Nigeria Celebrates and Suffers

Obosi
Octogenarian Celebrants in Obosi

Celebrating Old Age

While in the U.S. and around the world people celebrated Pi Day on Saturday, March 14 – 3.14.15 – the people of Obosi in eastern Nigeria were having a different kind of festivity. Ito Ogbo Obosi is a ceremony to honor people born within a three year span. This year’s celebration honored those born between 1934 and 36.

The traditional ruler of Obosi, Igwe Chukwudubem Iweka III, said, “This is a gift from our fathers which we now give the whole world; to celebrate old age, to pay homage to creaky bones and grey hairs. It is not only when people die that they are celebrated in such fashion. If God gives one grace to live up to that ripe age, one deserves to be celebrated.”

According to another article after the event, 180 people received the title of either ‘Ogbueshi Nwoke’ or ‘Ogbueshi Nwanyi’. “They are immediately exempted from paying taxes and participating actively in community service,” I learned.

RPCV calendar 2015
RPCV calendar 2015

Do you know the meanings of the titles?

I have a beautiful 2015 calendar from the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Wisconsin-Madison, for the first person with the correct answers.

Shedding Political Light?

The power industry in Nigeria is in a sorry state. In the 1990’s and even before, it became apparent that the supply of electricity was insufficient to meet the demand. At the turn of the millennium the government undertook a massive reorganization and privatization of the power sector in an attempt to increase capacity and make the industry more efficient and transparent.

Part of power infrastructure in Nigeria
Part of Power Infrastructure

The industry was split into separate channels for generation, transmission, and distribution. Then pieces were sold off to private enterprises. The goal has been to gradually introduce competition.

But the changes have not increased capacity nor achieved the other goals. Electricity supply is erratic at best, non-existent at worst. Those who can afford to buy a generator do so; many homes in Victoria Island and Lekki have two. In our house in Clem’s hometown we have a generator and use it daily. Industrial establishments often install their own generating capacity.

The total generating capacity of the country is less than 5000 MW; experts agree that the country needs at minimum 20,000 MW. Prices for the irregular supply were set low, but raised substantially several months ago. Today the regulatory body that was set up to oversee pricing announced a reduction in the prices.

But the opposition to President Goodluck Jonathan suggests that this is a political, not economic, move.

They imply in the article I read that the President ordered the reduction now, just two weeks before the election, to garner votes.

Amadi

Sam Amadi

The head of the regulatory body, Sam Amadi, emphasized in his announcement that the reduction was in accordance with required guidelines.

I have met him. I believe he was pressured. He said, “NERC remains committed to the principle of cost- reflective pricing and to the development of an efficient and financially viable electricity market. These are important to support the investment that is needed to ensure the electricity supply industry meets the needs of the Nigerian economy.”

If you read the whole article (and can stay awake through the acronyms and convoluted sentences) I think you may agree he had to stretch to make his case.

Widows Can Reap Fruit

In my research on Igbo Women’s Inheritance Rights and Practices, I found an article called An Appraisal of Inheritance Rights of Women in Nigeria by Richard Mordi. I don’t know if you can access it without joining Academia.edu, but I’ll share the most interesting part from my point of view.

He said, “The case of widows ever inheriting . . is unheard of as their . . rights are very limited under the Igbo customary law. [The widow] has no right of ownership over any property of her deceased husband. Rather, the widow’s right in the land is to mere possession of a parcel of family property subject to her good behavior.”

In another part of Igbo land, he says, there is a ‘semi-matrilineal’ system, where “a man’s estate, consisting of his house and land, is inherited by his sons and daughters as a body. A widow has no rights to keep any movable property, even if she used the same property during her husband’s life. She is given the right to reap fruit from trees on the matrimonial estate.” This too is subject to her good behavior.

Wow! I wonder who can decide what behavior is good. Any guesses?

Further in his article he says, “Under most customary law, daughters, like wives, do not inherit. The only situation in which a daughter can inherit is where she chooses to remain unmarried in her father’s home with a view to raising children there. This is known as Nrachi or Idegbe custom, and is practiced in various regions and communities in Nigeria.” These are new words for me.

He explains exactly the situation I know from Mbokuocha. “[It] arises when a deceased man leaves behind an estate, but no surviving male issue to inherit it. The idea underlying this practice is to save the lineage ‘from extinction’. The daughter, now considered an Idegbe or Nrachi, is entitled to inherit both movable and immovable property from her deceased father’s estate.”

More next time!

Marcelle and me, photo by Aline Weiller

Marcelle and me, photo by Aline Weiller

Talk at Westport Library

Come on Friday at noon to the Westport Library to hear me talk, with my teacher and editor, on Writing Women’s Lives.

We’ll talk about memoir writing and editing.

We’ll also have books to sell and sign, and special treats from Aline, my public relations person.

 

Author: Catherine Onyemelukwe

Author, blogger, speaker. Born in New York, grew up in mid west United States, lived in Nigeria for 24 years, back in U.S. since 1986. Advocate for racial justice.

Comments are closed.