From age 18, the Amaekpu young adults would begin to organize themselves “ifiwe uke” into a more formal age grade system, where their skills in leadership, oratory, organization, strategies, warfare and other aspects of life would be honed. Leadership of these groups were based solely on personal achievements and the amount of respect the leader has garnered among his/her contemporaries. These groups will bear the names of older and more established age grades. It is common to hear names such as Atuegwu 2nd, Ifuruaku 2nd, Atuegwu 3rd, Ifuruaku 3rd, Atuegwu 4th, Ifuruaku 4th and so on in alternate order.
Between age 40 – 50, the age grades would be expected to execute a community project, after which they are named (Iza Afa) by the Ezieogo. This is usually accompanied by a fanfare and merriments to usher them in the league of independent age grades. Having reached this milestone, the waiting-list status sets in preparing them for the final phase Otomu (retirement). The age grades would continue to perform community service until ages 60 – 65, after which they execute one last project. Thereafter, the age grade would be ushered into retirement with pomp and pageantry as they celebrate their Otuomu ceremony.
2019 Ogwotemba
About us: This profile addresses, inter alia, the founding, structure and evolution of 2nd Ifuruaku Age Grade Amaekpu Ohafia from formation to “Iza- Afa”, project therefore and name changes.
Formation: Founding of our age grade can be traced to the late 1980s when a few young men started meeting for the first times with forming an age grade in mind. Most of these young men at the foundation of our age grade, had for one reason or the other especially age, been refused membership of Atuegwu Age Grade whose members are our elders and, traditionally, immediate seniors as far as the institution or system of age grades and customary practice of our people are concerned. This 'rejected stones’ of the Atuegwu Age Grade and few others, fortuitously, became materials for the foundation of our “Uke” called, known or addressed at commencement in 1987/8 as 5th Asomba Age Grade, according to traditional demands or practice in the community in respect of such things.
The 2nd Ifuruaku, then new 5th Asomba Age Grade has as pioneers and nucleus of its membership at the time those ‘rejected stones’ and few other early joiners. The first and second meetings of age grade held, as required by Amaekpu custom and tradition of age grades, at Ndi Odike Compound with Okorie (Okorie) Ibisi providing accommodation in his family house for the purpose. Subsequent meetings were moved to Ofiaele (Ofali Agwu Primary School), Amaekpu Ohafia. Home and Lagos became the first places or cities to establish branches in 1989 after formation each with its own executive thus causing a transition to the short-lived unitary structure on formation to federal and the protem EXCO installed at formation became NEC serving only a year or so before elections held in 1989 with Okorie Nwafor, Obuba Obuba Ebi and Eme Okwara Eme emerging president, vice president and secretary in the first elected executives of the age grade alongside other members of the 1st executive committee {EXCO}.
Eligibility for membership: Being born in 1963, 1964 or 1965 is the main, if not only, criterion of age bracket or limit of catchment of every grade for its membership. It is because it is possibic to find people born in 1963 within the rank of our immediate seniors and also find people born in 1965 among our immediate juniors that it can be said that the years of catchment of age grades in the community is in a fluid state. Notwithstanding this fluidity in the catchment years, No age grade is expected to go beyond a three year age bracket or time limit in its scouting or drive for membership.
National presidents of the Age Grade: Past and Present Below is a table showing names of past, including Nwafor Obuba Ebi, and present presidents of the age grade and period of tenure;
1. Nwafor Obuba Ebi (1988- 1989)
2. OkorieNwafor (1989- 1993)
3. KaluAgbaiOkwo (1993-1995)
4. Obuba Aluma (1995- 1999)
5. OnwukaOko (1999-2001)
6. Ojo Ota (2001- 2005)
7. Onwuka Aki (2005- 2009)
8. Ibisi Ngwoke (2009- 2013)
9. Udonsi Oguelu (2013-2017)
10. Igu Okpo (till Iza afa)
The branches of the Age Grade in alphabetical order are as follows: Aba, Abuja, Enugu, Home, Kaduna, Lagos, Owerri, Port Harcourt and Umuahia.
Evolution and Name Changes: Our age grade has evolved and with each passing “Otomu”, like others in the community, has gone through phases of name change beginning with the first change of name in 1995/6 from 5th Asomba to 4th Ugomba. We became 3rd Agumba in 2005 and again in 2013 to our present 2nd Ifuruaku. The final name change of our age grade, all of you have witnessed with our “Iza Afa” today, 27/12/19. It is understood that it is this name, given to us today, that our age grade shall bear and be known until our retirement (Otomu) from active community service and indeed for the rest of our mortality: Hence the importance of the occasion and feeling of our age grade and members and indeed the community that we have achieved or attained a milestone with our “iza-Afa”.
2016 Atuegwu
In Amaekpu, Ohafia local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria, Culture they say is the people's way of life. Age Grade system is an age long practice amongst Ohafia people and it's environs. The age grade system is largely a way the communities attract social developmental amenities and infrastructure to the people as the Government hardly does that. Like every other age grade before it, the Atuegwu age grade started like a social club organized by few group of individuals, to mention but a few, Eme Uguru, Oguelu Uka, Emetu Emetu, Uzor Uka, Late Onwuka Ndukwe, etc. They made it plain that in the fullness of time, the club was going to transmute into an age grade, but for the time being, it would be operated and have the character of a social club, so, it was named "Obi Ga Olu Club", and the first meeting was in April 1985.
As time progresses, more friends from the same age brackets kept on enrolling in that club, and their number continued to increase to the extent that the hosting of the meeting was made rotational waiting for a permanent place. Ofail Agwu and Amaekpu Community Schools were suggested, and Amaekpu Community School was unanimously agreed to be the meeting venue. They agreed that the "Obi Ga Olu Club" has metamorphosed into an age grade. They continued their meetings within the school and sometimes at Orji Aguwa's residence at Ndi Umuozio. Later Orji Aguwa relocated to Ifu-Owere, by then some of the members had left the village for a white collar jobs. Nevertheless, the meeting continued. The first executive meeting of the age grade was held at Ifu-Owere, Orji Aguwa's residence, which culminated into the first annual general meeting of the Age Grade at Amaekpu Community School on December 26, 1985 and was christened 5th Akajimba Age Grade and was adopted by the community as the name being the last named age grade on our lineage.
Like a little seed planted, the age grade has grown having many branches in the country. Traditionally, the community begins to assign responsibilities to the age grade after they have completed a project given to them. On completion of the road project the community the now gave the age grade their own name as the previous one was of lineage. Thus ATUEGWU (meaning fearless) by the Chief of the community Ezieogo Prof. Arua. So far it is acclaimed in the community that the age grade handled the most astonishing project in Amaekpu for Iza-afa Ceremony conducted on the 26/27 December, 2016