•Says anybody who wants kingdom should go home and become king
From Magnus Eze, Enugu
President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Ifeanyichukwu Obasi Nweze, recently declared that anybody parading himself as Eze Igbo outside Igbo land is an impostor.
According to him, it is an aberration for Igbo persons to assume kingship in foreign lands, hence his administration is poised to implement Ohanaeze’s abolition of Eze Ndigbo titles in the Diaspora.
The issue of Eze Igbo titles outside Igboland has for over a decade continued to cause friction between the Igbo and their host communities in parts of the country, especially in the South West.
The FCT chapter of Ohanaeze Ndigbo has called on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to ban the activities of Eze-Igbo in Abuja.
President of Ohanaeze in FCT, Nweze, in a letter dated September 21, 2023, urged the minister to act swiftly by restraining those parading as Eze Igbo in his territory.
Nweze said that the FCT is not Igboland and, therefore, cannot have Eze Igbo stool. He said anyone, who wants to become Eze Igbo should return to Igbo land.
Nweze said: “Following the sack of Uche Egenti, Ibe Nwosu and others by the General Assembly of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Abuja Chapter, for allegedly causing crisis in the FCT, and subsequent communication of the same to the minister, we wish to say that Egenti and his cohorts employed one FCK Obike (former executive committee member ostracised with them) to author a phantom impeachment against our president.
“The Ohanaeze Ndigbo FCT General Assembly, through the executive committee, reiterates that Abuja is not Igboland; therefore, there is no Eze-Igbo in the FCT. People seeking to be Eze/kings should go back to their home states in the South East and follow the guiding laws in respect of chieftaincy. Ndigbo cannot build kingdoms within the traditional leaderships of their host communities, thereby creating confusion, unwarranted rivalry and crises in the FCT.”
He called on unsuspecting members of the public to beware of their activities, describing Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Abuja, as a responsible organisation that would not, under this regime, seek fund from the general public.
Those parading themselves as Eze-Igbo, he further alleged, gathered Igbo people, especially the unemployed and underemployed, for which they approach authorities for patronage, receive money and other benefits for their personal use or for use to further enslave the unsuspecting vulnerable people.
He added: “They have lieutenants, whom they also address as Ezes; some of whom are not employed at all and/or are not even known at all by members of their extended families, not to talk of their communities in the South East. They have employed this purported traditional leadership of Ndigbo for fraud and deceit to the detriment of the FCT society at large.”
Nweze said that apart from the flagrant proliferation and desecration of the title, such titles have ridiculed the Igbo before its ethnic neighbours and tended to lend credence to the false allegation that the Igbo are domineering against their Nigeria neighbours.
According to Nweze, who spoke to us during the 2023 Igbo Day celebration titled, “Igbo kunie,” at the Michael Okpara Square, Enugu, last Friday, “Eze means king and you cannot have another kingdom within an existing kingdom. That is how we engender unwarranted strife outside Igboland. I and the executive council members in the FCT have disbanded anything called Eze Ndigbo in FCT. We’ve written to the FCT minister not to accord any recognition to anybody that says he is Eze in the FCT. You cannot be Eze Ndigbo in another man’s town. Already, there is jealousy and people look at us as those who want to dominate and you now come to show that you want to dominate.
“Most of such people are only looking for government patronage. So, they bear those names even without any law backing them. When one of such Eze died sometime in recent past, the people that went to his village to bury him found out that he did not have a house in his village and this was one of the people called Eze Ndigbo but he didn’t have a house in his native community.”
In November 2021, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo FCT chapter barred its president and other executive members from accepting government appointments or executing contracts. Daily Sun gathered that the essence was to ensure that they remained focused to serve the interest of the people who elected them to lead them.
Nweze further said: “The lecture delivered by the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, Most Rev Prof. Godfrey Onah was incisive. He said you can’t go to Sokoto to say you’re Ezeigbo in Sokoto and he agitated our minds. It’s a pity that today we’re talking about insecurity, sit-at-home, and brother killing his brother which is an abomination in Igboland. Ndigbo have a name, Ositadinma, if it starts to be well from today, it’s still early.”
He disclosed that the national secretariat of Ohanaeze Ndigbo has resolved to address the rebellion in the FCT chapter of group. He said that the President General, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, at Igbo Day celebration promised to come to Abuja to hear all sides of the Ohanaeze members in the FCT.
Our findings showed that Nweze has actually stirred the hornet’s nest as the other group are poised for war.
In a statement dated September 25, the group allegedly impeached Nweze and announced the vice president (Abia State), Henry Ugbaja, as acting President. According to them, they relied on the dictates of article 9 (B) (1-4) of the Bye-laws of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, FCT Chapter as amended 2019.
In furtherance of articles 8 (B) (1-2) and 23 (a) of the Byelaws of Ohanaeze Ndigbo FCT as amended 2019), the group said: “That the General Assembly of Ohanaeze Ndigbo FCT, was convened on an emergency meeting, in line with article 17 (4) of the Byelaws of Ohanaeze Ndigbo FCT as amended 2019, on Wednesday, 20th September, 2023.
“That at the meeting, the recent unwholesome activities of Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Obasi Nweze were reviewed after he failed to submit himself for a session with the disciplinary committee set up to look into his misdemeanors in line with article 16 (a) of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo FCT Byelaws as amended 2019.
“The following grounds were given as reasons for the removal from office of Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Obasi Nweze as the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, FCT Chapter.
“That Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Obasi Nweze through his actions, brought shame and opprobrium to the FCT Igbo community in general and Ohanaeze Ndigbo in particular when he invited and shamelessly showcased some thugs at the General Assembly of Ohanaeze Ndigbo FCT held on Saturday, 2nd September, 2023. Thereby violating Article 16 (c) (1) (v).
“That Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Obasi Nweze in violation of article 9 (B) (6) and 16 (c) (ii) of the Byelaws of Ohanaeze Ndigbo FCT, unilaterally suspended Ezeudo Charles Ogbuke. Thereby arrogating himself with the powers of the General Assembly and bringing the Organization to discontent.”
A school of thought said the craze for title by Igbo indigenes outside their states of origin was making a mockery of the Igbo tradition and culture.
However, to ensure harmonious co-existence between Igbo in Diaspora and their host communities as well as reduce the misunderstanding relating to the use of Igbo words and culture, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, in 2016, banned Igbo people from acting as traditional rulers outside Igboland.
Guidelines issued by the Ohanaeze Committee raised to investigate and provide guidelines for the installation of the Igbo cultural leaders outside Igboland had said that they can function as cultural leaders but on no account should they use ‘His Royal Majesty, HRM, His Royal Highness, HRH or such other traditional rulers’ appellations.
Chaired by Chief Guy Ikokwu with Chief John Uche as secretary, the committee, which was raised in May 2015, presented the new guidelines at a meeting held in Lagos on February 22 and 23, 2016.
The meeting, attended by various cultural leaders from Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, Akwa Ibom, Republic of Benin and Ghana was presided over by the then President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Enwo Igariwey.
A joint statement by Ikokwu and Uche on the decisions at the meeting had said that “No Igbo Cultural Leader in any local government area, State or community should be referred to as traditional ruler and none of them should as a prefix to their names use the words His Royal Majesty, His Royal Highness, or such other traditional ruler appellations. But any Ndi Igbo cultural leader anywhere in Diaspora can be made traditional ruler by the Government Traditional Council at the state or country in keeping with their custom and tradition with prior endorsement of the apex Ohanaeze body.”
Before this period, Igbo General Assembly, Oyo state chapter, had endorsed the ban on the usage of ‘Eze Ndigbo’ title by Igbo residing in non-Igbo states across the country.
Then President-General of Igbo General Assembly in the state, Chief Emeka Enwereonye, had declared that the decision was “in compliance with the directives of the South East Council of Traditional Rulers and Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide that Onyendu is the only approved title for traditional Igbo leaders outside Igboland.”
“Eze,” he said “remains the exclusive royal title of kings in autonomous communities and kingdoms in Igboland,” and that a signed document from the South East Council of Traditional Rulers, dated February 20, 2008, contained the resolution banning, with immediate effect, the use of the title ‘Eze Ndigbo’ by Igbo residing in non-Igbo states.
Enwereonye further said: “We believe that total compliance with this directive by the traditional leaders of Ndigbo outside Igboland will save us a lot of embarrassment and at times conflicts in various locations where we reside outside Igboland.”
The Igbo Assembly then asked the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Samuel Odugade Odulana “to put his feet down on the matter and say you can’t be a king within my kingdom.”
