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| Chief Anayo Nwosu |
BACKGROUND
Nnewi,
more than any other town in Nigeria has the most number of millionaires per 10
family units. From time immemorial, Nnewi boys become rich so early in life to
the bewilderment of natives of other towns and tribes. In ignorance of what
drives an Nnewi man, outsiders ascribe this phenomenon as “Ọgwụ Ego” or “Ego
Ọbala” meaning “blood money”.
From
the foundation of the town, murder or ritual killing known as igbu ọchụ is
treated as a horrendous abomination. When an Nnewi man, no matter his standing,
is suspected of willfully killing a fellow human being, he is expected to run
away from the town and shall never be allowed to return until after 7 years. It
is called “ịgba ọsọ ọchụ”. This also applies to killings resulting from fights,
provocation or even a murder of someone caught atop of the killer’s wife.
If any
person is suspected of using juju to kill someone for ritual purposes, the
following procedure is followed:
1. The
person is formally confronted with his offence,
2. If
he admits, then he is chased out of the town after being stripped naked and
taken around the main markets of his village.
3. The
funeral rites especially the release of canon shots are performed and the
offender is said to have been sent off to the land of the dead while alive, an
act known as “ịkwa mmadụ na ndụ”. He will never enter Nnewi town again. The
offenders usually die thereafter or become hardened criminals in another town.
4.
Should the accused denies the offence, he is taken to a seer or diviner who
will either indict or exonerate him. If he is indicted, he will never get home.
His house will be set ablaze by the youths and he will be taken round the town
naked and be driven out of the town after his funeral has been conducted while
he is alive.
5.
Alternatively, the accused is asked to swear by a powerful deity. He must
choose between swearing by Ogwugwu or by Udo. The guilty must die after four
market days otherwise the accused is adjudged innocent.
Killing
a human being for riches is alien to Nnewi. In fact, people openly ask rich men
to account for the sources of their wealth before such men are allowed to
execute any public project.
DISCLOSURE
I am
an Nnewi prince. I was born in Nnewi and I never left Nnewi until after my
Master’s Degree. I went to primary school and secondary school in my village
and would always return home during holidays while in the university. I have
not applied for and neither has any member of my nuclear family applied or
received citizenship of another country. My parents and their own parents
hailed from Nnewi hence I am an Original Onye Nnewi (OON).
WHAT DRIVES AN NNEWI MAN
I have
tried to highlight below, some of the inherent factors that drive a typical
Nnewi man.
1. Lack of Enough
Fertile Soil
Nnewi
has no alluvial soil for bumper harvest of agricultural products. Most
agricultural endeavours in Nnewi are at the subsistence level. There are
pockets of animal husbandry but not big enough to make one so wealthy hence
anyone desirous of wealth has to be innovative.
Also,
because necessity is the mother of invention, our people took to trade and have
inculcated the acts of trading in the sub-consciousness of their children. It
is now etched in the DNA of every child born of Nnewi parents. An Nnewi man can
sell a repackaged devil to an unwary pastor. He can also trade with and make
profit from the meanest of the tribes.
2.Skewed
Inheritance Sharing Formula in Favour of The First Son
Any
Nnewi male child knows that the first son practically inherits the father’s wealth.
Other children get a small fraction of the share of first son; that is, if
their father shared his wealth before dying, otherwise everybody is at the
mercy of the first son. Nobody questions the first son on how much of his
father’s wealth he decides to share or keep for himself. In fact, the first son
assumes hundred per cent of the father’s business while his brothers are expected
to go find their destiny. Given this scenario, our boys grow up to know that
they are on their own and should work hard to make it in life.
3. Ban on
Professional Begging
Professional
begging is banned in Nnewi. Anybody found begging as a profession is flogged or
pilloried in the public. There is no food for a lazy Nnewi man. That does not
mean that we do not have drunkards and imbeciles, but no healthy man in Nnewi
would ever contemplate choosing begging as a profession. Every rich man knows
that he has a responsibility to help train the children of the poor to become
rich. We teach people how to fish not how to eat fish.
4. Apprenticeship
Culture
An
Nnewi man will learn a trade or business and will willingly introduce his
brother or townsman to the same line of business under our perfected
apprenticeship scheme called “ịgba bọị” or “ịmụ afịa”. A young boy (aged 10-14)
serves his master for 5-7 years and his master settles him at the end of the
service tenor and mentors him until he becomes successful. A grown up who does
not want to serve for longer tenor shall pay for coaching on the business
methods for tenor usually less than 2 years. That is how our people dominate
many areas of commerce.
5. Recognition
and Celebration of Excellence
Nnewi
has a vibrant community associations that award scholarships to brilliant
students. Not all must be traders. "Ahọrọ ụmụ ụmụ gbuo ichi ahọrọ ụfọdụ
chie ha ọzọ. An Nnewi man Dr. Okongwu, the father of Chu Okongwu, former and
the longest serving Nigeria's finance minister was the first Nigerian to bag a
PhD in 1932. It was epochal as the whole of Nnewi assembled in the 1940s at
Onitsha to welcome Dr. Abyssinia Akwaeke Nwafor Orizu, the son of Igwe Nnewi on
his return from USA with PhD. He was carried shoulder high to Nnewi. This
released the intellectual impetus to the brilliant youth. They were marveled at
the highfalutin vocabularies Nwafor was releasing as thunder. The records of
Profs ABC Nwosu and Aghaji brothers in scholarship are legendary. Up until 1990
Nnewi had many professors in many universities all over the world in diverse
areas of knowledge. At that time, Nnewi had over 10 professors in the University
of Nigeria Nsukka alone. Would Ndigbo see in another, a leader like Emeka
Odumegwu-Ojukwu?
5. Preponderance
Of Rich Forbearers
There
are two persons in our history that are believed to have set the highest
standards of business in Nnewi. They are:
a)
Nwosu Ezeodumegwu: This man lived in 18th and part of 19th century. His greatgrandfather,
Ezeoguine was the Obi of Nnewi. He married 42 wives and had many concubines. He
was the richest man south of the Niger. His fame made the colonial masters to
seek and send for him. It is to his credit that colonial masters did not invade
Nnewi as they did other major towns.
b)
Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu: He was at his time, the richest man in Africa and the
only black man the British Colonial government allowed to co-habit with them in
Ikoyi. He lent his Rolls Royce to Nigeria for the use of Queen Elizabeth of
England when she visited Nigeria before Nigeria's independence.
P.S
Stop
criminalizing the blessed Nnewi rich man. Why not nicely ask so that he may let
you into his trade secrets?
anayonwosu@icloud.com
Ikenga
Ezenwegbu Nnewi
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