Book Review By Oseloka Obaze

  (ISBN: 0-9723782-0-0; AdPlus Press, NY, NY, 2003; pp.239, Price, $40.00.)

The Woodchopper is a book of insightful reminiscence of a familial setting, which in the words of Professor Willie Page, “provides very interesting insight into the war and chronicles the sufferings of one family in the war.” The family was the Onyebekes of Achi, in now Enugu State Nigeria.  The war was the Nigeria-Biafra civil war.  Dr. William Onyebeke, “The Woodchopper” as the narrator, is unsentimental in presenting historical and personal facts.  He does not hide behind vanish and veneer, and he very skillfully employs and exploits the usage of third party view, thus giving added luster to African tradition of oral history.

 The Igbo has a saying that the no one warns the deaf that a war has begun.  The assumption is the pre-war scenes and environment are sufficient enough warning.  Even the deaf can hear the drums of war.  The Igbo also say that no one gets accustomed to suffering.  Dr. William Onyebeke, being Igbo and well attuned to the nuances of that tribe, has written a book of vivid recollections from the innocent eyes and mindset of a child.  Though as he admits, he may not have grasped all the intricacies and goings-on around him, he sure enough grasped surrounding realities of the day by keenly observing and staying close to adults. 

 This 239-page recount, innocently enough starts with “My parents grew up in a period of unprecedented painful changes in Achi, Enugu State Nigeria.  “  The last chapter is poignantly titled “The War Ends”.  In truth, the war might have ended but the suffering continues for many Nigerians and especially Ndiigbo, whose fate the lives of the Onyebekes reflectively encapsulated.  More importantly, this book adds richly to the bodywork of Nigeria-Biafra war history, the Igbo history and the triumph of many emasculated families, who might have survived the war, but still find it hard to survive in more contemporary times, the peace and Nigeria’s nascent democracy.

 Secondly, this work could be assessed purely from Robert Maynard Hutchins’ perspective on education, in the sense that the “object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives”.  Formal and informal education is given accent all through the book, underpinning as it were, the fundamentals of education to everyday living, one’s goals, and their eventual actualization.  The youths and the readers are infinitely educated also on socio-cultural and traditional norms.  Most of the responsibility falls on Ozo J.M. (James Mbamalu) Onyebeke – the Patriarch of the Onyebeke clan and the co-protagonist in the book.  He was a man who had the Igbo norms, in pectore – or close to the heart.  For the Igbo posterity and the children of Achi, The Woodchopper is a repository of rich Igbo culture, a rendition of where the Igbo has been and are headed.  On this account and for capturing the essential mosaic of the Nigerian panorama, Dr. Onyebeke has earned his place as an educator with his writing flare and storytelling panache.

 The spatial jurisdiction of this book is not just that of three Oyebeke generations, but an excursion through an expanse of a lifetime bridged by peace under colonialism, peace under independence, lack of peace during a brutal war, and pot-war peace.  All through this broad-spectrum, things happen and changes and sacrifices are made by the Onyebekes, except for the basic foundation of the family and highly held values.  Their fate, tribulations, and resilience could have been that of any well-grounded Igbo family. It’s worthwhile to consider the book against the backdrop of contemporary Nigerian politics.  J.M. Onyebeke in one scene bluntly refused to defile his religious belief and stand, by subjecting himself to a local deity in order to claim his unquestionable right that was being usurped by an interloper named Ekwerike.  Also, the book documents the rite of passage to the Ozo title and Chieftaincy, in which the entire clan is involved.  This trend is the antithesis of the prevailing norm, in which such honorific recognition is rather bought than earned.

 The Woodchopper is a quintessential page-turner.  From start to finish it presents deep perspectives of the variants and continuums of clashes of civilization during and after the colonization era. The white colonialists toppled the altar of the local deity only to impose their own concept of Trinity and the theology ethos of an unseen omnipotent God, who was everywhere.  When the invaders won pitched battles against the locals by sheer force of superior arms and intellect, the people of Achi, conflicted by the outcome, are even surprised and bewildered when their Gods did not rise with anger. When it came time to succumb to the dictates of compulsory Western education, the locals made a presumed wise choice of sending only their lazy ones to fraternize with the whites. The denouement of the locals’ indoctrination, and entanglement in the web of the invaders, replete with obvious conflicts, is the realization that the Onyebekes, just like every peripatetic parents and children of the indigenous civil servants and missionaries, become their community’s well to do in every sense of the word. 

 The Woodchopper highlights the African concept of being one’s brothers’ keeper.  It also gives significant impetus to the notion that not everything traditional was negative or anti-Christ. The Western religion, for its part, brought succor to many locals, by helping to bring to an end the ostracizing of twins and similar superstition-based practices. The book is has its dichotomies.  They present in politics, in the rule of law and in mere human foibles.

 Those concerned that Igbo is a dying language will certainly feel a sense of great relief in Oyebeke’s extensive usage of the language, both in direct and translated form.  Igbo idioms, proverbs, and verses give the needed flourish to book and highly complement the free flowing prose form used by Onyebeke.  In all, the reader encounters and has a better feel, if not picturesque grasp and insight into the Igbo family and ways of life. The glossary provided by the author enhances understanding of the issues for both speakers and non-speakers of Igbo alike. 

 My only reservation about this book is the perfunctory treatment of the traditional breaking of the kola nut and the pouring of libation. One would have expected, given the near-sacred reverence, which the kola nut is held in Igbo land, that the custom should have been given more attention when the opportunity presented.  To feed the Igbo people sumptuously without giving then kola is not to have fed them. There was, therefore, a greatly missed opportunity when Ozo Ikedinma said that truncated prayers and broke the kola nut during the Ozo initiation. Also the absence of a proper libation was another missed opportunity, for Ndiigbo hold up their drinks to Obasi or Chukwu - the God in Heaven, but pour the drinks on the floor to feed or appease their forebears.  Such instances present both dichotomy and similarities of the indigenous and the imported cultures. In the end, all that is sought is good cheers and good health for the living through Divine Providence.

 All said, Dr. William Oyebeke has given an added fillip to the saying “that life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”  For finding time from his busy medical practice to pen an autobiography is certainly, like adding two ugo feathers to his achievement cap. He has provocatively and proactively given of his time, experience, and genius.  For this yeoman’s effort, he deserves the honor of Onye mgbe oji - A cheerful Giver.

 For information on The Wood Chopper, visit: www.onyebeke.com or www.amazon.com [End].