. \n ,~1r~1 chi \\ ~1s iust ltl~r an\ <)lltl.

r
t)rdina ry girl. Sl1t..\ h1Pl~l'd inn,,\.,'et~l lil,t an ,
. . ' ~

other g11·l l't hl~r age grnnp . She had }\)ng h;u,s,
was dark in 1..:omph.'\1n11 and hud an oYai fa~c .
rhcre \Yerc nl) dirnplt:~ t)H lu:r 1:1c~. Whenever
sl1e sn1 iled. the gap in hl'r upp~r lt'l!l h sccrne(i
to add. 111t)r~ heatll\. a11d t;l~~Hn~c
._ tt, h~r
perso11ality. S11~ li,\:ti ,vith h\:)r parc11ts in.
Oda11gene. a s111all to,,·n vt;ry cl{)SC t<) tl1e city
of E11t12:l1.
......
1~11e l1istory ,.)f l)dangcn~ \tvas hoth
i11teresting and n1yst~rious . No one~11ot e, en 1

the oldest the pe<)ple coltld ttltally

a111()ng
recot111l ht),,. the first hun1an h~ines ca111e to
"'-

li,re tl1ere. Tl1ere ,,·as this popt1lar legend about

()dan2.ene
.._ ha,·in2...._ heen founded hundrecis of
vears
. bY... local \\tarriors \vho fought agai11st
slaYerv a11d t)tber cultural discri111inatorv
r ~

practices. -the e,·er 110\,·ing 'A flata' Strea1n

and the \\·onderf11l 'Non1ertat caYe added to the
r1atural pec11l iarit) orthe to\, n. "'f h c people
\Vere n1a1nlY 1~1rn1crs. \\ ith the exception of
so1ne \Yl10 ~\'l1rk\?d in Yariou" o11ices in the
CltY
. .
!\n1ara~l1 i's r~n her \\ as a c i, il servant
\VorkinQ \\'1tl1 t11e ~ i~-~l"'"ria n f~ail,\ aY.
'--

C~orporation at it~ l-~nugu l)istr1c1 headquarters .

 h h .. ,1 1rcr an d L 111Jl d hl • i h , I t h ' ( I
l ' ""I I

l I ' \ \ . l ....
r L' \. l ' 11 t hl' 1, >,\ l'" 1 Ill( ' 'fli t
l l '

1hc l, ", l. r n
1

i ' , ( ,

, • ·: , 1, }_
··· ,. . l he J1L'l1 .\ -tr ,H l111 ,µ o! Ii ,·. \\ ik . iA\ JIJ..t1 ;1 Ll1i'
~f •' •1'
1
· · ·
ril e l1<>111 L· ;ih<,, ,h,
~P ' 1. ) tliI..\t·• \\. I S nn...t l1111-g. !(l •
\\ 11
. 1~. fl ) 11n) I Ir-;. I lw, , w; 1 "
.,
hcc ,,11 -, L' 0 l I ll' ',J l l ;tlj
, .,
l
r1.•.~ ,ll l ' .
, '"'
"" 'f ' ~
't ith ii ,,
"l1
. . •
1c h th e
,
hu s1 Ill
.
"" ,v ,h
So
sl t1rtct1l ,d l l(
p,
1
:Ji -., ni..T casing cost oJ many 1tc111 s.
, l'r t\
1

a an d su ffe r in g su rro u1 1e kd Ar n arn chi a·n·d

hu n~
., . , ,. ~1~1111i 1" Ii kc a \\i a11.
I ~ l \.

.\ i the tender age of twelve . A. marac.hiIlcr

J Ii, e ot he r yo un ge r br ot he rs an d si ste rs
ha
r,1rt1nts gave birth to those ch ild re
n in quic k
ild and
, uccessio n. She was then th e elde st ch
th in g th e pa re nt s pr ov id ed w as en ou gh to
no
all
!~ed. clothe. house and ed ucate th em
op er ly. A m ar ac hi he rs e lf ha s st op pe d going to
pr
be ca us e he r pa re nt s co ul d no t en ~n feed
school
school
~er nr y we ll, not to talk of pa yi ng her
<;. He r fa th er ha d no t be en pa id fo r the past
lee
ing
four mon th s and her m ot he r's petty-trad
-,hm\ 'i 11 _0 sign of im pr ov em ent.
·
1 ha d to re so rt to selling vegetables
he y
to rnak" 1· ·
That wa s usually., what mo 5r
4--
r

. . c a iv rn g.
po t}r peop l ~ 111
> --
· 0 sc1'c s
-h . . c da ng en e di d to feed them .
\\ t:11 faced ,·11 h .~
n,) J \.\ a 6.1 cc t h un g c r. O ne on h· • • • l
' '-'- '-U 1() Cl\t '. .
p l ~, ,
c;

·. ,1 \\. ,11< , 1k· ct d nea rb y co n1 po un d or .

bush, lllH .
~o ll 1..:c vc r , . .
l}llcl l)t 1ly ol \ cg et ah ks on e .
co u1 u t · 1. . ._ 1 · · 1Y
c:1 r\ • I\ n1 ·-1r" l11·, r P aJil -
t , ~ • . ' ac s m ot he r to ld he
. . ou ~ nc"v plnn . -ttn
ah th, :: .
rn\.;ran.: . d h O\ V th ey co uld
~
 l l '1hnll rCr a 1l d C () ll Id h
11 c ' \ ,t ,") C Cl rlS l ' . 1~
' I. '

~ I.
' • ) 1 1ed
_ , ,. ,.
() th e
'.\

Io,vcl 01 ev
th~
,

en
,

.lo
, . vvcst ii 1co
1
untH ~
~ . T'h 1·
c 1,ctty -trac 1ng o1 hi s wife A- ,
.
rnc
t!-HH1l1 _.
11ll)t\1cL was n~thmg_~o w nt. _e hom ~ n1arachi'
e about as \
J"l'g.ards t~ proh!s. This wa~ be caus
e of the small
i.:apital with which th~ busm~ss was
started and
th~ increasing cos_t of m any item s.
So poverty,
hun2 :e r and su ffering su rr ou nd ed Am
arachi and
her tan1ily like a wall .
At the tender age of twelve , Amarac
hi
had five other yo un ge r brothers an
d sisters. Her
parents gave birth to th os e childre
n in quick ·
succession. She was th en the elde
st child and
noth ing the parents pr ov id ed w as
enough to
feed, clothe, house and educate th
em all
properly . A1narachi herself has stop
ped going to
school because her parents could
not even feed -
her very well, not to talk of pa yi ng
he r school
fees . Her father had not been pa id
for the past
four months and her mother's petty
-trading
sh ows no sign of impr ovement.
They had to resort ·to sellino vege
to mal tables
oor <e a 1·1\ll·lg . That was usually0
p h people in Odangene did to
what most .
w en faced ·th b' feed themselves
needed t wi a Ject hunger. One
collc ~t ohe~ter a nearby compoun only
c w atever . d or bush and
could car A quantity of vege ,
tables one.
about th ry. 1narach'1' s 1nother
e new pl a told he r p la1n 1,,
.,
pr epar e . n, and ho w th ev could ·
,./
 . "!\ 1y dau ghll'r. ·· "' he hcgan to say
a 11 <},,·111 g a so Ic1.1111 111 o t hc r- ch i ld g1an cc to c] apse
bcil)rc she C.l)I1 t 1nucs. ·-we shall go to col1 ect
, cgctab1es ·in the evening fron1 Mama Uche's
cn111pnu nd.·~
··Where shall ,ve sell them?" -An1arachi
asked \iVith son1e childish excitement.
··we are going to sell them at Enugu/ '
replied Uzo1na , Amarachi's mother plainly. _- .~
Uzoma had an average height, a robust
physica l appeara~ce and a dark comple xion.
She was soft spoken and mild temp._ered. She
was not the kind of person who did thi_ngs in a
hurry. Uzoma was not a very industrious
woman. It would have been better if she had
been married to a ric-h man who would provide
adequately for her and her ~hildren . ·1
"Which part of Enugu shall we go to?"
Amarachi continued to ask.
''I can't tell precisely. Anywhere we
could sell our vegetables would be preferable,"
Uzoma replied her daughter. · , ·
Amarachi would be glad·if they would
go to Garriki to sell their vegetables. She liked.
Garriki for several reasons: she loved to see the
Hausa cattle-sellers off-load their cattle from
trailers and derived joy from the hustle and
bustle of people and vehicles there.
Initiallv . Amarac hi enioved the
 -~-l lcs' sdling adventure. She would ,
fe;aclti 1 •- co 11cct
~- l
the c 1J ,1 'lkiri.
O -
l lturukpa _()ra and other
- •

,·cQ.ctablcs which were growin g wild. She

. . ld rl() to· collect the vegetables every
\\ OU ·- e- ..
__. ~lini.2 with her mother. Amaracl11 would wake
e, ti -- . l h. k.
up several times at mg 1t, t m mg that the day
had dawned. There was no doubt that the
township scene always tickled her fancy.
s0111 etin1es, she would go in the company of her
age-n1ates who also enjoyed the vegetable- ·
~

selling business.
'-'

One day was very remarkable to

An1arachi. She had gone t~ sell vegetables in
the company of her three friends. ·Her mother _
did not go with her. She had gone to her ·
1nother's village which was many kilometres
avJay from Odangene on a·condolence visit.
Amarachi and her friends were lucky ·
because those who came to sell vegetables that
day were 1ew ~
and the buyers were many. So
th
ey _sold at very high prices. They were even
1nak1ng gi ~10 h
b ty r t e customers who begged and
egged to have vegetabl
Th - es.
to then ·, "e'Y resolved to keep the extra money
- 1se 1ves 1"'h b .
fried groundn~ts e~ 0~1ght some cooked and
snacks ands 0 ' ?1scu1ts, chewing gums,
drinks. on . fhey also took chilled soft
'•I wi H buy th .
e latest akpoola shoes ,N1th
 /\ n1arachi ent hused.
,,~ .\ ( )\\ n 1n t ,11cY ~--
.
·· 1,, ill use 111) ex tra 111one y to buy
"\11 ~ thing that catches my fancy
~~· Obiageli said
( hildishly. ~he ,vas the younge st of them all. _
As tin1e went on , Amarachi's interest in
selling \·egetables began to decline . This
becan1e n1ore apparent after a bitter experienc e,
\Yhich she had . The thought of vvhat had
happe ned to her always aroused a psychological
feeling of defeat within her . It had happ~ened-;on
-
a \\·eekend.
Ni gh t was fast approaching. Uzoma's
health ,vas in bad shape. A1narachi's father had
neither mo ney nor fo od to provid e for his _
family . Mo st of Am arach i's yo unger ones were
too tender and inexperienced to help the family
.
Her imme diate younger brother, Obiora, who
_-
cou ld hav e j oined her , was dis obedient and lazy.
He always complained of hunger. So she 1nust
go to sell vege tables the next day to ensure that
her family would have something to eat.
A1nar achi consulted other neighbouring
ch ildren who ha d indicated interest in going to
sell Yeg etables on that day . They left ve ry early
in the morning~ jus t before da,~in . Half\vay
int o
their journey~ a heaYy rain began to fall. The
path became slip pery, fl oo dwate r ,vas flo,ving
everv'v. \·here and it wa s not vet da\vn.
~

They clustered under a big tree. praying

 . . 1 . t ha 1 t 11 c ra in vv o u Jd st
"J kn t ) op and the day
· Id brc~lk. l3ut n one 0 1 t -
4-' -1
\ \ 0 ll 1ese h appened.
I)aY hrcak vvas no_t 111 s1. g l1 t
n d t- 11e ra in
.
, a_ .
cm~tin ucd to fa ll m heavy s.
drop s.
A ga ng o f arme d ro bb ers
sudden ly
,111 en2:ed fron1 nowh
l ....., ere . They were apparent ly
return in g from their night o .
perations. On
si2:h ting th e robbers, the ch
""" ildren froze w ith
fear.
;'Hee you, stop there or I 'I
I shoot y ou,"
bark ed one o f the robb ers .
;'All o f you lie do wn th er
e , fools! " .
Another robber co1nm anded
. Thei r v oices
sound ed li ke the rumblin gs
o f th un de r du ring a
dry- se ason rainfall . Amarac
h i and her
coll eagues laid down flat on
th eir belli es.
shakin g with fear and cold an
d expecting the
worst to come . When the ro
nd bber s came cl oser
a saw that they were little
them and went away . child ren. th ey left
"
Am ar h'1
managed to ac hand th e other children later
dawn;d and ~eac ~nugu afte
r the day had
al on g) sever lhe rams had
· a stre
stopped . They walked
mtcrcst in buyin s ut n et b
A~arachi carne t
\\'hich \Vas a slu th e en d
th
o buyer sho w ed
e vegetab les. At last ,
·1 t 11 m or •h o f on e o f the streets,
' a Woman an d th g et to . She was called
··1low rn tlc } ey be ga n to by
1 vvot1Id
bargain ..
You se ll your
, c!.:Cl ,1h l cs '!" /\ sk cd th e ta] I wonutn ,vho so 1d
l-n~)kcd rnod in an old butcher.
·· r~n na ira for one roll ,'\ , An1arachi
n:p liL'd .
--vvon't you sell it to 1ne at ten naira for
three ro lls?·· 1~he wo1nan bargained further.
··No ma." answered Amarachi.
~-How do you mean? Don't you know that
the rains are beginning to fall? Vegetables will
soon fill everywhere," continued the won1an.
"I don't know ma," Amarachi said
again innocently.
~'I can't price what I can't pay,·~the
wo1nan continued. ''Today's business is dull,
how many people do you see eating in n1y
shed?'~
Amarachi waited for few minutes before
she went in search of a better possible .buyer.
She and the other children trekked wearily
along more streets . No buyer came to buy from
the1n. The sun~which came out about one hour
after the rainfall was becoming a little fierce as
._;

noon was fast approachin g. .

They came back later to the shed of the
tall, dark woman who sold fool in a batcher with
a sagging roof. They pleaded vvith her to buy
from them. She only selected three rolls of
vegetables for ten from Amarachi's collection. ·
-~You don't even have Ora vegetables . All
 . , \ . )t l "' ·,~ c' 1r r)
l h..:~l . t O 1"" ' 1i n g abou t have a ll ,N it h e re
she said as she ,,vas d o ._ .
•
d ,' '
in g the se le c t1 o n . S h
sighed as if she w a s ju e
s t b u y in g to p le a s e th
sellers. A1narachi w a e
s th e o n ly o n e w h o
luc k\' to sell so m e o f h was
e r w a re s fo r te n n a ir
l1the r custo1ner o r b u y a . No
e r w a s in si g h t. N o n
th en1 ha_ d ta st e d a n y fo o d si n c e of
e m o rn in g . N o w,
severe h u n g e r a n d ti re
d n e ss w e re b e g in n in
tell o n th e m . T h e y h a d g to
n o o th e r o p ti o n th a n
throw:·ttie re m a in ir ig-· w it to
h e re d v e g e ta b le s a w
in a du-stbin. In d e e d , it ay
was a bad d a y for th e
m.