16/08/2026
IJE IKWU NNE
Volume One: Tales from Anambra
Story Five
The Talking Drum of Onitsha
Chapter Two: The Message from Across the Niger
The following morning, the people of Onitsha gathered beside the River Niger.
The water moved slowly beneath the morning sun.
Fishermen stood beside their canoes.
Women carried baskets toward the market.
Children watched the elders from a distance.
But everyone was thinking about the same thing.
The warning of the talking drum.
The Ancient Agreement
The oldest elder of Onitsha was Nze Chukwuka.
He was nearly ninety years old.
His memory was like a library.
When he heard the message of the drum, he requested that the people bring him the oldest family records.
After searching through an ancient wooden chest, the elders discovered a faded piece of cloth covered with symbols.
Nze Chukwuka examined it carefully.
Then he spoke.
"Long ago, before our fathers were born..."
"There was a great disagreement between two communities."
"Both depended on the Niger."
"Both claimed the same fishing waters."
"What happened?" Chukwudi asked.
The elder answered,
"They fought."
The River War
According to the old account, fishermen from both communities began accusing one another of crossing forbidden boundaries.
One fisherman was beaten.
Then another.
Soon, families became involved.
Boats were destroyed.
Fishing nets were cut.
The disagreement became so serious that elders feared a larger war.
Finally, the leaders of both communities met beside the river.
They made a promise.
The elder pointed to the river.
"The river will belong to no single family."
"Its blessings will be shared."
"Its waters will be protected."
"And whenever greed threatens the agreement..."
"...the drum will call."
Chukwudi stared at him.
"So the drum has been warning us because the agreement has been broken?"
Nze Chukwuka nodded.
"Perhaps."
"But we must discover who broke it."
Across the River
Adaeze stepped forward.
"My father knows something."
Everyone looked at her.
"He sent me here with the box."
"Why?"
"He told me that if the drum ever called again, I must bring it to Onitsha."
"Where is your father?"
Adaeze lowered her eyes.
"He disappeared three days ago."
Silence.
Chukwudi looked at his grandfather.
"We must find him."
The elders agreed.
At dawn, Chukwudi and Adaeze crossed the Niger in a canoe.
Mazi Nwabueze warned them before they left.
"Do not go looking for enemies."
"Go looking for the truth."
Chukwudi nodded.
The Village Across the River
After several hours, they reached a riverside settlement.
The people were suspicious when they saw the canoe from Onitsha.
A fisherman shouted,
"Why are Onitsha people here?"
Adaeze stepped forward.
"We have not come to fight."
"We have come to find my father."
The fisherman frowned.
"Who is your father?"
Before she could answer, an elderly woman approached.
"Wait."
She looked closely at Adaeze.
Then gasped.
"You are Mgbemena's daughter."
Adaeze nodded.
The woman covered her mouth.
"Then trouble has finally returned."
The Missing Fishermen
The woman explained that fishermen had recently disappeared.
Their nets were being destroyed.
Someone had been secretly cutting down trees along the riverbank.
Others had been dumping waste into the water.
Both communities blamed each other.
Anger was rising again.
Chukwudi suddenly understood.
"The old agreement is being attacked from both sides."
The woman shook her head.
"No."
"Someone wants us to believe that."
The Hidden Canoe
That evening, Chukwudi and Adaeze followed a trail along the riverbank.
They found footprints.
Then another.
Then several.
The footprints led to a hidden clearing.
There they discovered six canoes.
Each carried barrels of waste.
They also found freshly cut timber.
Adaeze whispered,
"These are not fishermen."
Chukwudi nodded.
"They are traders."
Someone was secretly removing valuable resources from the river while making both communities believe the other was responsible.
Suddenly...
A branch snapped behind them.
They turned.
Three men stood in the darkness.
Their leader was Mazi Okorie, a wealthy trader known in both communities.
He smiled.
"So..."
"You have discovered our little secret."
Adaeze stepped backward.
"You!"
Okorie laughed.
"You people are too busy blaming each other to notice who is actually taking the wealth."
The Dangerous Truth
Okorie explained his plan.
If both communities became angry with one another, they would fight.
While they fought...
His men would continue taking timber and fish from the river.
"No one protects a river during a quarrel," he said.
Chukwudi looked at him with disgust.
"You are destroying the river for money."
Okorie shrugged.
"Money is what people understand."
Chukwudi replied,
"Until the money has nowhere to live."
The men seized Chukwudi and Adaeze.
They tied their hands and locked them inside an abandoned riverside hut.
The river flowed quietly outside.
For the first time, Chukwudi was afraid.
But then...
He remembered the talking drum.
He closed his eyes.
The Rhythm
Far away in Onitsha...
Mazi Nwabueze suddenly woke from sleep.
The talking drum began beating.
Dum...
He sat upright.
Dum-dum...
His heart began racing.
Then the rhythm changed.
Dum... da-dum... dum-dum...
He understood.
"The children are in danger."
He ran toward the village square.
Meanwhile, inside the hut, Chukwudi heard something.
A faint rhythm.
Not from outside.
From within his memory.
The rhythm his grandfather had taught him as a child.
He began tapping his fingers against the wooden floor.
Dum... dum-dum...
Adaeze stared at him.
"What are you doing?"
"Sending a message."
He continued.
Dum... dum-dum... dum...
Across the river...
A fisherman stopped.
He heard the rhythm.
His eyes widened.
He knew that signal.
It was an old emergency rhythm.
He immediately began beating his own drum.
Another fisherman heard it.
Then another.
Soon the rhythm traveled from compound to compound.
The River Answers
Within minutes, dozens of fishermen gathered.
They followed the sound toward the abandoned hut.
The criminals heard them approaching.
"Quick!"
"Take the boats!"
But they were too late.
The fishermen surrounded the hut.
The door was broken open.
Chukwudi and Adaeze were rescued.
Mazi Okorie and his men tried to escape by canoe.
But the river was already filled with fishermen.
There was nowhere to go.
The Two Communities Meet
The following morning, representatives from both communities gathered beside the Niger.
For the first time in many years...
They stood together.
Nze Chukwuka held up the ancient agreement.
He read the words aloud.
"The river belongs to no single family."
Then he looked at the people.
"You almost destroyed your relationship because someone wanted you to believe your neighbor was your enemy."
Everyone lowered their heads.
Mazi Nwabueze brought the talking drum.
He placed it before the elders.
"This drum did not save us."
He looked toward Chukwudi.
"The people who listened saved us."
The New Promise
The elders of both communities made a new agreement.
They promised to:
Protect the river.
Stop illegal destruction of the riverbank.
Share fishing waters fairly.
Report those who pollute the water.
Resolve disagreements through elders before they become conflicts.
Teach children the history of the ancient agreement.
Then both communities shared kolanut.
The drums began to play.
This time...
The rhythm was joyful.
Grandfather's Lesson
When Chukwudi returned to Onitsha, his grandfather embraced him.
"You heard the drum."
Chukwudi smiled.
"But I learned something."
"What?"
"The drum cannot speak if people refuse to listen."
His grandfather nodded.
"Exactly."
He placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"A message is useless when the heart is closed."
That evening, Chukwudi sat beside the Niger.
The river reflected the orange evening sky.
He thought about the ancient promise.
He understood now that the river was more than water.
It was memory.
It was livelihood.
It was a bridge between communities.
And it carried the stories of generations.
Igbo Proverbs of the Chapter
"Udo ka mma karแปa esemokwu."
Peace is better than conflict.
"A na-esi n'okwu mara onye nwere amamihe."
Wisdom is revealed through the way a person speaks.
"Onye aghana nwanne ya."
Let no one abandon their brother.
"แปtแปฅtแปฅ aka na-eme ka แปrแปฅ dแป mfe."
Many hands make work easier.
Cultural Reflection
This chapter uses the River Niger and the fictional ancient agreement as a storytelling device to explore cooperation between neighboring communities. The events, characters, and agreement are fictional. The broader message reflects a recurring theme in Igbo oral tradition: disputes are best resolved through dialogue, elders, communal responsibility, and recognition of shared interests.
End of Chapter Two
Next Chapter: "The Drum That Refused to Be Silent"
Peace returns to the river, but the talking drum continues to sound every night.
This time, its message is different.
It speaks of a forgotten child, an old family secret, and a promise made by Chukwudi's grandfather many years before.
To understand the final message, Chukwudi must discover something hidden inside Ogene-Nwa itself.
And what he finds will change the history of his family forever.
