Governor Amuneke

“Akanaachị Amụneke”

KevinBlak’s political parody titled “Governor Amuneke” is an interesting imitation of tacky trickery in partisan politics. The comedy came at a time when saying anything online that offends a powerful politician is deemed seditious.

A fellow Igbo wanted me to confirm that “Amuneke” meant what I knew he was thinking! If it were written as “Àmụnaeke,” it could mean that or even “laughter and python.” It sure does not mean what he crudely called, “Pr@@k is rising”!

In Igbo lingo, every consonant forms verbs with the eight Igbo vowels. Here, “m” and “ụ” with infinitive marker “ị” form “ịmụ”: to procreate. In ‘Ámụ n’Ékè,’ the ubiquitous “na” is a preposition; hence the elision of “a” before Ékè (not “éké”—a python!) Ékè is half of the formidable force of creation, i.e. Chineke.

How “ịmụ” became “ámụ” is advanced Igbo linguistics. Forget about male plumbing! The name indicates that a child was born on Eke, the first day of Igbo four-day week, a holy day. The concept of “Chi n’Eke” (which Achebe termed “God in the morning of Creation”) is believed to have triggered the formation of Milky Way galaxy: the big bang.

“Amuneke” is probably shortened from “Nwa á mụrụ n’ụbọchị Éké: a child born on Eke day. It is that simple, but not the satire of KevinBlak, aka Kevin Chinedu Arua—the master of deceitful deleting and editing of existences, the ‘gwogwogwongwom’ (deceptive dance) of political skits

Obinna Chima (ThisDay) and Abdul Muhamud (Gazettengr.com) offered riveting reviews of “Governor Amuneke” skits. KevinBlak brilliantly took the art of content creation to a level that cyber-censors never dreamed possible. It reminds me of “going to Afghanistan” during the military interregnum.

The palatable pushback parody on political absurdity and petty rascality avoids a head-on collision in containing corruption. As Ngozi Okonjo-Iwuala posited: “Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous”; it fights back ferociously.

If you think the comedy of KevinBlak is harmless humor, recall the arrest of Tega Samson Oghenedoro (a.k.a. Fejiro Oliver), a journalist, for referring to Delta Governor Sheriff Oborevwori as “Governor Amuneke”: a now nationally acclaimed euphemism for popular deceit, political 419, and executive extravagance. With new cybercrime codes, no political content creator is safe but, with well-scripted and funny skits, many shall survive the storm.

Now we know why Igbo ancestors used “njakịrị” (satire) to convey constructive criticisms without soiling the sensitivity of simple-minded souls.

@OkaMoe

10.07.2025