History has brought to light the fact
that the Aro of yesterday was more influential, popular, united and respected
than the Aro of today. Many years ago, our ancestor foresaw the present
challenges that are hindering Aro’s development today and fought very hard to
stop the Colonizers. “In Berlin accord we stand”, the foreigners assured one
another as they pulled the trigger. Our ancestors fearlessly challenged them in
a bloody war that started in 1893. Having been conquered several times, the
British military and their allies reinforced and returned in 1901 with the aim
of wiping out the Aro people and destroying completely whatever legacy Aro was
known for and proud of. The genocide and war crimes they committed in Aro land
between 1901 and 1902 was swept under the carpet and left unreported. Indeed,
Aro lost her pride in the genocide: our original name and its meaning was lost,
our original language and symbolic writing system which was the oldest form of
writing known to man was lost, territories were lost, the origin and essence of
most Aro cultures and traditions were ridiculed, caricatured and replaced with
western teaching tailored in such a manner that they give the Colonizers a
complete hegemony of the Aro States and control of the subconscious mind of the
Aro people.
Through
their teachings, today, we have been divided in the lines of religions and
doctrines whose origins we are not allowed to question, despite the fact that
we do not know them except whatever they tell us to believe. Little wonder they
call us ‘black monkeys’. We have ignored the wisdom and ways of our fathers. We
have counted worthless the lives and contributions of our ancestors. We have
allowed their labours to be in vain. We have believed lies told us against our
fathers by Europeans. We tend to believe whatever they tell us without
questioning to enables us investigate the true position. Western religion and
culture were brought upon our fathers with guns and ammunition. Our fathers
rejected it and opposed all forms of western control but were overpowered.
Today, western religion and culture have physically, spiritually, morally,
emotionally and socially conquered us completely. However, we have a lifeline,
though. We can reject all forms of western control and advance like such
countries as China, Japan, India, etc. who have taken their own destinies in
their hands. The first step, of course, would be to remember, honour and
support our ancestors.
The Origin of ‘igwe bụ ike ideology’ and ‘ako bụ ije
movement’
It is a cheap
lie told us by Europeans that our fathers were not civilized, whereas, the
truth is that Europeans were educated by our fathers in ancient black kingdoms
such as Kmt and Kush (ancient Egypt), Babylon, Persia, etc. they (Europeans)
destroyed the kingdoms and claimed all the civilizations built in them by our
fathers.
It was during
the reign of His Majesty Mazi Eze Akuma Nnubi (1143 – 1156) who was the first
king to rules the United Kingdom of the Great Arochiukwu that the foundation of
Biafra was laid. Eze Mazi Akuma Nnubi and his elder brother were war veterans
conscripted to help fight for their Aro brothers against the Ibibios in the
Aro-Ibibio war which took place between 1142 and 1143. Osim was lost in the
war, however, his younger brother, Akuma was compensated. As a war veteran, he
established warrior colonies throughout the present day southeast and
southsouth Nigeria. Aro, also had warrior colonies in southwest, princely, Ogun
and Lagos States. There were Aro colonies in parts of present day Kogi and
Benue States. Aro’s influence extended to many African nations but the ones
captured so far are: southern Cameroun, northern Equatorial Guinea and part of southern
Guinea Bissau.
The Portuguese
were the first Europeans to explore the west coast of Africa. The place they arrive
was Calabar in 1450. The name ‘Calabar’ is a coinage of two words: ‘kala’ and
‘bush’. The Portuguese named it Kalabush, but they had difficulty in naming the
entire colonies because the spoke different tongues but were under one Aro
government. The Aro king who was in power and controlled the entire Aro
colonies at the time was His Majesty Eze Mazi Okoro Kanu (1444 – 1468). The Portuguese
continued with the exploration until they got to a country know today as Guinea
Bissau. At the coast of Guinea was, and still is, a tribe called the ‘Biafada
tribe’ whose culture was similar to the culture of all the colonies under the
Aro government. Owing to the culture similarity, the Portuguese concluded that
the Biafada tribe was related to the Aro colonies. When they returned to
Kalabush, they named the shore of Kalabush waters the ‘Bight of Biafada’; and
the people, they called Biafadas. The Aro king who was in charge of the Bight
of Biafada and controlled trade between the people of his region and the
Portuguese was His Majesty Eze Mazi Oke Asi (1469 – 1521).
Biafra was a
United economic-cum-political states established by the Aro government based on
the ‘igwe bụ ike ideology’. It was never recorded that Aro warriors engaged any
community in warfare in order to establish hegemony. The Aro’s ‘igwe bụ ike
ideology’ was propelled by their wise and peaceful ‘akọ bụ ije movement’. The
‘igwe bụ ike ideology’ was aimed at uniting all African nations for quicker economic-cum-political
advancement just as African tribes were once united in Kmt (ancient Egypt) and
they civilized the world. They were succeeding until the Europeans invaded
Africa and halted the progression.
In contemporary
Africa, most communities have realized the harmfulness of promoting western
culture and religions in lieu of African culture and traditions. Therefore,
there have been renewed interest in reviving African culture and traditions
hence we see communities engage in different culture revival festivities such
as New Yam Festival, Hunting and Fishing Festival, Arts and Culture Display,
Cultural Carnivals, etc.
History is here
to teach the wise. Starting from 14th century, some free-thinking
Europeans realized that western religion was responsible for the slow pace of
human development, as a result, there arose a new interest in Greek culture and
philosophy what followed next was rapid advancement in science and technology.
They marked those periods which were 14th, 15th and 16th
centuries as the ‘Renaissance’. We, Africans, need to emulate the attitude of
the Renaissance men.
There is an
urgent need for restoration of Aro culture. Science and technology, economic
and political advancement of Africa depends so much on revival of rich African
cultures, especially, the prestigious Aro history and traditions. In conscious
pursuit of the above, some patriotic Aro sons have created a platform called
‘Arochiukwu Reinstatement Operation (A.R.O)’ which is saddled with the
responsibility of executing projects aimed at reviving ancient Aro arts and
culture, including film production of Aro history and events. The Aro Kingdom
and people will enjoy enormous benefits that shall accrue from the projects.
Ancient arts will be rediscovered and displayed in conspicuous places. There
will be an art gallery display of all Aro kings from C.E. 912 to the present
Era. There will be display of arts and historic symbols unique to each of the
nineteen (19) villages. Historic sites and artifacts will be rediscovered and
preserved for research and development purposes. There will be an annual
publication of citations and awards to illustrious Aro sons and daughters who
have contributed or are still contributing immensely to the wellbeing of our
ancient kingdom.
If the A.R.O.
projects are supported, Arochiukwu shall, once again, rise to an enviable Hall
of Fame and quickly recover her lost economic-cum-political relevance in
Nigeria, and in the emerging new Biafra, in African continent and the world in
general.
On the above
note, we call on every well-meaning Aro son or daughter who has the Aro
interest at heart to identify with the Arochiukwu Reinstatement Operation and
also support our laudable projects morally, financially and otherwise.
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