always a wonderful reunion.