“Chi ahụ ji aka na abuọ mere m ihe ọma” – The Trending Igbo Song Revisited

By Dr jarlat Uche opara

For some time now, this Igbo song has travelled far and wide, sitting easily on the lips of both Igbo speakers and non-Igbo alike. Its rhythm is captivating, its melody uplifting, and its wording—at least poetically—quite appealing. Yet, beneath its beauty lies a subtle theological imbalance.

While the lyrics are artistically valid, they fall short of the clarity demanded by Christian theology and by Igbo religious thought shaped by Christianity.

In Christian understanding, God is not imagined as having multiple physical hands with which He distributes blessings. Therefore, the line “Chi ahụ jị aka na abụọ mere m ihe ọma”—literally, “God used two hands to do something good for me”—is poetic but not theologically precise. It applies to God what is proper only to humans.

A more accurate rendering, one that maintains the poetic tone while honoring theological truth, is:

“Chi ahụ lechere m anya mere m ihe ọma; aga m eji aka na abụọ nye Ya ekele.”
“The God who looked upon me with favor and did me good; I will lift my two hands in gratitude to Him.”

Here lies the proper balance: God does not “give with two hands.” In our culture, offering something with both hands signifies deference, humility, and reverence—gestures appropriate to humans, not to the Almighty. God, as King, Alpha, and Omega, neither stretches out two hands in giving nor bows in presentation. He looks with mercy, attends to our needs, grants what we request—or, in His wisdom, supplies what we didn’t even know to ask for.

It is we, human beings, who respond with both hands: in gratitude, in honor, and in acknowledgement of divine benevolence.

So the next time you raise your voice to sing this beautiful refrain, let it carry the weight of sound theology and rich cultural meaning:

“Chi ahụ lechere m anya merem ihe ọma; agam eji aka na abụọ nye Ya ekele.”

The poetry remains. The rhythm remains. But now, the theology stands firm.

It is great song. So soul lifting. The energy it brings with very engaging. Stiring emotions, bringing in concrete terms the benevolence of God in ones affairs even when one doesn’t deserve such.

When one listens or sings such songs with the energy and heat generated by the commensurate clapping, dance and vibration, the prophylactic effects it brings to bear are both fulfilling and restoring.

Jarlathuche@gmail.com