It was very eerie. The whooping and echoing sound of the dreaded drums suddenly took over the still, silent night. Apparently, that was the signal for sporadic gunshots, which followed.
This story is a continuation of The Great Achiever #3.
Almost simultaneously, the rough raspy voices of the few cabinet members took prominence with songs and chanting. Females ran inside, bolted doors and shuttered the windows because they were afraid. This was to be the pattern from noon to late evening.
Chapter 1 – Exit of a Legendary King
Tuesday, March 9, a prelude to the final of the seven-day rites of passage for the late King, Uchendu, the King of Dioka. He passed on Wednesday, March 3. He was aged 90 years. As the final traditional rites were being concluded, prominent sons and daughters of Dioka land were already making subtle preparations towards crowning the 10th Ezeuzu of Dioka town.
They had to be subtle about it because Dioka tradition believed that the paramount ruler was not dead but had entered “Aja” land. So, logically, when a king was not dead, another king could not be crowned. Besides, it would serve as disrespect for the dead king, especially when the burial rites were not yet concluded.
So, all aspirants to the throne naturally had to wait until the rites were concluded which would signify that the deceased king was then truly dead. Then, the kingship stool would be declared vacant by the Regency Council headed by Nwadike the “Onowu” of Dioka land.
Other members of the Council were Enukora, Onyekuba, Okigbo, Akosa and Aronu. The Council would be the interim government of Dioka land for the next three to eight months of deliberations as to who to ascend the throne.
In the olden days, the King of Diokaland was alternated between the two royal houses in Diokaland – the Ezeakata royal house and the Ezeudu royal house.
Obumneke was from the Ezeakata royal house; Chidozie was from Ezeudu. Therefore, the Ezeakata had been working assiduously to produce the next king. There were four qualities a person that could ascend the throne must have: the aspirant must be of the royal stock, must be wealthy, charismatic and educated.
Chidozie, a prominent member of Ezeuzu royal house, had those qualities. Besides, he was lovely and jovial. The only blot he had was the ugly role he once played in the land case between Dioka and Isiagu, their neighboring town.
This might detract him from his appeal before the Regency Council; the king makers. Obumneke, on the other hand, was rich, widely connected and powerful. As a naval officer, he had made it to the peak of his career. Apart from becoming an admiral, he was also a one-time Chief of Naval Staff. After his retirement, he devoted his time to enlarging his private business ventures.
His connections with those in the corridors of power and his wealth were the greatest weapons he could use to beat his contestant for the throne. However, his weak link to the Ezeudu royal family might rob him of the opportunity.
Meanwhile, the palace was shut off from the public. This was because the burial rites on the body of the dead king were always conducted in utmost secrecy.
Nevertheless, whomever that would be chosen later must follow the due process. While in the king making/choosing, the incoming king was cut off from the world. Only chiefs were allowed to see him. He was publicly crowned as the King the very day he emerged from the king choosing festival, after the mandatory four-month period.
While there, however, he was groomed in the traditional, cultural and administrative duties expected of him as the King.
The late Ezeuzu Uchendu ascended the throne of his ancestors many years ago. His reign witnessed the transformation of Dioka from a sleepy dusty town to a vibrant modern town.
Despite the many educated and business people the town had, Uchendu ensured that there was no conflict between the classes. His desire to pursue peace at all costs (even with enemies) endeared the late King to everybody.
Igwenagu acknowledged Uchendu’s virtues. Uchendu’s ascension to the throne marked the beginning of the reign of educated, cosmopolitan Ezeuzu of Dioka-land, who was forward-looking and who epitomized progress, peace and general development of his domain. Besides, his reign witnessed tremendous development in Diokaland. He was a rare gem.
In the era where the traditional kings were losing their focus, he maintained his by distancing himself from politics or any venture that could tarnish his reputation. He ruled for, 50 years, becoming the second longest ruler on the throne. He was an exceptional and thorough-bred King.
Chapter 2 – Slum Dwellers Lived in Agony
It was no fun living in a slum area. Ask those who live in slums in Omuko village in Dioka town. The streets were bad. No potable water. It was found that over-crowding, with majority of the residents living in one room apartments with large families, was common to all the slum areas.
The majority of the houses occupied by the settlers were adhoc, unplanned make-shift houses. Many of the slums were expanding beyond their frontiers The slums were over-crowded with a large number of people sleeping together on the same bed.
Facilities in the slum settlements were appalling and inadequate. Preeminent among them were the toilet facilities. e Survey showed that one thousand, six hundred and sixty-eight households in Omuko village in Dioka depended on pit latrines, while only five hundred households in Omuko in Dioka used water closets.
Those who used pit latrines were also in the majority here. Even if landlords in the slum settlements were willing to modernize their toilet facilities, they were likely to be discouraged by lack of water supply.
In Omuko village, the majority of slum dwellers in those areas depended on surface wells or streams for their water supply.
The dirty environment commonly associated with slum areas was not for nothing. The majority of those residing in Omuko slums had no containers to collect their refuse. The effect was that the neighborhoods were dotted with heaps of refuse that blocked drainage channels, where they existed. Even where the refuse was collected in the house, it was not properly disposed of and ended up finding its way back to the neighborhoods.
This prevalent filthy environment could be responsible for various health problems commonly found in the slum areas. These include malaria, typhoid fever, gastroenteritis, worm infestation and sexually transmitted diseases. The attendant morbidity emanating from these diseases led to increased health care expenditure, loss of family income, high mortality rate, reduced productivity, work and school absenteeism. All these directly and indirectly resulted in retardation of the socio-economic development of society.
There was inadequacy of social amenities such as schools, hospitals, motorable roads. Many children had to trek long distances in order to attend elementary schools. Even where such schools existed, they lacked the most basic facilities needed for meaningful instruction and learning.
It was, therefore, not surprising that many of the children in the slum areas were so poorly motivated and not willing to go to school. Instead, they preferred to work as bus conductors or hawkers of consumer products while their mates were in schools. Such a situation did not augur well for the younger generation.
On primary health care, the survey contended that there were no adequate facilities in the slum settlements. Where they existed they were often run without drugs and adequate manpower. This would force slum dwellers to patronize quacks, native medicine dealers and alternative healthcare providers. That, in turn, could lead to high mortality among the citizenry.
Lack of access roads was another common problem in the slum settlements. The slum areas lacked well laid-out roads and streets because they were often poorly maintained and, therefore, not motorable. This made trekking and use of motor-cycles the predominant modes of transport within the slums..
To solve most of the problems facing the slum settlements would involve the integration of slums into the main stream urban development scheme, building of low-cost housing, provision of potable water, drugs and revolving funds, and mobilisation of members of the communities for self-development and education schemes.
Ahmad Nwabuzor is a Nigerian author and storyteller with a strong passion for writing and sharing meaningful stories. He is a graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), where he studied English and Literary Studies.
He writes across different forms of storytelling, including cultural narratives, emotional fiction, and moral stories that teach life lessons. His storytelling style is rooted in African life and shaped by a deep interest in how traditions influence people’s choices and emotions.