Ukwuani Trumpet

31/03/2024

AMAI: The Burial Ceremony of Mrs. Achigbue Margaret Oganah

29/03/2024

Watch the live broadcast of 2024 NNU GENERAL ASSEMBLY on Ukwuani Trumpet YouTube channel.

27/03/2024

In this photograph, you can see our team providing impeccable coverage of Wisdom Nwachukwu's father's burial in Kwale. We take pride in delivering top-notch event coverage, no matter how small or big the event might be. In addition, we offer the convenience of watching the event on our platforms (YouTube and Facebook) on the same day of the event. If you need event coverage services, be assured that Ukwuani Trumpet is the best in the business. Contact us now at 09024722436, and let us take your event coverage to the next level. Thank you for choosing us.

24/03/2024

TALKSHOW: 𝐄𝐬𝐮-𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐁𝐮 𝐎𝐛𝐮𝐳𝐨𝐫 𝐔𝐰𝐚, what does it mean? Guest Speaker: Mr. Azubike C. Chiejine

24/03/2024

We feel humbled at this moment. There are 4,000 amazing people, like yourself, who have subscribed to our YouTube channel! If you haven't subscribed yet, please check the comment box for the link and click the subscription button. Thank you so much for your support! Mbene ni ooo 🙏🏻

23/03/2024

Our sister, Charity Isi, a promising gospel musician, has requested us to share a total of 30,000 Naira among three people who will be participating in a dancing competition. You can find more details in the comment box below.

22/03/2024

𝐄𝐬𝐮-𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐁𝐮 𝐎𝐛𝐮𝐳𝐨𝐫 𝐔𝐰𝐚, what does it mean? Do not miss this talkshow. Save the date, 24th March 2024, at 5 PM. A live session on our page with Mr. Azubike Cliff Chiejine as a guest speaker.

22/03/2024

When King Ubulu began earning good money from his music, he showed his generosity by purchasing a car for himself and another for his lead instrumentalist, Charlie Boogie. One day, they were scheduled to perform at the Central Hotel in Umutu. Although Ubulu arrived on time, Charlie was running late, driving his new car around. The performance couldn't start without Charlie, and the organizers of the show were getting restless. Ubulu waited for a long time until Charlie finally arrived, but Ubulu was already angry by then and grabbed Charlie by the collar. However, some people intervened and separated them. Eventually, Ubulu started to play music, and Charlie took over his department. They both hugged each other and smiled. Good music has the power to bring peace. If you're upset, listening to King Ubulu's music can instantly make you happy.

— Chief (Coach) Mike Onwubolu

Addition to the story by Benson Akpati:

1. Charlie was the band leader, so he coordinated the band and started playing before Ubulu came on stage.

2. Therefore, Ubulu couldn't come out until Charlie Boogie and the band had started playing.

3. However, Charlie Boogie arrived very late because he was driving around Ukwuani communities with his brand new car. 😂

4. This really frustrated Ubulu. Ubulu was a very disciplined man and never allowed his success to get in the way of his music.

5. When Charlie Boogie eventually arrived, Ubulu was already very angry with him because they had kept their fans waiting for too long.

6. Ubulu showed his anger and frustration with Charlie Boogie by grabbing him by the shirt collar.

7. While Ubulu held him, Charlie Boogie never raised his hand or voice against his boss, Ubulu.

8. After Ubulu released him, Charlie Boogie went straight to his duty post and started playing his instrument. So, the music began.

9. Afterwards, Ubulu hugged Charlie Boogie to the applause of fans and spectators.

Moral of the story:

1. The brand new car that Ubulu bought for Charlie Boogie got into his head, which almost made him lose control.

2. Success and wealth attract many friends, particularly beautiful women 😂😂😂. Charlie Boogie had them in excess. 😎

3. Charlie Boogie struggled to manage the fame that came with owning a brand-new car at that point but learned a bitter lesson through the scolding of Ubulu, his boss.

4. Charlie Boogie is a very humble person. He never disrespected Ubulu, his boss, even while being scolded in the presence of his girlfriends and so many admirers.

5. Ubulu was a good boss and leader. He scolded when he needed to and forgave Charlie Boogie immediately when he showed remorse.

Have you ever experienced a positive change in your mood after listening to good music?

20/03/2024

𝐔𝐤𝐰𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐢 𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥; 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝

There are ancient happenings we allow to pass away for love and friendship to reign. But if your servant or slave tries to claim you, what do you do? Show him the market where you bought him. Almost every tribe in that enclave originally called Eastern Nigeria entered there through Aboh/Ndoni crossing, the typical Igbo in particular. It is the years spent in Ukwuani that you derive the language you now call Igbo. Then they did not have complete family unit, culture or language; just individuals. We called that 'ngbu-eka' or bæstard which other Deltans extended to be known as slave. Real word for slave is Osu. Refer your mind back to our moonlight game that sings, "Nnwa'm nzhi ozhi je je je..... Onye-igbo zhi ozhi b'eje b'eje..." It reminds you how we accommodated them peacefully than other Delta tribes, but we were still skeptical of mixing up well. Where they were arriving from, we can not really clear that, but don't tell me that the moats of Benin Empire was dug by Caterpillar, no; by humans not indigenous but their captors all over West Africa.

Ukwuani is as old as life in West Africa; every tribe, great or small met them. The only great kingdom that had much influence on every tribe in the Delta is the Benin Empire and not too sure it was there before Ukwuani. Igbo has no original known identity history except new ones about direct flight from Israel. The ancestors were not wrong to name the place as Ukwuani - 'the Foundation Pillar of the Ground or Earth'.

— Lawrence S.C Egwali,
Author of several Ukwuani Language Study books

19/03/2024

Prince Udorji Achuka cordially invites you to the funeral of his late father, Chief Okwa-Uku Isaiah Achuka, on March 30th, 2024. Please save the date.

18/03/2024

Christian Uzor and Beauty Chibuzor invite you to join them as they celebrate the beginning of their new life together. Save the date — 29th and 31st March, 2024.

18/03/2024

Amai Kingdom Decides Ahead of the Local Government Election. They will give their support to the candidate who will work for their collective aspirations. See who they have endorsed in this video.

17/03/2024

"Undoubtedly, the songs, Omenani Anako by Wisdoms Nwachukwu and Okelibu Ngede by Chuks Igba are the most popular in every corner of Ukwuani country. These two songs stand out and have an irresistible appeal to everyone." - Chidi Uwabuofu

Do you agree that these songs are the most popular or played currently or are there any others?

16/03/2024

WARRI: Miss Kelicha Tina Ossai Celebrates Her 50th Birthday

16/03/2024

This statue is located in Asaba, which is the capital of Delta State. It is important to note that some expansionists have falsely claimed that the statue represents only three ethnic groups. However, Delta State is home to more than three ethnic groups, and Ukwuani happens to be one of the largest ethnic groups, making such assertions baseless and irrelevant. Therefore, the aforesaid claim should be disregarded.

16/03/2024

16/03/2024

Fact about Chief Dr. State Orji Moore 👇🏿

15/03/2024

𝐑𝐞: 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐲𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐲 — 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧, 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬?

The above poser is a most pertinent one in the face of the corruption of Ukwuani culture and traditions by westernization, religion and modernity. And to understand polygamy, one has to understand the Ukwuani definition of marriage. Marriage in our culture is the conjugal union of a man and a woman or women from different families with the consent of the parties, their parents and families. It is not just a relationship between the couples. It binds the parties and their families together. The concept embraces and loops in both the immediate parties, that is the couples and their families who share in the rights, duties and obligations raising therefrom. Thus marriage is a bond between two or more kinship groups or families whose streams have flowed together. This is why couples are said to marry into the family and not just to their partners. The saying is ebo nebe na mu madu and not madu nebe na mu madu.

Ukwuani traditional marital system is essentially polygamous. It permits the man to have as many wives as he is capable of. A man may only remain monogamous if he so elects or for as long as he cannot afford to marry more wives.

Factors such as affluence, a nagging or quarrelsome wife, childlessness, lack of a son from a first marriage, health of a wife, parental pressure or personal aggrandizement may affect the choice of a man becoming polygons . A man who considers himself sufficiently wealthy may want to flaunt his wealth by marrying more wives than one. After all, it takes financial stability to run a large home or family with multiple wives.

Where a first wife proves too nagging and quarrelsome, the husband either in search for peace of mind or with a view to tame her may be driven into thoughts of taking more wives. The lack of a child or a son from a first marriage may also compel the husband to seek fulfillment of the biological function of marriage in polygamy. Ukwuani society being essentially partriachal, the absence of a son from a marriage is a pain in the heart that drives both partners into extreme measures. For the man, the primary option is to go polygamous.

Parental pressure may also compel the man into taking more than one wife, especially at a time when the extended family made expansive claims on the individual. A man may also become polygamous merely out of personal aggrandizement. It was a status symbol to have many wives. Finally, under Ukwuani levirate system of marriage, it is the custom for families to reassign a young widow who is still within child bearing age to her late husband's brother, thereby making him polygamous automatically if he is already married.

Polygamy provides the husband with prestige and diverse emotional and sexual satisfaction. It enhances his social status. It was also a wealth creator. More wives and children meant more hands in the farms in earlier days of agrarian economy. Families with large estates in land across Ukwuaniland are most likely polygamous families with the manpower to deforest virgin lands. Nwa bu ike ogbei. Nwa bu ike onye ule.

Wives in a polygamous home are referred to as nwunyedi. Often, they lived under the same roof or compound. On in rare cases would a husband afford separate and distant residence for his wives. As a result of living together or proximate to one another, relationship between wives of a polygamous home may become sour and canterkerous. Ogbagbame ugbo muni ifutali mkpuluamu. Issues such as sleeping arrangements, cooking for the husband and who has the first son may engender jealousy, rivalry and tension. This tendency became more pronounced with the killing of our Ukwuani communalism and introduction of self, self centredness and selfishness by colonialism, westernization, religion and modernity. It became common to find a split rancorous polygamous home, especially where the husband tended to favour one over the other(s). Once envy and rancour set in the children take sides with their mothers and the man is worse off for it. The absence of cordial relationship between wives of a polygamous home is captured in the Ukwuani saying, nwunyedi nebe, onye gheme onye gheme no shi; onye ki nwunyedi na so?

Today, monogamy has become fashionable in Ukwuaniland, thanks to western standards, Christian religion, increased women enlightenment and the exigencies of a dwindling economy. But the great question remains that in spite of Christianity's doctrinal condemnation of polygamy, instances abound in the holy writ of polygamous patriarchs in the old testament and even among the early Christians of the New testament. So what is so bad about Ukwuani polygamy that Christianity condemned? And come to think of it, both Ukwuani people and Old testament Israel operated a levirate system which assigned widows to their late husband's brother for remarriage! The only difference was that in Israel the new association produced children in the name of the deceased husband but in Ukwuaniland it produced in the name of the biological father of the children.

Often, I have heard people say polygamy creates a lot of problems in terms of the disunity arsing from inheritance controversies. I beg to disagree. Selfishness and greed are the challenges, not polygamy. I know a popular and wealthy lawyer who had only one wife and all his children ended in court bitterly contesting inheritance issues. Some years back I saw a hotel I once slept in half pulled down by a bulldozer with the other half hanging precariously. My enquiry revealed that the children of the owner, all professors and of same parents, were embroiled in dispute over the storey building and one of them pulled half the structure down! So, monogamy does not provide any sure guarantee of harmony amongst siblings than polygamy. In recent times, a joke that's prevalent on social media says that polygamous characters in the old testament lived longer lives than monogamous characters and many of them even found favour in the sight of God!

The above notwithstanding, I will not advise anyone to go polygamous or monogamous. The choice and decision are purely a personal one borne out of experience and conviction. But in whatever direction one takes, one should look well before taking a leap.

— Michael Ozah

14/03/2024

Does our culture allow polygamy — one man, many wives? What is so bad and good about polygamy?

14/03/2024

Chief Onaiwu Alfred, who is popularly known as Sukuduma, today, has been officially sworn in as the Onotu Uku of Ogwezzi quarter in Obiaruku. We congratulate him with all our hearts and wish him great success in his administration.

13/03/2024

Abaja Beach Resort and Exclusive Hotel, Obinomba is where relaxation meets nature. With nature all around, you will also love the luxury it offers. For reservation, call 07015289447.

13/03/2024

Wisdom Nwachukwu entertained guests at the funeral of Late Chief Mgbame Abamba in Ogume

12/03/2024

Nwabuchi and Eseoghene invite you to join them as they celebrate the beginning of their new life together. Save the date — 16th March, 2024.

12/03/2024

Who can beat Ukwuani dancers?At the Burial Ceremony of Okwa Ogum Okonye, Sir Goro's dancers amazed guests with beautiful dance steps

12/03/2024

𝗜𝗚𝗕𝗔 𝗨𝗠𝗨𝗘𝗕𝗨 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗨𝗟𝗘 𝗜𝗧

Three white men, who were on an adventurous journey, visited Umuebu during a certain Igba festival. Despite being warned not to bring cameras as the Igba deity abhors them, they decided to bring hidden cameras and body cams anyway. The deity is known to disapprove of black attire, weapons, razor blades, women on their menstrual cycle, and cameras of any kind. The white men thought it was a joke and went to the village square (Olile Umuebu) with their cameras, hoping to capture footage and perhaps make fun of Africa, as they usually do. However, they were shocked to discover that their sophisticated cameras did not capture anything. The footage was blank and black at the same time. Later, it was discovered that something mysterious happened to two of the three people who planned the ridicule attempt. The surviving person confessed to the owner of McCarthy Beach & Resorts in Abraka, who happened to be their host. That's how the information was leaked. Igba Umuebu! Ekule- Ofianga!! Ekule nyini Oba-Idu!!!

— Donald Chuks

12/03/2024

UKWUANI CULINARY ART

USHI

Ushi is another food made from cassava eaten by Ukwuani people. It is a favourite food of Ukwuani communities around the Onoku (Ethiope) River. It is believed that the Ukwuani assimilated the ushi culture from the neighbouring Urhobo people though this claim may be contestable as the Ukwuani are better farmers of cassava (the material from which ushi is made) than the Urhobo whose swampier soil does not support excellent yields like the Ukwuani's. However, the fact that both peoples have the same indigenous name for this meal, (usi for Urhobo and ushi for Ukwuani) may seem to suggest that one borrowed from the other. Given that ushi is not popular outside the Onoku axis of western Ukwuaniland compared to its ubiquity in Urhobo land, the likelihood is reinforced that the Ukwuani, through intermarriage and geographical proximity, borrowed the meal from their Urhobo neighbours.

When cassava roots are harvested and ground for making garri, the pulp is put into sacks which are strapped, usually overnight, between wooden boards to extract water from it. The extracted water is collected and cakes into starch when settled. The water content of the upper layer is filtered off while the caked lower layer starch is taken. Palm oil is rubbed on the inside of a pot : the thick, large frying pan (ugbugbe gali) is often preferable. The starch is added and dissolved with water into a light paste. The pot is put on a fire while its content is stirred briskly to avoid burning or thickening unevenly as it gets hot. As it thickens, it grows in elasticity and could be mistaken by the uninitiated for gum. The colour comes off as a fine, deep orange. A careless undiscerning cook could capsize the pot or spill the content if she fails to apply the necessary skill in stirring the content of the pot.

When it is sufficiently thickened, it is carefully removed and served on a plate. Ushi is a heat conductor and remains very hot for a long period. The eater must therefore exercise caution to avoid scalding his fingers or throat. It also requires careful skill to cut it in small morsels because of its sticky quality. This reminds me of the experience of an American evangelist who visited my pastor in Sapele in the early 1980s. Eager for an African dish promised him on arrival from the States by my pastor's wife, the evangelist was sniffing and salivating as the ushi meal was being prepared, the Urhobo style with _owho ofigbo_ soup. As the food arrived the dining table, the evangelist quickly washed his hands and rushed his prayer. Then he took a morsel, _vum_ , and when he retrieved his hands to go for the soup, the entire lump of ushi and the plate on which it was served went up with his hand! His enthusiasm turned to a scare as he screamed, 'What is this???! The hosts erupted in laughter. The bewildered guest was bemused at how the pastor and his wife maneuvered between the ushi and the owho ofigbo without unsettling the dining table. The pastor's wife had to take the guest through a tutorial on how to cut his morsels by dipping his fingers in clean water, how to roll the morsel, apply soup to it and how to swallow without choking. Eating ushi can be a Herculean experience for the uninitiated. I recall in the late 1960s when my family relocated from Sapele to my hometown, Onicha Ukwuani during the Nigeria Civil War, our neighbours used to watch us with amusement eating ushi whenever my mother prepared it.

Ushi goes down well with ofe mkpulueku, ofe ilolo and ofe une.

— Michael Ozah

12/03/2024

HRM Neke Nasari, Frank Otunuya Okolocha Akpati II (JP) specially invites you to the 2024 Onyah Day and Home Coming Ceremony of Onyah Descendants. 15-17th March, 2024. Save the date!

11/03/2024

“I am deeply saddened by the news of the passing of my dear friend, KC Ishimite. He was a hardworking young man who believed in earning a living through honest means. He took pride in his work as a farmer and was also passionate about music. One of the things I admired most about him was his humility.

I remember when KC and I were in the studio recording his debut and only album, called OFU OBI and I received a call that my wife had given birth to our last child. KC was recording the track "Nmenichim" at that moment, and I decided to name my daughter after the track.

The Ukwuani nation has lost a talented musician whose songs and beautiful voice would have brought us joy for many years to come. We will miss him dearly, but I take solace in his OFU OBI, which is available in all online music stores. In that album, he encouraged us to love one another, be our brother's keeper, and stop killing each other because we are one people.”

May his soul rest in peace 🙏🏻

— Chidi Onyechuku Uwabuofu