Pericoma Okoye was a singer, songwriter and traditionist. He was predominantly known throughout Igboland for his style of music and strong belief and practice of the traditional religion of the Igbo people, named Obeah.
His title was ‘Arusi Makaja’ he allegedly performed several feats which defied several rules of physics. A good percentage of the people from Arondizuogu, his community, saw him as a little god. Several displays of “supernatural powers” or “sorcery” as it was often tagged, and back-to-back victories in contests, earned him the alias “Lion of Africa” He featured in a movie titled Lion Of Africa alongside Nollywood Legend, Pete Edochie. The movie, which was in two parts, was a biography of his early life. He is the father of internet personality and musician Speed Darlington.On one faithful day on his way to Onitsha, he was waylaid by tax collectors at the then notorious Upper Iweka. These tax collectors, not knowing who he was, demanded for his tax receipts, but he ignored them.
One of the thugs lifted him up, placed him on his shoulders, and carried him to their office. He did not utter a word nor complained. On the way, he suddenly became too heavy such that the guys who carried him wanted to put him down, but he could not. For several hours they begged him to come down but he refused, and insisted that the gods must be appeased for him to come down. He made several requests which included certain amount of money. His requests were all provided and he majestically came down from the guy’s shoulder after several hours. This brought about the popular saying “Pericoma na anyị ajọ alo” That incident was said to have put an end to the menace of illegal tax collectors at Upper Iweka. He was prime minister of the Arondizogu community in Imo state until his death in 2017.May he continue to rest in Power ✊
