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See where former Nigeria’s minister, Jerry Agada celebrated his independence (PHOTOS)

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7 years ago

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In 1982 I went on a literary pilgrimage to Stratford-on-Avon, William Shakespeare’s birth place as a student of literature at the University of Exeter, South West England. There i saw the Crib Shakespeare had laid in as a child.
I saw the chair on which he had sat to do his writings; the table which he used and the vestiges of feather pen, ink and other relics that were the cradle of his writings in the 15th century.

I saw live performances of his great tragedies like Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear and Othello; and the comedies such as a Midsummer Night’s Dream and As You Like It. All these I chronicled in the Sun Literary Review of May 4, 2013 pages 29-31. Along the way we were shown “Manor Farm” which another great author, George Orwell had referred to in his book ANIMAL FARM.
In 2006 I went on Holy Pilgrimage to Israel the birth place of our Lord Jesus Christ. I visited historical places like River Jordan and rode in the boat through the Sea of Galilee to the Church of Beatitudes in Capernaum.
I visited several other interesting places and drove through the Canaan slopes to Nazareth. I visited Mt. Sinai before crossing through Engev to Bethlehem all of which i reflected in my book, THE HOLY LAND: ENCOUNTERS AND SYMBOLISM – 2006.
In 2017 just a day after celebrating Nigeria’s Independence anniversary, I went on a historical pilgrimage to Oko, Orokam, my own birth place.
I visited the site where my late mother gave birth to me under the gum (Ogbuu) tree which had dried up and fallen off and the entire surroundings which had now become desolate and overlaid with verdure. I walked through the weeds and mini forest from late Chief Agbo Idoko’s compound to late Agbo Ijoga’s, upwards to late Abah Ega and Okpe Esi’s compounds.
I went through the bushes and forest where, with catapults, bows and arrows, we had hunted rats and birds. I actually went with a catapult but never found a game. I also visited the famous play ground (Ofu Oko) where we had played improvised local football that had prepared us to be good players in our secondary schools and thereafter.
The section of the play ground hosting the women shrine (Ikpo Ekwu’anya) and the Alekwu shrine (Oboda) are still there. I wanted to visit the Enumabia stream – that natural spring that had been the source of potable water for people from every Orokam village and its environs, especially Igbo neighbours living along the borders on the eastern flank in those days. At the end i was highly satisfied, greatly rejuvenated but physically exhausted and with all the well-wishers who accompanied me, we refreshed and cooled off with a big keg of palm wine courtesy of Willy, Omale and Onyalewa Agbo to mark the end of the historical pilgrimage after which i traveled back to my base.

 

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