Imiegba And Children Of Pa Akubo Esuka Celebrate His Enthronement As Ódegbé
By Suleiman Ugbokhe
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| Pa Akubo Yakubu Esuka, the Ódegbé of Imiegba |
Imiegba Community, Three Ivie Clan in Etsako East local government area was in a celebration mode on Sunday, December 27, 2020, when the indigenes both home and abroad joined the children of Pa Akubo Yakubu Esuka to celebrate his enthronement as the Ódegbé of Imiegba.
Pa. Akubo Yakubu Esuka was born to the family of Mr. Esuka and Madam Ogenikho about 104 years ago in Imiegba.
In his quest for a better life, he left his birth place, Imiegba, in 1944, with his maternal uncle, Pa Etsekhumhe Ogweli for Minna where he did manial jobs for some time before he left for Kaduna with a single mission: To join the army.
But it turned out to be mission impossible as Pa Akubo was not accepted into the army "for reasons I don't know," he says.
"I then proceeded to Kano from Kaduna with the hope of securing a job. I was still not able to get a job."
As the saying goes, 'no place like home,' Pa Akubo had no option but to return to Imiegba and embrace farming, which was then the main calling of most men in the agrarian community.
Having established a source of livelihood for himself, he decided to start a family by marrying his first wife, Lametu (nee Ananigie), with whom he had three children. Much later, Pa Akubo took a second wife, Zenebu (nee Itsakada), who is still with him - a marriage that is blessed with 10 children: Three deceased; two boys and five girls.
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| The Ódegbé with his eldest daughter, Aliletu |
In total, Pa Akubo Yakubu Esuka is blessed with eight surviving children as follows (in order of seniority): Aramanu, Aliletu (married to Jibril Onekaba), Rekia (married to Omoarelogie Mikel (deceased), and Abiba (married to Isah Akpanokhuakhua).
Other children are Hawa (married to Hakeem Abimbola), Zarah (married to Danjumah Oji Kelly), Sule and Aliyu.
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| HRH, Mallam Moneyhand Audu Ikeme, the Odashi 11 of Imiegba with his wife and the Ódegbé |
No doubt, Pa Akubo has been blessed by God with long and healthy life. Despite his age estimated at 104 years, he still moves around in his apartment unaided, not even with a walking stick.
His piercing romantic eyes steers at me, with a smile basking his face as he listens to my question of his favourite food as I seek to unravel the secret behind his longevity.
Pa Akubo shakes his head as he says "in our younger days, there was nothing like favourite food. What was available was what you eat."
"But as the head of the family," I persist, "there must be a kind of food that appeals to you that you ask to be prepared for you from time to time."
"Beans. He likes beans a lot," the Matriarch of the family, Mama Zenebu, who sits quietly on one side of the 'Odegbe Palace,' all this while, cuts in.
Pa Akubo was enthroned the Ódegbé (Oldest Man) of Imiegba in January 2020. In the olden days, the Ódegbé was the de facto Traditional Ruler of the Community.
Since age is the ONLY 'qualification' to ascend the Ódegbé Throne - a form of government known as Gerontocracy - the occupant is already weak and infirm and therefore unable to move far beyond his Palace, not to talk of travelling out of the community.
There was therefore, the need to have a messenger to attend to the needs - messages - of the Ódegbé even beyond the Community.
A time came that some of these messengers started presenting themselves (before the colonial masters) not as messenger (representative) of the Ódegbé but as the traditional ruler of the community!
This was how the powers of the Ódegbé were eroded and he became a ceremonial figure head outside the shores of the community and before the colonial masters who then preferred the much younger (and more enlightened) messenger as village head!
The elaborate enthronement of Pa Akubo Esuka as the Ódegbé was originally slated for 2020 Easter period, but only the traditional rites were performed then owing to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the consequent lockdown and ban on inter-state travels in Nigeria.
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The ceremonial part of the enthronement was finally done on December 27, 2020, when the new Ódegbé's children and extended family members as well as the Community and well wishers came to celebrate Pa Akubo Yakubu Esuka as the Ódegbé of Imiegba.
Notable personalities that graced the occasion were the Traditional Ruler of Imiegba, HRH, Mallam Moneyhand Audu Ikeme, the Odashi 11 and Osheshewe of Imiegba and his wife; Alhaji Sule Obada, a Community Leader and former National President of Imiegba Urualo Development Union (IUDU); Alhaji Ayuba Edelefo (aka Bigdo) Secretary, Board of Trustees (BoT) of IUDU and former Secretary General of IUDU; Mallam Inusah Ifogah, Chairman, Board of Trustees of IUDU and former Secretary General of IUDU (Northern States).
Others are Alhaji (Comrade) Umoru Adamu, former NULGE Chairman, Etsako East local government area, former Secretary General and current National President of IUDU; Mr. Michael Emuakemhe, a Community Leader; Alhaji Sule Ekhayemhe, Chairman, IUDU, Kano Branch.
More dignitaries that graced the occasion were Chief Justine Unumhogwe of Achinye; Chief Inusa Ekemhe of Imiakhunu; Chief Abu of Imiofu; Chief Egbefue Egbakhumhe, the Inwumhe of Imiegba; Alhaji Blessing Imhador, President General, IUDU South and PDP Leader, Ward 9; Mallam Yusuf Igbekele Egbakhumhe, Mallam Ali Alhassan, President, IUDU Lagos Branch; Mr Abdulrauf Deyak PRO IUDU National; Mr. Abutahir Ijibunu, PRO IUDU North; Mr. Abdullai Egbakhumhe, Financial Secretary, IUDU National.
Also present at the occasion were Alhaji Abdul Irekheshimhi; Councillor Okpo (Ukpi drummer); Mr Marcus Omah, Vice President, IUDU, Lagos Branch; Chief Silvanus Ikhanede of Igbinoko and Chairman of PDP, Ward 9; MWO Salihu Ibrahim (rtd), Chairman of Imiosotse; Mallam Sule Abaga, Vice Chairman of Imiosotse; Chief J.I.Aliu; Mr Kerimu Ebui Azekhumhe; Mallam Obamidele Aseh; Mr Eshiomah Jafaru Umoru (MC); Alhaji Haruna Akemokwe; Mr. and Mrs Momodu and Pearla Akemokwe (the baker of the ceremonial cake); Mallam Shaibu Adagia; Mallam Buhari Muazu; Mallam Gowon Edelefo; Mr Joseph Okhiroyah; Mallam Momodu Dirisu Unokhasor; Mr Bini Atsokah.
Long may you reign, Papa Akubo.
Odegbé Reforms Traditional Marriage Practices
As part of the post-installation celebration, the Ódegbé made pronouncements on age-long traditions surrounding marriages in Imiegba.
The Centenarian proclaimed that henceforth, widows would no longer have to vacate their rooms and/or their (late) husband's houses after the demise of their husbands.
He stated further that widows no longer have to do away with their properties after the demise of their husbands as has been the practice from time immemorial.
This weighty tradition reversal was received with a thunderous ovation expectedly by the women present.
Before this pronunciation by the Ódegbé, when a woman loses her husband, she was required to change rooms within the house if she were to continue to live in the husband's house. In other words, the widow has to move from the room she was staying in when her husband was alive to stay in another room in the house.
Likewise, a widow would have to do away with her clothes and other possessions after the death of her husband. This practice is now a thing of the past with the Ódegbé's announcement.
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