Freedom In Fetters
Ogbaturugo, Onyima's father was a notable warrior from Umuarokoro hamlet in Okwu village, and he had been in rivalry with Ezeukwu, a kinsman over a piece of inherited land. One day, while Ogbaturugo was on his way to Iyioru swamp to gather raffia branches, which he will use in making weaved raffia sheets to repair his leaking roof, he was attacked by a fiery leopard. It was a fierce fight that he was carried home half dead after being rescued by Ojishi the palm wine tapper. Later in the night of the same day that Ogbaturugo was attacked, the fiery leopard visited his house and killed a goat in the pen behind Ogbaturugo's window without devouring it. Eventually, Ogbaturugo died few days after the fight and was buried.
Seven years later, during the feast of the performance of Ogbaturugo's traditional burial rite, and Onyima his son, in a quest to unravel the cause of his father's death, poisoned the palm wine which he served his kinsmen with the rotted bone of the dead goat. Few days after the feast at Onyima's house, Ezeukwu died. As a result of the calamitous signs that followed Ezeukwu's death, a selected group of young men were sent on a journey to Ibibi to find out what was amiss. On their return, it was revealed that Onyima was responsible for Ezeukwu's death. According to the custom of Okwu people, Onyima will have to prove his innocence by swearing to an oath, instead, he ran away and took refuge at Mgbokoro shrine.
While Onyima was at Mgbokoro shrine, there was killing of one government messenger sent to Olokoro community by the White man, and another attack on a doctor who came to another part of the community. Prior to these atrocities by Olokoro people against the white man, there had been incessant rapes and harassments of Olokoro girls and women around Lodu military transient camp by soldiers. Upon these happenings, the enraged soldiers gathered all the available forces and headed to Olokoro community through Mgbokoro Okwu route to retaliate the deaths and it plunged the both parties into an unrehearsed war.
ONYEGBULA_KINGSLEY · Histoire
