Maduka: "Ugwu Eze Ugwu" (From UmuObu n'eguh to A CityBoy)

Life is fleeting, and it has been said over time that life is happening somewhere along the line. As we make our own plans, life often has different ones for us. "We are a spec of dust in a whole galaxy of dreamers."As we journey through life, we pick up many debris of life, and it is from them that we forge a path for our feet to walk. This mask we are making is ours, and ours to carry.My position in this essay is that individually, we carry inside of us ancestral marks, cords, and patterns that connect us to our roots. Even as we navigate across various dimensions, we still revolve around them, like the earth does around the sun.There was a certain boy called Maduka Eze, better known as 'Ugwu Eze Ugwu,' one of those boys with a strong willpower. He was well-built and easy-going, possessing an undiluted magic inside of him. He was the second son of Ugwu Chime Eze, one of the sons of "Ama Udene Oguh" from the hills of Ngwo. He hails from a lineage of Masquerade bearers; they were one of the families that performed the Okoroma Mask during the festival of Okanga dance in their hometown. This is one of the prestigious traditional dances the Wawa people have redefined and exported nationwide. Maduka gained popularity because of his dance skills, and many of his townspeople acknowledged his charisma. Everyone always looked out for 'OkoroMa Ugwu-Chime' during the "Mmanwu Okanga" dance.

Whenever he arrived at the village square, he often left beautiful thrills for the spectators. Among the other masks, his performance was often the climax of the event, and people loved him for that. His father took pride in him and said he was a reincarnation of his late grandfather; for this, he often called him "Ugwu Eze Ugwu."Unfortunately for Maduka, this year's festival of Okanga would be celebrated in his absence, and this made him very sad. Coincidentally, Maduka had been called by his new employer a day before the big Mmanwu festival. This was a long-anticipated call he had been waiting for, and he couldn't afford to turn it down because opportunities like this come once in a while. Maduka was bound for Lagos, in the western part of the country. He was to leave the shores of his hometown, Enugu state, Nigeria, on the morning of the big Okanga festival day. These two events were important to him, and he had waited so long for them, but sadly, it turned out like this. He had to weigh his options on a scale of preference and sacrifice one option for the other.On the departure eve, Ugwu Chime decided to have a father-and-son conversation with his second son, Maduka. Ugwu Chime was a traditionalist in his sub-village of Ngwo, and this particular son of his was very important to him because of his values. Maduka took after his father in carrying the "Okoro-ma Mask" in their family. Continuity mattered to Ugwu Chime, which was why he wanted his son to stay back. But times are changing, and he also wants a better life for his son, so he must let him go. His father, Ugwu Chime, said to him during the conversation that night, "Chetekwe k'ezhi marudulu, ika ga afuwa," which loosely translates to "Always remember the situation at home before you left." This was the exact same words of late Donald Orji to his late son Dr. Samuel Orji 'okwerike n'odo' at the airport when he was bound for overseas. Maduka had kept his departure news to his age group friends as a secret that night as they spent time preparing the mask. They engaged in mending and selecting the outfit of the mask like they always did every Mmanwu eve. This mask was initially made by Maduka's grandfather Onodugo Eze and then passed down to his father, Ugwu Chime Eze, and to himself Ugwu EZE Ugwu jnr. It was a prestigious mask with a record for always stealing the spotlight at every outing. The sun had remembered a son, but not in the season he wanted, but what makes a man is his ability to answer any call of duty regardless.It's been said that leaving home is one of the biggest events of youthful years, and that played a major part in influencing his decision to leave home. It is a test of youth.

He left so many things he held so dearly to his heart back home, of which the most important of them all was the family's OkoroMa. It has been said that Okanga Ngwo is quite unparalleled by visitors, and he was one of those that made it exceptional. Their Okanga held a special spot in the hearts of visitors in the whole of Igbo cosmology; it was a mask to watch.Maduka was a member of "Egu Maa" Ngwo cult by birth and had come to embrace it wholeheartedly. Maduka often made art of every act. On every masquerade day, he always stood in front of the mirror and stared at himself before carefully engaging in the rituals of putting on his grandfather's mask. He would continue until he got to the point where the accompanist helped him to complete the styling. Whenever he put on that mask, he ceased to be Maduka nor Ugwu Eze Ugwu jnr; he eventually transformed into a spirit from a deity.

He was always the most anticipated mask during the 'Egwu Okanga;' each time he graced the "Obu" in his priceless mask, he engulfed the crowd in nostalgia of their kinsmen who have departed Mother Earth. People often chanted "Apii-eko - Dejee oh - oruku - & lots more," each time he stylishly stormed the 'Obu' with his cream-colored 'Nza.' Whenever he spread his arms wide open to the beat of the unbroken drum, his toe stood erect, dancing to the tone of the Okanga. He was an act to behold.Ugwu Eze Ugwu jnr. arrived in the big city of Lagos; he was filled with excitement on arrival. This was a place he had heard and dreamt about all his life. He couldn't believe he was standing behind tall buildings with beautiful ambiance at Lekki, Lagos state, Nigeria. Lagos is a city that fed you with all manner of intimidation at every turn. It was a hub of technical know-how & lifestyle, much crazier than what he ever saw in the city of Enugu.He has migrated to a new space; he was no longer the village charm. He has been relegated to nothing but an immigrant with hope. He had been introduced to a new realm, a bit different from what he used to know. He must make a choice to unlearn and relearn new things and other things that are required in becoming. The new task was no longer the mask dance and its rituals; he must confront this new challenge with a firm grip and make a mark for himself.

This was what Chinua Achebe tried to explain when he propounded his theory on the proverb, "life is like a mask dance; to experience it fully, we must not stand at a spot."As time went by, he got exposed to lots of things, and his views and perceptions about some things began to change. He found himself in a new circle that influenced a greater percentage of his decision-making. He went through a great mental transformation upon seeing his age mates achieve significant milestones. For the first time, he experienced a shift in his mindset from 50% of what he used to know. He became calmer and listened more. At some point, he felt that he had wasted so much time dancing in his hometown but it was still one of the best moments of his life. Ugwu Eze Ugwu was in a battle with his software engineer task at hand and the beats of unbroken drum in his head. Eventually, he realized that everything we do in life is a mixture of various elements, including what life has in store for us and the role of our ancestral links in defining our life's journey. Tradition and technology are at a crossroads in our hearts. As we grow and navigate through life, how do we reconcile the patterns from our ancestral hosts? We find ourselves in a fast-evolving world of continuous unlearning and relearning. What do we do to preserve our culture? What do we do with those innate qualities we are born with? Who do we become?