Wednesday, 2 May 2018

A LOOK AT THE IGBO ADAGE; CHINEKE JI JI JIDE MMA, ONYE OWANYERE ORIE. By Tobe Eze


A LOOK AT THE IGBO ADAGE; CHINEKE JI JI JIDE MMA, ONYE OWANYERE ORIE.


INTRODUCTION: The concept of this oji ji jide mma is an old adage that has lasted in Igbo land from time immemorial. It is an adage that tries to show whom God is and what he is to Igbo people. This shows that all that exist in this world is from God Chineke or Chukwu. In affirmation of this through the bible one can use Psalm 127:1 If the Lord does not build the house, in vain does the labourer works and if the Lord does not watch over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil. This is a positive name given to God the creator by Igbo people which may have no flaw in it. It is because of this goodness of this adage that I want to approach it in this way. To ask some thought provoking questions like; Is it raw yam or prepared yam that God is holding? If it is prepared, what type of preparation? Because every preparation has a way of eating it. Is it roasted, Porridge, Pounded, Boiled, and Fried and so on? It is when we have answered these questions that we will know our role in the ji and mma God is holding. This oji ji jide mma has made many to become irresponsible and lazy. As God hates laziness so also some industrious people like Julius Nyerere in his Ujamaa, said that when you have a visitor, you should treat him as a visitor for two days and on the third day, give him/her a hoe. This was a fight for laziness and idleness. Continue Reading..........

IS IT RAW OR PREPARED? To answer this question, we have to look into the world and see what people are passing through so that we may give an objectively likened answer. If we say yes that it is prepared, why then do some suffer before they get what their lives need and others are getting theirs at the platter of gold. Does it mean God is unjust? If we say it is raw, how then do we prepare it, for we know that God’s yam is quite different from our own human yam? To give answer to this is a little difficult because we are talking of spiritual yam here not physical. Why people suffer may not be because of their own failures but it may be for the glory of God or one thing or the other (John 11:4).
To be on the safer side, I have decided to take the middle position. It is either prepared or not. If it is raw then we should know we have the role of preparing it for we are not going to eat it raw and that time our effort is required now in the ji and mma of God. If it is prepared, the problem again is how it is prepared. If it is prepared, every type of preparing yam has its own way or things needed to eat it, so even if it is prepared, we still have another role to play. A role of getting things needed for the eating of it. To know the type yam prepared depends on God to choose for us for God has all of them and he gives us the one we need. In the line of this we can recourse to Isaiah 55:1 Come all who are hungry, come all who are thirsty, come and buy without money. After looking at it critically, you will notice that God himself cannot finish everything for us. He said we should come and buy without money which means we must put in something. If we do not have cash, we should have kind (Cash or Kind). God does not give us a finished goods rather unfinished. Everything we get from God requires our effort.

ON THE TWO POSITIONS: God hates laziness and we can see the manifestation of this in the parable where he called people into his vineyard even at the last hour of a day work (Matthew 20:9). He called them to his vineyard because they were disposed and ready for the work. God created us in his own image and likeness in Genesis 1:27. We know that God is free being and since we are parts of him, we have that atom of freedom in us to choose what we do. He suggests for us to choose, he does not force anyone and that is why we can see in many places in the bible where he begs his people Israel to come back to him. From Old Testament to the New Testament. Jesus being God came having the power to do anything he wills but was also insisting on asking them to follow him not forcing them. We have the freedom to help in the ji and mma that God has.
In as much as God gives us the yam he has (His Graces), we have to help and prepare it or prepare every other things needed for the consumption of the yam. Jesus being God as a human did not find it easy when he was on earth in flesh and spirit, what of us who are ordinary human beings. St. Paul after looking at this tells us to work out our salvation in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12), we must do something in other to be saved.
In Igbo again, we say, Aka aja aja n’ ebuta onu mmanu mmanu, which means that one who works eats. Again Aruo n’ anwu erie nan do, when you work under the sun, you eat in a shade. Some leave themselves and their primary duties for God to do them for them for they believe that God is the one with yam and knife and he gives anyone he wants to. Some parents do not train their children in the believe Chukwu n’ azu, God trains. Some do not make efforts again for they say that God blesses any when and where he will. Agbaka mbo abughi enweka ihe. God’s blessing does not need our effort to manifest in our lives for it is not too much effort that makes us get things. It is not really our effort that gives us what we need rather God but through our effort. We hear this every now and then that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop and it is a typical truth. We must keep ourselves busy in doing good things and keeping ourselves busy. It was when David was idle that he committed the sin he committed (2Samuel 11 and 12).
Whether God gives us prepared or raw yam to eat, we still have many things to do in order to eat the yam. If it is not prepared, we need, water, fire and all that are needed in the cooking or frying or roasting. As we are created, we need to make effort to be good and work very hard to see our to success in life and even when we are on the point of finishing the yam he has given us, he will give us more. If it is prepared, we have to get plates, water and all needed for it depending on the type of one prepared for us. This concerns us on the angle of God’s will, if we are given pounded yam, we should accept it and look for soup and other things needed. We have to accept the lot marked out for us and work hard to bring out the best in it.

CONCLUSION: God is always faithful to us that he said through St. Paul that even when we disown him that he cannot disown us for we are already part of him (2Timothy 2:11-13). He will always give us the yam whenever we come to him in search of the yam. Both before, during and after getting the yam, our efforts are highly needed. In the first place, that is before the yam, we have to make moves towards him indicating interest in the yam, (1Samuel 1:9-28, Hannah in Shiloh before God asking for a son). She indicated interest and God gave her son which was the yam she was asking for. During the giving of yam, he is ever ready to give us and that is why he invites us to come to him all the time, (Matthew 11:28 Come to me all who are labouring and all who are overburdened and I will give you rest). After, we have to still work harder for it is not enough to get the yam but how do we prepare it? As we all know about Solomon that God gave the yam of wisdom but he did not make enough effort to prepare it very well and he turned to displease God to extent of having one thousand women at his disposal. He has promised to be with us till the end of the world if we still remain steadfast (Matthew 28:20). Whenever we get the yam from God we should guard it very well.
We have to know and understand that God is with the Yam and the knife to give anyone he likes and he gives to those who indicate interest, those who go to him to get it and those who prepare their own very well. Chukwu ji ji jide mma and we have the hand to accept it. So, everything depends on God through our efforts. Onye ana edonye nri n’ abia nso. We that receives from God have to go closer to him.

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