Obioma “Ebony” Agwuncha
ONUMBA.COM – Obioma “Ebony” Agwuncha hails from Nigeria, a country of some 150 million located in West Africa. She is visiting relatives in Columbus where her daughter recently gave birth to twins – a boy and a girl.
The 60-year old widowed mother of seven has her hands full with a motley of chores involving the care she is providing for her daughter and their bundles of joy. Actually, Agwuncha’s visit is for that, caring for her daughter and the babies, that is. She said that it is called ‘Omugwo” which according to her traditional Igbo culture of Eastern Nigeria, she is required to do.
And she has been doing just that conscientiously since the babies were born nearly two months ago. But recently she took a break from her ‘Omugwo-ring’ obligations to speak to Call & Post about her visit, expressing her views about this country and the deep connection she feels for American Blacks.
“I feel we are all the same, treating each other as brothers and sisters because we are really the same people,” said Agwuncha, who owns a school in Anambra State called Ebony Foundation School. But at the same time, having visited the country two times now, she has seen enough to express some disappointment, saying, “I don’t see the kind of brotherhood and sisterhood that is necessary to build a strong bond between African immigrants and American Blacks.
Agwuncha, who regretfully told a story by her grandfather of how a relative was sold into slavery because she was disobedient, feels a lot of work still needs to be done to bring American Blacks and Africans together, which is something she hopes to see happen sooner than later.
In that bonhomie spirit of loving one another, Agwuncha expressed pride in seeing a Black man elected president of the United States, saying, “His work is excellent and that’s why he was reelected.”
But she feels a bit disappointed that President Barack Obama is yet to embark on a major trip to Africa. The president’s only visit to Africa was that short trip to Ghana soon after he took office for his first term.
“He is one of us, he is supposed to pay a major visit to Africa,” said Agwuncha, who also noted, “that [visiting Africa] will show us he is one of us.”
Asked about how she is enjoying her visit to Columbus, she replied, “I like it.” One thing she doesn’t like though is what she described as the excessive focus on individualism here.
“Everybody minds his or her own business, quite unlike Nigeria,” she said.
As for Columbus, she likes it. “Columbus is very good,” she said. “I had never seen snow before. This was my first time of seeing snow in my life.”
Mgbatogu is a freelance writer and editor of Onumba.com based in Columbus. He can be reached by email at: Onumbamedia@yahoo.com /
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