OJI [KOLA NUT] UNITES
OJI [KOLA NUT] UNITES
The Igbo tradition of praying with the kola nut every morning by every family head (paterfamilias) did more than unite Ndigbo with God; it united us with one another, including the dead.
If Igbo family heads had continued this tradition until today, our unity would have been second to none.
It is difficult to imagine an Igbo person who begins every morning praying with the kola nut for his family and clan rejoicing when his brother or sister is in trouble.
The kola nut fine-tunes in every Igbo the spirits of Igwe bu ike (unity is strength) and Onye aghala nwanne ya (being one’s brother’s keeper).
As a doctoral student in Germany, I once presented a paper at my university on these two spirits. Most participants sighed when they heard that these spirits had largely disappeared from among our people.
If Jesus had been born in Igboland, would he not have used the kola nut to institute the Eucharist? Like the Eucharist, the kola nut is intended to unite us with the divine and with one another.
The easiest way to destroy a people is to destroy what binds them together. Once the centre can no longer hold, the parts begin to disintegrate, hate and destroy one another. This lesson is as valid for Ndigbo as it is for any other people.
We must reinstate igo oji and other aspects of our culture that promote unity and love if we are to survive as a people. It is unwise to abandon a winning team. And when we discover that we have made a mistake, wisdom demands that we correct it.
Nothing unites a people like culture.
Udo diri unu, umunnem.
