People Who Care

The Story about Mgbokwuocha

For Sunday’s service (yesterday), Beth Cliff launched a program called Women’s Rights are Human Rights. She invited 9 of us to tell stories about our countries that highlighted the differences and similarities between our (adopted) countries and the U.S.

I told the story of Mgbokwuocha, the woman who lived next door to us in Nanka, in Eastern Nigeria. This was during the Civil War in Nigeria, from 1967 to 1970.

I wondered why Mgbokwuocha had never married. So I asked my cousin Chinedu to tell me about her.

In 1949 or ’50, Mgbokwuocha was about to get married. But her two older sisters intervened. They said she should follow the custom of “Nnuikwa,” the “inside son.”

They asked her to accept the land their father had lived on, and adopt his place in the community. With this change, Mgbokwuocha would have the sons who could inherit her land.

The men accepted her in the role. They helped her spruce up the house and get the land ready for planting. They also served as “night visitors.” The children of these unions would not know who they father was. Nor was the father responsible for their behavior.

She owned the land now. She could barter small parcels for extra help, and she could sell the trees or their fruits. Her crops were her own.

In 2005 Mgbokwuocha died. I’m guessing she was about 73 or 74. Her children mourned her. So did the umunna, the elders of our village. I was sorry not to see her.

If I can go to Nanka for this year’s Christmas holiday, I would like to see her sons.

The full story about Mgbokwuocha is told in my second book, Breaking Kola. 

My Son Sam

Sam Onyemelukwe has been the head of cable TV music channel Trace for several years. Now he and his Chief Executive Officer want to encourage students in Ghana and Nigeria to be ready for tomorrow’s “industry leaders.” He and his CEO were highlighted in two articles, one in Punch and the other in the Nigerian Tribute.

Olivier Laouchez, the Chief Executive Officer, wants to invite 60 people to be Trace Troops. He was speaking in July at a celebratory event. Fifteen of the students would be hired to work with Trace for 3 months.

He said the beneficiaries will be “required to develop a unique project of their choice . . . while TRACE will empower them with the necessary resources, alongside guidance on media and entertainment.”

The debut phase of the campaign, which is scheduled to run from July 22 to October 21, 2021, is targeted at male and female Nigerians and Ghanaians between the ages of 16-28, who are passionate about Afro-urban culture and change.

The Managing Director of Trace, Sam Onyemelukwe – and my son! – described the project, “as an avenue to equip the younger generation, while also exposing them to fun activities.”

He said the program will help the young people get excited about their own ideas. They will be able to launch them with the help of Trace.

In the same statement, Onyemelukwe noted that to expand Trace’s CSR [Corporate Social Responsibility] initiatives, another program called Trace Academia has been launched. The same target audience will be reached with this program. “According to him, it would curb the menace of youth unemployment in Africa,” he said.

I hope this second program doesn’t run into difficulty! I noted their goal of 25 million young people in four years. That’s impressive, and difficult to achieve!

In the Nigerian Tribune, Sam said this program “is targeted at addressing the bane of youth unemployment in Africa.”

That would be a major accomplishment, even if it only reaches a portion of the people in the age group!