Culture/tradition

Culture /tradition

TRADITIONAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: THE UGBO VILLAGE GOOD EXAMPLE
By Ohiaerinwa Ogbonnaya Okoro

Ugbo Village will continue to intrigue me. It is one of the villages that share boundaries with my village Amankwu. Both villages share a lot in common. They cooperate so much that it could be claimed our mutual relations are exemplary for other villages.
Ugbo has had her own fair share of ups and downs, twists and turns recurring crises. But thanks to the forces of good over evil, these are largely in the past perfect tense.
And the dividends of mutual understanding, mutual love, co-existence and cooperation are now taking charge to guarantee and promote law and order, peace and unity.
The new-found law, order, peace stability, unity and justice were put to test recently. More appropriately, the longstanding cordial relations between Amankwu and Ugbo Villages were put to test.
A certain Ugbo woman started it all; cast the first stone. Students of history and the social sciences often insist that economic determinism is the engine room, the propellers of numerous forces of history – reforms, revolutions reactionism, and repression and out-right wars.
Predominantly hard working farmers and peasants whose livelihood depends mainly on land, both villages and indeed other neighbouring villages depend heavily on the explortations and processing of oil palm fruits and other bye products. Novelist Wathre ngo Ngugi’s treatise on land applies to our Aro women’s affinity to land: “He owes it to the dead, the living and the unborn of his line to keep guard over the shamba”. [Land]
And so, each village compel their women farmers to guard against pilfering of their own oil palm fruits, especially before it is their own turn to harvest theirs. Amankwu, Amoba, Ugbo, Amukwa, for example, keep a weather eye on the oil palm bush when others harvest theirs before them. And for Amankwu women whose land is comparatively small, they jealously guard their farmland as other neighbouring villagers harvest theirs before them. And so when Amukwa women mere harvesting theirs, Ugbo women insistedly asked the professional harvesters not to harvest for Amankwu women whose turn it was, the short piece drama was relived “Trobulu dee sleep inyanga 800 weekan op”
The men ignored her. She did not relent. She allegedly reported the matter to the women leader who promptly used a town crier to order that no Ugbo should be involved in the Amankwu harvesting effort. That the Amankwu day of harvesting coincided with the marriage of the daughter of the women leader [Eze Nwanyi]
An Amankwu women resident in Ugbo ignored such order and organized some of the women to harvest Amankwu oil palm fruits. There are many version of what followed next. One of them reveals that because of the directive Amankwu efforts to harvest their oil palm fruits were sabotaged.
The Ugbo women cabinet fines for flouting their directive. The Amankwu women resident in Ugbo ignored their fines. She instead engages them in several traditional legal battles. She did not get satisfactory judgment she was forced to see the women leader and her cabinet at an all-Ugbo village traditional people’s court.

Their judgment:
1. The Amankwu village woman plaintiff was declared innocent wronged and her cause of action completely justified.
2. The Ugbo woman who started it all was found guilty; that Amankwu is an auto normal village community, and that the manager ceremony involving Ugbo women, had no business what sever in Amankwu’s harvest of their oil palm fruits.
3. That the women leader and her cabinet acted ultra veires by directing the Amankwu women should not harvest their oil palm fruits involved in a manage ceremony.
Based on the above, Ugbo Village ceremony in full assembly and in session, imposed fines upon the guilty as follows:
a. The Ugbo women who started it should pay Ngwa Isii.
b. The women leader was fined Ngwa Ato.
c. The women cabinet was fined Ngwa Ato.
d.
The women, in implementing the judgment of Ugbo Assembly had to pay Ngwa Isii to the professional harvesters boycotted harvesting for Ugbo women
The women who started it all had early in the crisis cursed and threatened the professional harvesters-that they would fall from various at palm trees. This curse or threat, in harvesting norms and practice, was abomination and a very dangerous action.
The Ugbo Assembly did not go to sleep after the judgment. They vowed to see their judgment executed; and to serve as a warning to other people while may want to outreach themselves.
From the foregoing, Ugbo Assembly, Ugbo people deserve accolades of praise, integrity, even-handed justice and good neighbourliness. Fearless, forth-right, selfless unbiased, Ugbo people have demonstrated and proved that Aro traditional judicial system and practice could be firm but fair, reliable and confidence building. The entire trial system lasted less than six hours-in one and only one single day. Above all, very brief and very cheap.
Another thing worthy of note was that about three Amankwu persons were at the proceeding. Amankwu people were not even officially informed.
The good example by Ugbo people is that Aro traditional judicial practice could administer universal and acceptable justice in brief record time cheap, minimally stressful. No aka azi no “wuruwuru”; no “harara-wuruwuru”, no “nagari”, no “awuufu” yes “passing six is not passing sense”.
In less fortunate neighbouring villages, warped minds would have hijacked and obstructed the course of justice, cutting corners and manipulating age-long practices-defending the indefensible.


Ohiaerinwa Ogbonnaya Okoro