Royal Roots and Earned Honour
“I didn’t pay anything for this honour,” Elder Mrs. Charity Charity Achinivu says firmly. “I was given the recognition because of my performance and contributions.” Known as Ada Ukwu Aro, she holds the rare distinction of being both a princess of Amukwa village and an elder in the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria. Her title, Ada Ukwu Aro, was bestowed in 2006 after she helped clear educational materials sent from abroad—items meant to uplift Arochukwu’s schools.
Faced with a customs duty of ₦1.9 million, she pleaded with her boss: “Since those things weren’t for sale, they were meant to support our educational system. Why not put it under NGO?” Her intervention saved the shipment, and her people responded with gratitude. “They said they were going to give me Ada Ukwu Aro. That’s how I became Ada Ukwu Aro.”
Youth Leadership and Early Philanthropy
Her love for Arochukwu began in her school days at Ovim Girls Secondary School. “We had the Arochukwu Young Girls Association,” she recalls. “When my seniors refused the position of president, they recommended me because of my knowledge of Aro traditions.”
Even as a teenager, she was organizing symposiums and redistributing leftover provisions to widows. “Milk was a luxury,” she says. “I would keep the milk. When we came home, we would go round to share it with widows and indigents.” Her generosity wasn’t performative—it was instinctive. “One woman asked us where we got all those things we shared. We told her, ‘From school. From what we had left.’”
Customs Service and Community Advocacy
Her tenure in the Nigeria Customs Service was marked by integrity and quiet rebellion against corruption. “I tried my best not to soil my file,” she says. “I was interested in the uniform.” She used her position to employ locals and support community initiatives, even as she faced internal sabotage. “Leadership tussles came up. They tried to destroy me with gossip.”
She remembers the late Eze Ibom Isii, who once supported her but later succumbed to political pressure. “He said they were going to suspend me and my colleagues. But that wasn’t what I had in mind when I was looking for Onye Isi ndi Inyom Aro.”
Agricultural Vision and Lost Opportunity
After having her last child in the Netherlands, she was inspired by their farming systems. “I invited agricultural experts from the Netherlands,” she says. “I paid for their flight tickets to Arochukwu. They met my father and Eze Ibom Isii.”
Her plan was ambitious: a shared agricultural project on disputed land between Ututu, Ihechiowa, and Arochukwu. “Picking eggs every day is money,” she told the leaders. “They have machinery for tilling, planting, harvesting. I didn’t mind buying second-hand equipment.”
But the project was derailed by bad roads and political resistance. “The persecution was too much. I was labelled all kinds of names.” When the Dutch partners asked what was delaying the project, she covered up the conflict. “I told them there were problems in the land.”
Ikeji-Aro: Tradition, Purity, and Forgiveness
“I started the roasting of yam in Ikeji,” she says with pride. “Ochi 1 came here and ate my Ọsụ roasted yam and took it to them. That’s the real iri-ji.”
For Charity, Ikeji-Aro is more than a festival—it’s a spiritual reset. “Purity is involved. The women who cook are not menstruating. You cook with a clean heart. Even if you have misunderstandings, you use Ikeji to forgive.”
She’s proud of how the festival has evolved. “The masquerades are wearing a new look. The handlers are trying. There’s nothing like being accountable.”
Women’s Leadership and Accountability
“Charity begins at home,” she says, her voice tinged with frustration. “Whatever you think you can do in the National Assembly, do it on the home front.”
She recalls her mother-in-law’s clinic for poor women—now abandoned. “I cried when I visited the place last year.” She urges women leaders to build with continuity in mind. “We should leave something in the coffers before handing over. The coffers should not be empty.”
She also highlights accessibility: “Girls who are supposed to be learning at the sewing institute don’t have transport fare. We should build in areas that are reachable.”
Business Mentorship and Economic Empowerment
After retiring, she entered the cement business and began mentoring young men. “Some of them are millionaires today,” she says, citing one young man who was struggling and lost but is now successful, happy, and married.
Her philosophy is simple: “Help people stand firm on their own.”
Reflections on EzeAro and Governance
“There’s an Eze in place, whether we accepted him or not,” she says. “We expect him to prove his mettle.” Though he wasn’t her preferred candidate, she’s willing to give credit. “He’s trying as a young man. Anybody directing him should be filled with love, not animosity.”
A Dream for Arochukwu
“I love Arochukwu,” she says with quiet conviction. “Some people do not know the level of my attachment to my hometown.”
Her dream is not one of riches, but of dignity. “We might not be rich, but we should be comfortable and able to feed our families.” Her story is a call to action—for women, leaders, and every Aro son and daughter.
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