IME OBI ANAMBRA SERIES — In the olden days, every Igbo village had its own god. A man’s chi was his personal engine room, and the local alusi held the remote control of community affairs.
The people of Arochukwu knew that a gathering of local chiefs is good, but a king must head the table.
They did not use guns or swords to conquer their neighbours. They knew that when a handshake goes beyond the elbow, it has turned into something else.
Instead of fighting, they applied deep wisdom, a sharp business mindset, and the power of the tongue to make their own oracle, Ibini Ukpabi, the ultimate supreme judge over all Igboland.
They renamed him Chukwu, the Great God, and sold this grand idea to every clan.
The Aro people knew that a fly that has no counsellor follows the corpse into the grave. So, they offered a shoulder for other clans to lean on.
They did not tell people to throw away their local deities. No, they simply told them that their local gods were messengers, while Chukwu was the absolute boss.
They made everyone understand that all rivers flow into the ocean. If a tough case defeats the elders of a village, the Aro would tell them to take it to the Long Juju.
This oracle became the highest court in the land, where the truth was laid bare.
When the lizard barks, you know it has seen something greater than itself.
People feared the voice of Ibini Ukpabi because its judgment was final, and nobody plays with a snake that has bitten a man before.
Money and spirituality walked hand in hand. The Aro were the masters of the trade routes, and they had their eyes on the prize.
Wherever they went to buy and sell, they carried the name of Chukwu along.
They settled in different villages and became the eyes and ears of the supreme deity.
To do business with the Aro, you had to respect their God. They walked with their heads high because they were seen as the special children of God.
Nobody dared to touch an Aro man because touching a tiger’s tail is an open invitation to a burial ceremony.
If you crossed them, their warrior friends from Abam and Ohafia would visit your village with fire.
Through this smart network, everyone began to look towards Arochukwu for answers.
People travelled from far and wide to consult the great oracle, and they returned home with stories that made ears tingle.
By the time British missionaries arrived with the Bible, the ground was already soft.
The Aro had already taught the entire Igbo nation that there is only one Supreme King in heaven.
The white men did not need to sweat to explain a single God; they just borrowed the name Chukwu and kept the ball rolling.
