This is the story of the Oka people, the fathers that begat us. It is the story of the Oka people as they were the British came into their lives and seized control of their country and their destiny, and later merged their city –state with the great body politic known as Nigeria. Okalost her independence then, and ceased to be a free self-governing nation. The Oka people, before A.D. 1905 (when the British came), were a great people, resourceful, inventive and courageous. They were a race of specialists, working in iron, copper, brass and bronze; skilled in the carving of the wooden implements and ornaments; in farming; in the practice of medicine; and in the pursuit of wisdom. They did not belong to any known clan in Igboland, neither had they any known relatives. They referred to themselves simply as “Ebe Anyi” – our stock. This is their story, based onoral tradition. I have set down the story asit was told to me. The change in thespelling of the name from “Oka” to “Awka” was made by the British Colonial Office in 1908. According to the researches of Dr. Nwibe Onejeme, Barrister-at-Law, of Umuokpu Village, the change of spelling was made by the Colonial Secretary, Mr. F.S. James, in 1908, through Government Notice No. 729, published in the Southern Nigerian Gazette of1908, No. 42, Volume 3 at page 8511. Oka people have a languageof their own, which is variation, or dialect, of the Igbo tongue. One outstandingpeculiarity of that Oka language is a sound not found in other Igbo dialects. It is a sound that is made of slightly parting the lips and blowing out air to make a sound that is between “v” and “b”, but without actuallypronouncing “v” as “v” or “b” as “b”. This peculiar sound is also found among the Bini, and in the Benin alphabet it is written as “vb”, as in the name “Egharevb”. I have adopted these letters of the Benin alphabet, “vb” for this Oka sound. The “vb” in Oka dialect would be pronounced as “f” in Onitsha dialect, or as “h” in Owerri dialect. For example, where the Oka manwould say: “Ivbe nkee ivbe kwe!” (This is extraordinary!) The Onitsha man would say: “Ife nka ife kwa!” And the owerri man would say “Ihe nka ihe kwa. So, in many cases, where other Igbos use the letter “f” Oka use “vb”. Other examples: “efe (chance) is “evbe” in Oka “fe ta” (come over) is “evbete” in Oka “Afamefuna” (a name) is “Avbamevbune” in Oka. And the exclamation, “Unu afukwa nu” (you see my trouble?! Is in Oka language “ivbilivbivbi!!” off course, Oka people use “f” in some words, such as “fuo” go, “futa” come out, “fuli ya” take it from him by force. Another peculiarity of Oka language is that Oka people do not pronounce the final vowel sounds “i” and “u”, like other Igbos, where they occur. For example, in other dialects the word “malu” (know), “ralu” or “rali” (choose) are pronounced as written, but the Okas drop the “u” and “i” and pronounce the words as “mal”; “ral”. These peculiar Oka spellingsand manner of pronunciation of words will be used throughout this book. Up to 1905 Oka town was a sovereign nation-state, self-contained, self-sufficient and prosperous, with a well defined territory. By their system of government the Oka people were the freest people in the world. They were republicans. No one man ruled over them (Oka enwere eze). In their society they regarded each other asequals. They were ruled by their laws, in the making of which every citizen participated. They managed their affairs in the democratic assembly of the whole people, called “Izu Oka”, to which every citizen had the right to attend. The womenfolk had their own assemblies. The nearest thing to kings that the Oka people had wasthe Society of ozo title-holders. The members of thisSociety had traditional functions in Oka, and had a part in the management of the affairs of the town. Theydeclared wars and made peace, on behalf of the town;and they settled disputes. But they rules no one. They were just “primus inter pares” –first among equals. When the British came, they wanted to make Onwurah Uzoku the paramount Chief of all Oka. But Onwurah declined saying that anyone who allowed himself to be made king of Oka would be struck dead by the gods of Oka instantly!. The government of Oka could be likened t that of ancient Athens, in the heyday of Athenian greatness; or such other Greek city states as Miletus and Corinth. But whereas theexecutive organs of Izu Okawere the Age-Grades (Age-Grade being a groupingof people born within three years of one another, counting upwards). The Greeks were said to be the inventors of democratic government, fur from whom did the Oka people learn their own? The answer is from no one. They developed their form of government themselves. Our story concerns Oka when she was truly a nation-state, when she was independent and free, and when she had, by her own initiative and enterprise, created customs, her own system of government, her own religion and view of life,her unique social and political organizations.