Nwa Eche - From Ngwo to Oxford

Time flies; each time we stare at our clock, it sprints. When we look back, a lot has gone by. The story of how I got to the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 is complex, but I’m here today, standing tall beside a good number of Oxford men. Last month, I could vividly recall, I was in the forest 🌳 of my hometown, fetching green leaves for my grandfather’s goats. Today the story is different, and I’m here gracing my big brother's MSC graduation at the University of Oxford. The little broad shoulder I built in front of our backyard Alumaco mirror perfectly fits inside the fine blazer I wore. I was seen in the crowd applauding for my brother who would be giving a speech 🎤 on his graduation, in front of hundreds of people from all walks of life.

His birth name was Chukwunonso Akuegbonwu Onoh, but we called him Nwa-Eche; I recalled how Nnohe, our grandmother, whistled ‘Nwa Eche’s’ name from the ‘Unekwu’ (outdoor kitchen) whenever he passed by. Nwa-Eche was a social big brother who never cared about age differences. Back home in Enugu Ngwo, we hunted lizards 🦎 together, fed “Ugwu Nde’s” goat 🐐 together & did a lot more together. He so much loved a combination of Yam & beans, & for this, everyone called him Patasco. Meanwhile, Patasco is a type of bean that is popular in West Africa. Uncle Ibe would call him “Aboyi ji nu beans” & his lips would tear in laughter.

I stood in the crowded room and admired Nwa-Eche as he acknowledged the standing ovation with a hand gesture as he walked to the stage. He adjusted the collar of his graduation robe; he looked so different. He glowed from the light-enhanced hall and his bald head was so obvious with his skin low cut.

From where I stood, I envisioned Patasco, my dearest brother, standing with so much grace in front of the crowd, and he beamed a charming smile that warmed a lot of hearts. Patasco, of all people, was wearing Burberry shoes 👞. Damn, so cold 🥶.

Two years ago, I was dragging a pot of burnt “Ogodo & Akidi” with him at our grandma’s “Unekwu.” But look at Nwa Eche now; he’s about to give a speech in front of hundreds of Oxford’s best. Time really flies, and the future holds a lot of things, innit.

Patasco cleared his throat and began to speak; his voice rang like Nsude’s thundering of guns and like a warrior’s chant. He introduced himself and guess what? He called himself “Nwa Eche,” a name that lifted my Pro-Igbo. He started by telling a story about his childhood in his hometown Ngwo, Enugu, Nigeria. He spoke about us and who we are—about the unforgettable memories of childhood, and how we spent time at Pa Ugwu Nde’s homestead. He was a powerful storyteller and knew best how to manage his audience. The topic was “FEAR AND TRUSTING THE PROCESS.” He spoke about the days we went to the farm down the valley, fetched firewood 🪵 of different sizes, and the difficulty of carrying it from down the valley to the hilltop. I could relate to that story. It was a story buried in hope, endurance, and patience. The days at grandpa ‘Ugwu Nde’ made us set forth to the farm at dawn, so as to return home before the sun gets cruel. Unfortunately, most times we never made it back home before the sun became harsh, and it would cast its sun rays on us. As you carry your log of wood or basket of harvest on that sandy footway, the heat will come upon you & then you bury it on that same path. He went ahead to describe how we cried on that sandy footway, walking home. How we struggled on that path to get that load on our head home, the neck pain, the weight on the heart, & the whole endurance story.

‘Nwa Eche’s’ speech was a jaw-dropping one that left his audience in an emotional state.

The audience kept calm and listened to this young man. He was telling a true unfiltered story about overcoming fear and trusting the process.

Nwa Eche set the mood in the hall, and the audience became emotional from his speech & tale; While Nwa Eche was concluding his speech, he made a gesture towards me, referencing that I was his little brother, whom he wept side by side on that sandy footway while coming home from the farm. The whole crowd turned and took a glance at me sympathetically.

“Nwa Eche” concluded his speech and took a bow, and he got a standing ovation from the crowd.

It was then; that I waved and pointed at him with my left hand and chanted loud praisy names on him… These were the lines of my grandmother Nneohe. She would whistle and chant these lines___

“Nwa Eche” “Nwa Oga n’eguh” “Nwa Ojiji egbu ogene” “Ebubu igu n’eterum ikuku egwu” “Nwe Eche___ “ji n’beans” Patasco __

The crowd was engulfed in laughter on hearing my native chants, and how ‘Nwa Eche’ received the chant with pride, made the audience laugh more. Just then, Chukwunonso Akuegbonwu Onoh left the stage, & the rest of the graduating class kept shouting his name “Nwa Eche.”

The echoes of Ngwo dialect were heard at Oxford.