By Agba Jalingo
OBUDU (CONVERSEER) – Bedia, my village has five clans, namely: Indi-Atiekpe, Bedia-likwu, Begiagba, Kudiang and Bikwom. I am Begiagba. It is established that Indi-Atiekpe and Begiagba have a closer affinity than other clans and they are called Begia-Anyorbi. They aren’t even allowed to inter-marry. But ironically, even within Begiagba, there are two subdivisions. And then within the two subdivisions, there are still other micro-divisions, Udida-Agba and others, all based on family lineages.
If any privilege comes to the village, these divisions come alive like embers of fire. There are constant reminders of these blurred lines every time politicians also want to use the people for their own ends. But the beautiful thing is that, once you move out of Bedia to neighbouring villages like Ibong or Ohong, every Bedia person you meet there automatically becomes your brother.
Bedia, Ukorshie, and Kubung-Bette (though far flung) are three villages believed to be related by family lines and are called Angiaba. The trio are combined with Ibong village to form the political ward called Angiaba-Begiaka ward in Obudu LGA. So if you leave any of those four villages and go to Obudu main town, everyone from Angiaba-Begiaka ward is automatically your brother or sister. Everyone who speaks Bette is your sister and brother, as opposed to people from Utukalu.
If you leave Obudu and go to our State capital, Calabar, everyone from Obudu LGA becomes your brother and sister and by extension, everyone from Cross River North also becomes your brother and sister. To even push it further, all of us, including most LGAs in central Cross River State, that the Efiks call Atam people, automatically become brothers and sisters, once we are in Calabar, our State capital.
If you now leave Cross River State and travel to Abuja, Lagos, or even Uyo, everyone from Cross River State is your brother or sister. In fact, everyone from the South South region of the country will be regarded as a closer brother or sister. Even within the South South, someone from Akwa Ibom State is seen as a brother to a Cross Riverian rather than the other four South South states because Akwa Ibom was carved out of Cross River State.
If you leave Nigeria and go to Ghana, every Nigerian from the 36 States of the country becomes your brother or sister. If you travel further to South Africa or Tanzania, everyone from West Africa, including Ghanaians becomes your relations. If you now travel out of the African continent to Europe, Asia or America, everyone with dark skin becomes your brother and sister. Once you spot a black person, you feel you have seen a brother, regardless of the country or ethnicity of that black person.
In like manner, also, if you find yourself in the midst of wild beasts or even aliens and by chance you also find a two-legged homo-sapien, you automatically feel that you have seen a brother or sister who is a human being like you, regardless of the skin colour. If you follow this sequence, you will notice that, brotherhood or sisterhood only expands as you migrate and travel, whether physically or mentally. As travelling expands your horizon, so does your bulging perception of brotherhood and sisterhood.
If you reverse this sequence, you will also agree that the lack of travelling, both mentally and physically, will continue to confine your sense of brotherhood and sisterhood to your nearest cocoon. It shrinks your capacity to see beyond your nose and limits your mental ability to experience the bliss of crossing boundaries. It stunts your capacity to pierce through political divisions and savour the spiritual bond of human relations.
So I ask, what exactly is our problem in Obudu and Obanlikwu LGA? What is the qualm between Bette and Utukalu? What is the colour of our rivalry and incessant bickering? Obanlikwu and Obudu have always and will forever remain one, with shared heritage and fraternal affinity. Bette and Utukalu are different only in our warped imagination. If politicians did not divide the LGA into two, what exactly is the difference between the two? Those who divided the land into two did so so they could have a space to exploit the people and continue to create this utopia in our consciousness that we are different. It wasn’t because they wanted progress, which is why to date, not much has changed since politics separated us.
I am simply sick and tired of the endless pettiness fouling the air from people who I expect to be largely cosmopolitan in thinking and practice. You can play your divisive politics and support any of the thieving politicians without planting these capricious seeds of attrition amongst our younger ones. Do not ingrain your smallness over a generation of people in dire need of unity. There is nothing patriotic or deserving of bragging rights in continually fanning the few lines that divide us above the numerous twines that bind us, and I want to suppose that a word is enough for the wise.
Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.
