Story Four: Chideraa in Post-Independence Era

Part Two

Boom, boom, firings from Nigerian Forces’ armoured tankers rattled the skies. If you only heard the sound from a distance or saw the impact blow off your roof, you were lucky. Those that felt the impact crash on their bodies did not tell the story of what or how they felt. It had been two long years of fighting and the “Police action” the Head of State of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria, Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon had declared on the Federal Republic of Biafra in May 1967, after Major General Chukwuemeka Ojukwu declared the Independence of the Republic of Biafra, had become a full blown Civil war. Chideraa and his mother hid and lived in the thick forest with their people. The Nigerian soldiers raided their villages and displaced most of the Umuagwo community dwellers. A lot of them had been taken as female attendants by the soldiers Continue reading →

Story Two: Chideraa in Colonial Nigeria

Umuagwo community had lot of troubles with the Christian missionaries and had killed a number of them. Their deaths had brought about a number of death sentences to Umuagwo’s chiefs. Eventually, the white men took over the control of Umuagwo and ran her affairs through a District Commissioner, Mr Watson Stratford.

“Chideraa!” His mother called. “You would be late to school”

“Mama I’m coming. I’m looking for my slate.” He replied. The slate was a small wooden board in which school children wrote upon using chalk.  He was twelve years of age and was one of the best pupils in Standard four, then it wasn’t called Basic Four the way it is called now. His teachers loved him because he was an obedient pupil, and was hardworking too. They were privileged to have a Primary school in Umuagwo. The Primary school was set up by the Catholic missionaries when they finally succeeded in breaking into Umuagwo and winning some converts, of which Obierika and Urenma, Chideraa’s parents were one of them. Continue reading →

Story One: Chideraa and the Slave Traders

Chideraa was a smart and inquisitive boy of twelve years old and lived in Umuagwo community. He loved to work on their farm and help his mother with the house chores. He was the youngest of four sons and they had no sister, so as soon as he was old enough, he began serving the purpose of both a male and a female child, while his elder brothers did only the things males did. As a result, while his fellow boys played in the outside, he helped his mother in the kitchen. His mother, Urenma, loved him so much because he was a dutiful child and was very obedient. He did all that he was told to do and did them well. She would seat beside him in the moonlight after dinner and tell him all sorts of stories. Chideraa loved the story of how tortoise shell became rough most, and his mother often retold the story to him whenever he requested. Continue reading →