What Should You Depend On-Madam Nature Or Yourself?

It’s funny how this post I’m about to write was inspired by a dream I just had, without sharing the full details, I was asked what should we depend on as Ndi-Igbo.

Should we rely on our knowledge of Ogwu, should we rely on our access to sprits through Afa/divination, should we rely utterly on the guidance of the dibia or our spiritual mentor/director or on the innate powers of self-thinking, self-reliance, and the usage of everything within our natural and unnatural environment to manifest the reality we desire.

First, I’d start with this aphorism “Uzu na amaghi akpu ogene, lee egbe anya n’odu”.

I once scheduled an interview with an Isi mmuo and customarily you cannot meet an elder empty-handed, I came with 3 pieces of Oji, which he accepted the and said “As onye Igbo, you dont offer 3 pieces of kolanut, you can give 2 or 4 but never 3, maka na ihe ruo na ito oto”- when a phenomenon occurs 3 times it gets stuck”, he encouraged me to take one back, later on, I understood what trilogy means to Ndi-Igbo. 

The triangle has two points that exist side by side, representing duality “Ihe kwuru…..” and an extending point that represents neutrality. This principle is also applied during the institution of an Ofo. When we say Ofo na etigbu mmadu, this means that by spoken words alone, we have given it the mandate to destroy our enemies. We then diluted this Ofo energy by giving it a point of neutrality, by saying it should judge before enforcing any punishment, we do this symbolically and with spoken words as well, but there is an exception to this kind of Ofo, and we call it Ofo Ogboma.

To understand this interaction further, let’s look at nature and duality.

Nature independent of human application or the human factor is neither good nor bad, it exists as it was created until its human application would determine how we would perceive such application, but from the perspective of the trilogy, it proves that nature is neither good nor bad.

These illustrations I just gave, carve a mental picture of what we should depend on as human beings which is, utterly dependent on nature alone cannot stand, and has tendencies of failure. For instance; the word Ogwu is a compound name we use in terms of medicinal herbs or modern tablets, it is also used as a term for Nsi na Aja/Ajo ogwu. 

Ogwu on its own has proven to be something that is neither good nor bad and just like nature which Ogwu is a direct aspect of exist, as it was created be it as just weeds or wide forest leaves, it can never take on any other adjective without the human application, hence in this regard human intellect. Therefore, we need to understand the powers that reside within each and every one of us, hence why deities, Gods, negative forces, etc need human interaction to function, so when we become self-reliant on nature, nature also needs us in order to blossom.

From the horrific events of yesterday, we saw images of dead vigilantes with assorted protective charms around their waists, the question isn’t why didn’t these charms protect them, but rather why did it fail them this time around. 

It all boils down to the same being over-reliant in nature, this same logic is applicable to Afa (Divination), we have this aphorism “Atupuo ani afu ndi-mmuo”, in this context it simply tells you that when you look deep into the abyss dont be surprised at what is staring back at you. Nature can only let you see so much, can only let you know so much especially what it wants you to see or know before it becomes tricky and take back.

No matter how powerful or indestructible a person claims him/her is we are all at the mercy of nature and she is ruthless when she is abused, therefore the only cosmic being you should rely on, is yourself and what is familiar to you and they include; your mental acuity which is influenced by Agwu-Chi na Ezumezu.

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