Special Correspondent, JULIUS ALABI, writes on the issues in the recent impasse between Deji of Akure, Oba Ogunlade Aladetoyinbo, and Eze Ndigbo in Akure, Gregory Iloehika.
Following calls for restraint from different quarters, the feud between the Deji of Akure Kingdom in Ondo State, Oba Ogunlade Aladetoyinbo and Eze Ndigbo in Akure, Gregory Iloehika, may soon blow over.
But even as the initial tensed situation seems to have relaxed, with normalcy returning in Akure, the dust raised by the crisis is yet to completely die down.
TheNiche gathered that the crisis bordered on who should collect royalty from the Igbo community as they (Igbo) seem more comfortable paying to the Eze Ndigbo than Deji of Akure.
Deji had accused the Igbo in Akure of insubordination and violating the tradition of the ancient capital of Ondo.
He also alleged that the Igbo have no respect for him or the town’s culture, adding that traders often violated the town’s culture and tradition and that efforts to caution them had failed.
The Igbo in Akure had, two weeks ago, kicked against an alleged plot by the Deji-in-Council to dethrone Iloehika. They registered their protest by shutting their businesses and markets in Akure.
Deji alleges insubordination
The Akure monarch, who spoke through one of his senior chiefs, High Chief Rotimi Olusanya, Asamo of Akure land, accused Iloehika of high disregard for Akure people and the traditional ruler.
He said: “Mr. Iloehika had been invited on Sunday, October 11, 2015 as an Igbo elder to intervene in the crisis brewing among traders at Mojere Market wherein the Igbo marketers were accused to have acted in contravention of the rules guiding all occupiers of the market.
“The interim chairman of the market, Saka Aliu, had on October 9, 2015 observed that the market had been invaded by some illegal traders at the market. On further investigation, it was revealed that the said “illegal traders” were there at the invitation of Emeka Umeh, the chairman of Igbo traders at the market.
“An adhoc meeting was held by the interim chairman and Umeh, and the illegal occupiers were ordered out of the market. On Saturday, October 10, 2015, some palace chiefs at the behest of Kabiyesi ordered the removal of the illegal occupiers when they refused to vacate the market. To the dismay of the palace, the chiefs were manhandled and badly beaten by some Igbo traders.
“This was actually the background to the invitation of the ‘Eze’ who took his time to show up much later only to utter some uncomplimentary words such as ‘your people caused the problem’, ‘King Solomon had advisers, I can only advise you and if you like it you take it, and if you don’t like it you don’t take it.’ Not only that, he was busy taking calls on his cell phone while speaking with Kabiyesi. This the Akure people and Kabiyesi considered as an affront.”
Oba Aladetoyinbo added: “We shall continue to allow integration of all Nigerians, but we will not allow anyone to degrade or trample upon our tradition and institution.”
Eze Ndigbo denies allegation
Iloehika, however, denied the charge of insubordination against him, insisting that he had not been rude to the Akure monarch since he ascended the throne.
In his words, “the Deji invited me to his palace on Monday (penultimate week) and I honoured his invitation. I went with one of my chiefs, but when I got to the palace, I saw youths numbering over 200 who started shouting as I entered. I suspected that the youths were mobilised by the monarch and I showed respect to the Deji by prostrating for him.
“The monarch, while addressing me at his palace, threatened to drive all the Igbo in Akure out of the city, and when I asked for the offence my people committed, the youths at the palace descended on me. They tore my beads and removed my crown. They attempted to beat me, but the police officers at the palace rescued me,” he stated.
He added that the invitation by the monarch was the first he would receive from him since the monarch ascended the throne, pointing out that Ndigbo had been living harmoniously in Akure for over 70 years with the traditional rulers, according them respect.
Ohanaeze seeks understanding
In apparent bid to ensure peace among the feuding parties, the chairman, Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Ondo State, Okechukwu Okorie, noted that the Igbo are law-abiding and peaceful, adding that they respect their traditions and those of other ethnic groups.
He said the Igbo leaders who went to the Deji’s palace to honour his invitation were beaten up by some irate youths at the palace.
Okorie said the Deji was misinformed by some individuals on the activities of the Igbo in Akure. He, however, added that the Igbo in Ondo were against the plot to dethrone Iloehika.
Okorie stated that the Igbo in the state have resolved to live happily with other tribes in the state, stressing however that any attempt to dethrone their leader would be challenged by the people.
He noted that the Eze Ndigbo who was installed in August 2011, after a keenly contested election, has not committed any offence that could lead to his dethronement.
Okorie added that only the Igbo who elected Iloehika have the constitutional right to remove him. According to him, “Deji of Akure has no input in the emergence of the Eze Ndigbo of Ondo State, so he lacks the right to dethrone or remove him.”
He urged the monarch not to be misinformed by those he described as disgruntled elements, even as he urged him to seek clarification on any issue affecting the Igbo in his domain and the state at large.
Rising from the meeting of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Ondo held at the Igbo House along Gbogi Street in Akure metropolis, the Igbo urged the traditional ruler to jettison his plan to dethrone Iloehika.
Following high profile interventions, series of meetings and conditions, the impasse seemed to be going down by the close of last week.
The state governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, has, for example, intervened in the face-off, with a call on all non-indigenes in the state to respect the culture and tradition of host communities.
At a meeting with the Deji of Akure and Iloehika, Mimiko appealed to the Igbo living in the state to give due respect to the monarch and also respect the culture and tradition of Akure, even as he called for peaceful co-existence among all the ethnic nationalities in the state.
High Chief Olusanya had also remarked that the traditional ruler had called on all peace-loving indigenes and residents to go about their lawful duties, adding that traders were advised to open their shops and market their wares.
He however added: “We will continue to allow integration of all Nigerians, but we will not allow anyone to degrade nor trample upon our tradition and institutions.”
The Igbo in the ancient town had equally, on their own, pledged good neighbourliness with their hosts, stressing their respect to the tradition and culture of the land.
Enter ARG
Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), added a new dimension to the controversy when it alleged unrelenting desecration of Yoruba culture by the Igbo communities’ obsession with having a crowned king in Yoruba domains.
The group in a statement said the title of Eze Ndigbo in Yorubaland is not backed by any customary law and, hence, considered alien.
“The evolution of this structure has forced us to consider it as an expansionist agenda, as the structure is only rampant in Yorubaland,” said Kunle Famoriyo, its publicity secretary.
“In Akure, the ‘Eze’ believes he now has the power to invest people with chieftaincy titles that are traditional to Yoruba kingship system.
“In Lagos State, there is an Eze Ndigbo of Lagos, as well as for each of the 57 local government areas. There are reports that we now even have Eze Ndigbo of some neighbourhoods in Lagos.
“What used to be were development unions and associations of Igbo people living in Yorubaland. Almost all Igbo communities with sizeable number of indigenes living in Yorubaland have a development union or association. These associations are welcome and supported, being organisations set up to discuss the welfare of their members,” he remarked.
The group further stated that the idea of Eze Ndigbo sprouting and spreading connotes territorial influence and even ownership.
“This practice has continued to stretch the tolerant nature of Yoruba people to the limit and it appears the eventual aim of its perpetrators is to stretch this beautiful culture of Yoruba to the breaking point.
“This is something that Yoruba people living away from Yorubaland do not even think of, and we therefore see no reason why migrants living in Yorubaland should not know their boundaries.
“Consequently, ARG calls on all Yoruba traditional rulers and the executive heads of government at state and local levels to de-recognise all customary titles that are not backed by our customs, particularly those that they did not confer, and we enjoin those parading themselves as holders of such titles to drop them in the spirit of peaceful coexistence.
“It is globally accepted that there cannot be two kings in the same domain, as there cannot be two captains in the same boat,” Famoriyo said.
Nigerians react
Concerned Nigerians have, however, faulted some excerpts of the release by ARG, especially those that intended to denigrate the Igbo in Akure. Kaduna lawyer, Otubo Johnson, for instance, argued that it is wrong and smacks of ethnic hate for any Nigerian to view or actually describe another citizen as a migrant.
“This is insulting to whoever it is intended. If we are really one as we claim, there should be no basis to describe another person in such derogatory term. These are Nigerians who live and work in their areas of choice. They also add value to their places of residence. Dismissing them as migrants due to an issue that arose out of mere communication breakdown is simply taking the matter out of context. This is one of the expressions we must not employ in dealing with our fellow citizens if we must live as brothers and sisters,” he stated.
An Akure resident who pleaded anonymity also urged those advocating dethronement of Iloehika to tread with caution, reminding them that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) guarantees freedom of association to Nigerians.
“I am not from the (South) East. I quite frankly do not know the origin and evolution of the Eze Ndigbo title. But if some people choose to organise themselves into a group and elect one among them to lead them, whatever title they choose for such a person should not matter to any person as long as they do not constitute a threat to anybody or any legitimate authority. This is why I urge that we handle the issue in Akure carefully before it snowballs into inter-ethnic crisis,” he said.
