The New Thirst For Inachalo Water…

Do not let your curiosity make you challenge what is not after you, it is not cowardice to leave what does not choke you. Late Paul Odi, the legendary Igala folklore singer once sang,

‚Enwu Kayègbà Jí Onwu Mà Tù‘ loosely translated to mean, ‚What Ayegbe, one of the greatest kings of Igala knotted is what the itchy generation x wants to untie, forgetting that it is profitable to leave what does not stand in your way. The import of this piece is a response to the renewed itching by some young igala generation inspired by the inquisitive impulse of new knowledge to prove the mystery behind the dreaded Inachalo River located in present day Idah, the ancestral home and cradle of Igala civilization. Revered history had it that Princess Oma-Odoko the daughter of Attah Idoko, the king of Igala kingdom, was sacrificed to preserve her father-land during the conflict between Igala and Jukun kingdoms. Oma-Odoko, whose historical viewpoints are similar to Inikpi‘s, wholeheartedly submitted herself to be buried alive with the other nine slave girls in order to save the Igala kingdom from the onslaught of the Jukun Kingdom during the inter-tribal battle.

In 1834, she was used as a sacrifice in that river Inachalo, using a traditional chemical device weapon to combat an intertribal battle between the Jukuns and the Igala-Kingdom. The Inachalo River is still poisonous to the Jukun Kingdom. According to Tom Miachi in The Incarnate Being Phenomenon in African Culture, “The Inachalo river was poisoned by Igala or Igala aided medicine men, leading to untold death of the invading Jukun forces.” It is also said that Hausa mallams from Bebeji in present day Kano state, had helped Igala by poisoning the river, ultimately leading to many Jukun casualties and leading to Igala people having the upper hand. According to other sources, fishes are not the usual tilapia, igagu(local fish), or catfishes like the normal freshwater fishes in the nearby rivers such as River Niger or Ubi Ega. They look terrible and I have never heard anyone saying they caught them.

This is the mystery the new Igala internet buzz cruise catchers are querying, not for new knowledge but in doubt of the mystery. To them, this was a cooked imagination fabricated to create a non-existent potency. Were this to be an inquiry into the mystery for the purpose of new knowledge and scientific advancement, the millennial would have been applauded but their intent is sheer mischief and cynicism. Forgetting what you don‘t see won‘t harm you. The new itching trend to question certain doctrines in Igalaland by her new generations call for restraints, it is not cowardice to jump pass what you did not create, especially a reality handed over to your generation from many generations – you may have the exposure of intuitive reasoning and questioning instinct but you do not have the wit of wisdom. Not everything requires an answer, let not your supersonic intellect make you dare the mystery of yesterday. A child does not compete in the size of manhood with an elder, same way he does not count the number of rags with an old man. My new intellectual Igala newborns, take it easy.

In Chinua Achebe‘s Arrow of God, we saw how the burning desire to uproot traditions consumed a generation – let‘s be cautious of our cruise mentality. Digging what does not disturb you is not bravery; it is sheer belligerence. The Inachalo mystery isn‘t begging for revalidation, as such, it is needless digging up its mystery or debunk its potency. A child can fondle his mother‘s breast but he dares not near his father‘s scrotum, it‘s not cowardice, it is reverence! The fishes in Inachalo aren‘t crying to be eaten nor are there disturbing your existence. Leave them potent just like those before you.

You do not have more intellect than the intellectuals of yore, they were trained by real colonial tutors, they understood inquisitiveness and the need to find answers to nagging questions, they left that that bothered them not and they lived and live in fulfilment of their scholarships. Can you be more educated than the late Francis Idachaba, Tom Miachi or Steven Achema? Can you be more millennial than Arch Gabriel Aduku, Chief Sylvester Momoh Onoja, Prof Gabriel Oyibo, and Prof Abubakar Akpa yet never challenged the mysteries that abound in igalaland?

Dear cruise catchers, take it easy, the world exists before you, leave alone what does not pursue – query what adds to your existence and leave that that does not pursue you. It pays to be less belligerence on things that do not concern you. Do not let your needless probe push your hand into the cobra’s hole so as not to be feted by the venomous bite of the cobra. Some mysteries are better left to be curious about, and not try to clear the curiosity because, when the repercussion births, not only those who seek to dig in will face what it takes from the mysteries but, everyone in that time. Let our thirst for the Inachalo river be that of expanded knowledge, dredging and sustenance of its historical awe and tourism potential.