Úgwú Nwasike: History and Culture Revisited In the Story of a Remarkable Man
I have always thought that we have not given the art of biography the worthwhile attention it deserves. A biography, aside from being the story of an individual written by another person, could be a lot of things, especially a study of the interaction of its subject with society, and how the subject came to make of their lives, what they did thereof. Chijioke Ngobili’s biography of Timothy Mụọdozie Nwasike, titled Úgwú Nwasike: The Man, The Name, The Monument is an example of a biography also being a historiography of a people.
Although the book is conceived as a biography, over forty per cent of its content is an anthropological study of the of Ògídí/Ọnicha axis of Igboland from where Timothy Mụọdozie Nwasike came. Its author, Chijioke Ngobili set out to shine more light on the context of the culture from which Nwasike emerged, and as the book shows later on, to fill the gaps that are left when there is lack of interview materials on the subject talking about his own life.
Timothy Mụọdozie Nwasike was born and lived through one of the most remarkable times in the history of Igbo civilisation within memory; the period of transition into Western colonialism, and the tumultuous years which was the aftermath of the result of colonialism — a heterogeneous nation which quickly fumbled into a genocidal war. From his estimated year of birth in 1879 to his death in 1970, just after the end of the Nigeria-Biafra war, Nwasike’s life was influenced by the major events in those integral historical decades. Born and brought up in the Igbo tradition and spirituality which his father Ọchi-iliemeakụ practised, the young Timothy became interested in the religion of the colonialists and the education which they offered. Knowing his father would not be given easily to him joining them, he rigmaroled his way into it. At the time, the colonialists were introducing a new form of industrialisation to Igboland, which included new craftsmanship like modern carpentry and bricklaying; under the Ọnịcha Industrial Mission (OIM) which they formed, he learnt carpentry. And so under the tutelage of the colonialists, Timothy Nwasike became an educated craftsman, and that set him up for the life ahead in the changing world which the Igbo society, at large, was at the time.
Chief Timothy Nwasike’s life in South-eastern Nigeria is one of those lives which left an indelible mark in the society he lived, not just in the minds of the people who he existed among, but in the monument which he left behind, which was the hilltop on which he built the house which came to be known as Úgwú Nwasike (Nwasike’s hill). In present-day Ògídí and Anambra State in general, Úgwú Nwasike has become one of those landmarks which arouses curiosity about how its name came to be. Chijioke Ngobili, the author of the book, is one of such persons who grew up asking such a question. Presently, his book attempts to answer the question of the life of the man who was the origin of the name. In the same vein, the biography boasts historical importance, as it bears witness to the stories of some of the developments brought by the colonialists to Igboland which marked the dramatic turning points brought about by colonialism. And being that Nwasike came from the same town as the Igbo novelist, Chinua Achebe, the biography is able to point out some of the cultures, places and events which inspired Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God. Reading Arrow of God shortly after Úgwú Nwasike brought a new skin of familiarity, having now read in detail about many of the landmarks and the stories which inspired events in the book.
Everybody who reads a book comes to the book with their peculiar sets of expectations, knowledge, ignorance, bias, nuance, personal experience and so forth, which inspire how they interact with the book. What did I expect to gain, reading Úgwú Nwasike’s biography? Having read and followed Chijioke Ngobili’s writings for five years, I expected to read a well-researched biography which carries an enormous weight of culture. Ngobili does justice to my expectations in terms of culture, as almost half the book talks about the civilisation from which Nwasike emerged and the changes pervading it at the time of his life. As for the subject of the book, Timothy Mụọdozie Nwasike, we have a good sketch of his story, which is able to give us an inkling of the man and tells the story of the name and monument. However, we are left believing that there was much insider story of his life that is almost impossible to know now. This is especially with the part that talked about Timothy Mụọdozie’s becoming a warrant chief, and his time holding the position eventually, before the coming of the court of law as we have them today. First, there is a speculation on how Nwasike managed to become qualified to become a warrant chief, since he was not an Ọ́zọ́ title holder which was one of the prerequisites for qualification; then there is little information on his time holding the position and his impacts. One gets the notion that Ngobili struggled with the research for this part of the book and had to resort for most parts, to do with what was generally known at the time, and an analysis of what would have happened. This meant that the book also became a meditation of, perhaps, what path Nwasike’s journey took. In the sketch which the book provides, Nwasike comes off as a man of many virtues, but it was his audacity which stood out for me. His confidence, in being able to make friends with the white colonialists which enabled him join them, and mediate in a very important historical dispute, and also to move over to a terrain where people feared and begin his home and workshop there. One could, from the book, understand that he was down-to-earth, charismatic and honest, maybe a good Christian (a fanatical one at times) and hardworking, but it was his courage and audacity, more than anything, which put his name in history.
On the broader view, Nwasike comes off as a man in history who was useful for the propagation of change. His story puts him in the light of a man who was useful for the propagation of the positives of colonialism, even when it was radical. Ngobili’s portrayal of his life has a touch of reverence in the temperament of his prose. That is perhaps indicative of his regard for his subject. But we must not only look at the stories of men like Nwasike at face value; we must study their stories as lessons in our history.
On the broader view, Nwasike comes off as a man in history who was useful for the propagation of change. His story puts him in the light of a man who was useful for the propagation of the positives of colonialism, even when it was radical. Ngobili’s portrayal of his life has a touch of reverence in the temperament of his prose. That is perhaps indicative of his regard for his subject. But we must not only look at the stories of men like Nwasike at face value; we must study their stories as lessons in our history. The coming of colonialism, especially the advent of Christianity and western education added vibrancy and colour to Nwasike’s life as a young man. That he was one of the early people who embraced the change gave him headway in life, and his children too. But it also traces a fine line where some of our ancestors began to deviate from their indigenous culture, even to the extent of going against traditional institutions like the masked spirits, and working overtime, not just to aid the younger generation gain western education, but rid them of indigenous education while doing so. Nwasike, as the book tells us, was a generous man; he aided many young children to go to school; but it is important to look at what was at the heart of his benevolence — a desire that they acquire education, become converts of the new religion and have less to do with the old order. One cannot objectively judge his actions as good or bad. The most objective thing to do here is to study how little acts like his, in cumulation, affected us in history, both positively and negatively, and take a cue from them.
Nwasike’s story, as told by Ngobili, has every characteristic borne by the story of remarkable men. He had his moments of struggles, epiphany, breakthrough and tragedy. The experiences of Nwasike’s life did not just centre on the coming of Christianity and colonialism, but also the aftermath. The genocidal war against Biafrans of which Igbo people were among, which broke out less than seven years after the British left Nigeria, was like a thunderbolt which struck at the heart of Nwasike’s story and left a searing mark on it. In this part of the book, one could see Nwasike in the sunset of his life, looking back at everything with a broken heart. It was likely he spent the last of his days trying to make sense of life, and what remained of it. But most importantly, from this book, we learn how much of a man’s heart is tied to the result of his youthful toils, and what he built from them. My biggest appreciation of this biography is that it heralds the historical, the cultural and the human sides of its subject to a commendable level. In addition, it succeeds in making the man behind the monument of Úgwú Nwasike a subject worth knowing.
