Vangegh Begha is our last featured writer for June 19th. This is part of the interviews series for The Green We Left Behind book project sponsored by the French embasssy in Nigeria, Cookingpot Books and the French Institute, Abuja. Instead of an interview an excerpt of his story entitled, Once Upon a River is shared:
Once upon a Great River by Vangegh Begha
It took me a few moments to process my thoughts. I just stood there looking. The water was right before me, but I stared as far as I could. As if I expected what was in front of me to stretch as far as my eyes. I was disappointed. I was angry. I was confused. And then after looking at the other faces around me, I just felt numb. I got off the car expecting to look upon the majesty of the River Benue. I could only see the river. The last time I visited my village, we were unable to make time to visit the Benue River. I resolved not to make the same mistake. I didn’t. But whatever grandeur I had imagined did not know I was coming. I was underwhelmed.
Whenever a map of Africa’s geography is shown, the great rivers on the continent are aptly drawn from source to estuary. The Nile, the Congo, the Niger, the Benue. We have been told that these bodies of water played such huge roles in our ancient civilizations that they were personified as gods and goddesses. Stories were written about their flow during the harmattan, and their rage during the rainy season. For the Tiv people, the River Benue was our mythical figure. There is a story about how the travelling progenitors of the Tiv race fleeing from enemy attack, had to spend weeks on the bank of the Benue offering tributes to it to allow them passage to the other side. So large and frightening was the sight of the channel, that many dared not go near it. The river was called the great snake that roared like a lion because of its length and the power of its current. Those stories could only be written then, not now.
“Move! Move out of the way!!” My cousin yelled at a few children who were carried away by their game of football and so didn’t see the coming herd of cows.
“Fulani…” my uncle said, answering the question I had in my mind. “They bring their cows here for water.”
“But people swim and bathe here,” I said, not satisfied with his answer.
“Ahh. Before they didn’t come this far. But the river is not as it used to be. The water doesn’t reach their settlement anymore. So they have to come down this way for their herds to drink.”
We both stopped there. I didn’t ask more, and he didn’t say more. We all just watched.
Biography
Vangegh Begha is an Author, Writer and Creator. His writing career kicked off in 2012 with his first self-published novel ‘Roles in a Script’. Since then, he has completed ‘The Nigerian Dream: The Ice Prince story’ which is a pseudo-biography and a three-part poetry series “As Told by the Nightfire.” Born in Ibadan, Nigeria, he is Tiv and hails from Benue State. His education includes a Law Degree from the University of Lagos. He completed the Nigerian Law School and was called to the Nigerian Bar. As a creator, Vangegh Begha focuses on the themes of spirituality, African history and culture. He is currently the founder and manager of NoneHouse, a content-creation and publishing company based in Nigeria.
