As said earlier, I had always played Nsa Isong, Ayo ,Okwe or whichever of its numerous names you choose to call it.
Not once did I ever think of it as something worthy of analytical attention.
Then in 1998, I was posted to Uyo as Head of Zone for my office's Zonal Office there that covers Akwa Ibom,Bayelsa,Cross River and Rivers States.( I am an Artiste/Cultural Administrator and work for Nigeria's National Council for Arts and Culture-NCAC)
Soon thereafter, I got invited to the National Commission for Musuems and Monuments Annual Nsa Isong competition for that year.
I sat with someone who wanted to know if the game presented any mental challenge to be worthy of the attention the competition was giving to it.He could be excused; he is an intercontinental cross-breed.
I did not have to think up an answer. A combination of my then 3 decade experience with the game and a tinge of cultural self-defence produced an affirmative answer.
Later on, I wondered what my reaction would have been if my co-discussant had requested proof. It was in order not to be caught napping in the event of a re-enactment of this small scene in its more challenging form that I decided to sit down and explore the internal dynamics of the game.
The work proved much larger than I imagined at the beginning of the exercise but even more so is the thrill.
