Just last week reports had it that the Monarch of the current Awka Kingdom Ezu – Uzu Awka Obi Gibson Nwosu had been dethroned by some kingmakers and in his place, Ozo Obuora Essell, was installed as the Regent of the community.
In these interviews with Special Correspondent, OKEY MADUFORO the two gladiators bared their minds on the issues at stake.
History of Awka traditional institution
Until 67 to 70 years ago, Awka never had somebody addressed as a Traditional Ruler. What Awka had as its highest ruling body was a conclave of Ndi Ozo title holders. It was the then government of old Eastern Region that insisted that every community in Igbo land must have a Chief to run the affairs of the community.
As at then, we had the Eastern House of Chiefs in Enugu and government had all the Chiefs seated at that House.
In Awka then, the Ozo title holders took decisions and rulings in any matter while the Otochalu – Awka, (the oldest Awka man) did the endorsement on what Ndi Ozo had done. The Otochukwu Awka is even above the Ozo Uzu.
Later Awka people agreed to have a Chief and the first traditional Ruler of Awka was Ichie Nnebe.
But Ichie Nnebe’s reign was full of trouble because the Ozo title men did not accept him and they did not recognize his leadership. The Ozo people felt that by Nnebe’s position, their powers in the town had been taken away from them. So they continued to fight Nnebe until the man died.
Now, going by what we call the two quarters of Awka town, comprising the Ifite Awka and Ezi Awka that is North and South, it was the turn of the other quarter to produce a traditional ruler.
That led to the emergence of the Eze Uzu 1, who was a member of Ozo title holder, Eze Uzu Alfred Ndigwe. He faced the same circumstances as the late Nnebe. Ndi Ozo continued to fight him. In fact, they even threw stones at him and embarrassed him publicly. He died less than ten years on the throne.
While Ndigwe was on the throne, I was the President General of Awka Town. By then, I had returned from exile and was the then General Manager of Anambra state Environmental Agency.
Alfred Ndigwe made me a member of his cabinet. At his death, I became the Traditional Ruler as Ezu Uzu II of Awka. At the beginning, it was not easy. In fact, it has never been easy. Some Ozo title holders continued to fight against the throne. The Ozo title men are members of the kingmakers that made me traditional ruler. Their leaders have continued to create the same problem despite all that had been done to calm them.
The trouble continued since the time of Ibe Chinwuba as leader of Ozo people, Maduebo and even Onejeme.
Today we have Ozo Obiora Essell as head of Ozo people and he is the one that is spearheading the trouble now. This man has no formal education and has no visible means of livelihood.
Allegations of gross misconduct
That was three years ago when Ozo Obiora Essel accused me of granting an interview to Fidei Newspaper here in Awka about the dust-to-dust rite of a widow throwing sand into the grave of her late husband during funeral ceremony and they said it was an abomination for me to support the widow. I told them that we respect authorities. We have government, we have religion. I am a Roman Catholic and I have already made it clear that if I die my wife is at liberty to throw sand into my grave. I have informed the Zambian Embassy in Nigeria and to my wife’s parents in Zambia. I am not forcing any widow to throw sand. They did not like what I said. I know that Awka has a constitution but it did not make it mandatory that a widow cannot throw sand into the grave of her husband.
I tried to ask some three most senior Ozo title holders the situation and they said it had been there a long time ago. One of them told me that if a widow does that, she would be using the sand to cover the eyes of her late husband from seeing those that would take over his position while he is dead. And you wonder what a dead man can do at that circumstance.
Then we had this issue of the tenure of the current President General of Awka, Tony Okechukwu. They asked me to announce that the man’s tenure had expired. He wrote me a letter. I also wrote to the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters. But the government told us to hold on, till after the general elections, explaining that there were about six communities facing similar circumstances.
After the general elections, the state government asked us to choose a date and we said in three months’ time. Soon, one Amaobi Nwafor went to court to challenge the planned election and the court entered judgment in their favour, even when I knew that the judgement was flawed. The Tony Okechukwu group went for an appeal. The matter is still pending when the same group led by E.C.G Okechukwu went and conducted a Kangaroo election purporting to have elected a President General.
As it stands now, there is a ruling that the status quo remains and until a valid election is conducted, Tony Okechukwu remains the President General of Awka, recognized by the state government
Reconstitution of King Makers
The kingmakers were neither dissolved nor sacked. What Okechukwu did was to replace the dead members with new ones from their respective villages. It is not the duty of the Traditional Ruler to do so and he never did that. We have 33 villages in Awka with each being a member of the kingmakers.
In my reply to this allegation, Ozo James Eze who is the chairman Awka Council of kingmakers and the Secretary Chris Oyeude, had made it clear.
I want it to be on record that I did not form any splinter council of kingmakers and I did not form any splinter Ozo institution. I am also an Ozo title holder. You cannot be Eze Uzu without first of all being an Ozo title man.
Again, I never violated the property right of any Awka indigene and I never had anything to do with government funds as they are alleging.
It should be on record that the major issue now is the crisis between the Christians – that is Roman Catholic Church and secret society members in high places masquerading as defendants of tradition over dust-to-dust rites.
These people have held the Ozo Awka society in bondage and now use it to terrorize anyone who disagrees with them, including members of the Ozo Awka society who happen to be practicing Catholics. It is this high handed, unreasonable and overbearing attitude that has pushed some Ozo Awka society members at the receiving end of this budding dictatorship into founding of a new Ozo Ibve Awka society.
At my status and experience in life I cannot condescend so low as to go about in government offices begging for money or contracts.
I am the Deputy Chairman Anambra Council of Traditional Rulers. I am Deputy Chairman South East Council of Traditional Rulers Nigeria. I put the Zambian Civil Aviation into perspective. I was Commander of the Biafran Air Force. That was why people like Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia supported Chyukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu during the civil war.
When Olusegun Obasanjo was Military Head of State, he visited Zambia and l was the Principal of the Aviation Academy. When I came home he made me the Chancellor of Usman Dan Fodio University, a position I occupied till 2015. By April 26th this year, I clocked 80 years. So when these people make allegations that are unfounded, I find it difficult to begin to bandy words with them.
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