In this interview with STEPHEN UKANDU,
one of the oldest traditional rulers in Igbo land, His Royal Majesty,
Eze Isaac Ikonne, the Enyi 1 of Aba, Abia State, shares his 45 years
experience on the throne
When you were much younger, did it ever occur to you that you would one day become a traditional ruler?
Not at all. I wasn’t born a king.
Although my father was the first chief in my community, there was
nothing to suggest that one day I would be on the throne.
How then did it happen?
One day, the 19 villages that made up
the entire community of Aba and Ohazu had a meeting and a letter was
brought from government demanding that Aba and Ohazu should have a
paramount leader or Eze (king). So, I was chosen as the traditional
ruler. I was presented with the staff of office in 1975 and I have been
on the throne for 45 years. I was the first traditional ruler in charge
of the entire Aba and Ohazu before other autonomous communities were
later carved out.
How do you see the creation
of autonomous communities? Do you think it is a welcome development or a
ploy by government to whittle down the powers and influence of
traditional rulers considered too powerful?
Creation of autonomous communities is
not a good development at all. This is because it has led to the
bastardisation of the revered kingship stool. By so doing, both the
qualified and the unqualified are made to become royal fathers. This
gives room for the abuse of the office. Now charlatans are made
traditional rulers. In those days when we were still in the old Imo
State, only few of us were traditional rulers, we were relating well
with the governor, offering advice to him unlike now. Hardly would the
governor take any action then or initiate a policy without seeking our
advice. We were acting as advisers to the governor on how to govern the
state, but now only fraudulent traditional rulers have access to the
governor. And such sycophants cannot tell the truth to the governor nor
covey to him the feelings of the people.
What were you engaged in before becaming a traditional ruler?
I was involved in all sorts of manual
labour. If I give you the history of my life, you will not believe it. I
was a job man, actively involved in cutting of palm fruits. I was deep
into farming. I suffered so much before becoming a traditional ruler. I
was also into trading.
But did you disengage from farming after ascending the throne?
When I was presented with the staff of office, I stopped trading.
It has been observed with interest that most traditional rulers are polygamous. What do you think is the reason for this?
The reason is farming. Any traditional
ruler that has many wives married them because of farming activities so
that they may help them in their farms. Another reason could be if the
royal father is from a family that does not have many children.
But now that farming no longer thrives especially among royal fathers, some of them still marry many wives. Why?
No. We are still farming. I am still a
big farmer. I have palm plantations and large cassava farms as well as
other crops. One of my wives just returned from the farm.
How many wives do you have?
I had 14 wives before now. I later divorced two, and two died. Now I have 10 wives left.
How are you able to control 10 women when some men find it difficult to manage only one?
It is God that controls, not me.
How do you cope with fending for 10 wives with a lot of children?
I have 65 children. One is dead and 64
are alive. I have over 70 grand children and eight great grand children.
Every farmer has no qualms feeding the family. I am a farmer of note. I
have also invested in the education of my children. I have 18 graduates
among them.
Only a few traditional
rulers could forsake idol worship and embrace another religion other
than traditional religion. But you happen to be a committed member of
the Brotherhood of Cross and Stars. Why?
I discovered that serving God is the
best for any man. Worshiping God is far better than serving the devil. I
was into 14 secret societies beforea I decided to serve the true God.
When I discovered that cultism is vanity, I ran to God and now, I rarely
fall sick unlike before when I was into idolatry. When I was a cultist,
I used to fall sick like a chicken but now, there is a great change.
How would you advise other traditional rulers in this regard?
Any traditional ruler who fails to embrace God can never succeed.
What do you think is responsible for the seeming cat-and-dog relationship between you and the state government?
I don’t think I have any problem with
the state government. It is propagandists and blackmailers that
blackmail me before the governor. Those behind this are greedy
traditional rulers. They gossip about me before the governor. I have
nothing against the governor and we relate well even till tomorrow. If
anyone thinks we are quarrelling, the person is a liar. These same
agents of propaganda are speculating that I did not support the
candidacy of the Governor-elect, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu . But that is a lie
because a traditional ruler is not supposed to be a partisan politician.
I have many children and all of them voted for Ikpeazu and that means I
voted for him. My family contributed to his victory.
But sometimes, you criticise the state government. What are the reasons for your annoyance with government?
Yes, there was a time Ariaria traders
set my house ablaze. It was these same propagandists that told lies
against me and painted me as evil before the public. The road that led
to the market was flooded and they alleged that it was as a result of
the church I built in front of my house. They said the church was the
secret of my wealth. This happened in 1997. They attacked me, burnt my
house and wanted to kill me. I was upstairs firing guns until I
exhausted my bullet, then they surrounded me and asked me to say my last
prayer. After saying my last prayer, what they saw was an old woman
standing before them. How it happened is what I do not know. When they
gave me a machete cut, they saw it was an old woman they had given a
cut.
How do you mean? Are you saying you turned into an old woman?
I don’t know how God did it. It was then I discovered that God can cause his child to disappear so as to escape from danger.
So, you are saying God turned you into an old woman ? It must be a mystery!
Yes. God did it.
What again do you think causes occasional frictions between you and government?
If government fails to repair roads, I
boldly criticise it for negligence of duty. I am one of those who
facilitated the creation of Abia State. I am one of the trustees who
signed for the creation of the state, and I signed on behalf of the
entire Aba division. So, I cannot seal my lips when things are going the
wrong way. I must talk.
As a founding father of the state, how would you assess the out- going administration of Gov. Theodore Orji?
The governor has tried his best but
saboteurs made him not to realise himself on time. He surrounded himself
with selfish advisers and sycophants who never offered him good advice.
When I was the Chairman of Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers, I
was offering useful advice to the then governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, and
he made good use of my advice.
But now do you still volunteer any advice to the incumbent?
We don’t have competent chairman of
Traditional Rulers Council anymore. There is no traditional ruler around
the governor that can give him useful advice.
Shortly before the 2015
elections, you conferred on the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari
(retd.) a chieftaincy title that generated much controversy in the
state. The traditional rulers council disowned you and a lot of people
criticised you for the action. How do you feel now that Buhari would
soon be sworn in as President of Nigeria?
I feel vindicated. I feel happy because
Aba will now be rebuilt. Buhari assured me when he visited my palace
that if he won, he would rebuild Aba. I also thank God for giving us
Okezie Ikpeazu as governor who understands that Aba is suffering. Aba
used to be the Japan of Africa with a lot of industries. Buhari assured
me he would restore Aba, and I am confident he would keep to his words.
The first time Buhari took a shot at the presidency even though as a
military head of state, we saw sincerity in him. Even though he did not
last long, he was able to make some remarkable impacts. That is why I
believe that if he is given another chance as a civilian president, he
will do better.
Did you have any personal relationship with Buhari before now?
No. Not at all. It was God that told me to have faith in Buhari.
What do you think will be
the fate of those traditional rulers who criticised you then for
honouring Buhari with the chieftaincy title of “Ogbuagu 1” ( killer of
tiger) of Aba?
They are fraudsters masquerading as
traditional rulers. They even said I had no powers to speak for the
entire Aba, and that I am a stranger in my community. But there is a
question I will ask them when the chips are down. I am in court with
some of those traditional rulers but I will use them as an example to
prove to them that it is I is the custodian of the Offor (tradition) of
Osusu land. I have the ahiajioku and the ogu of the land as the elder of
the land. This is my 86 years of existence. I am not a kid.
Do you think Buhari should appreciate you for accepting him when almost everybody rejected him?
Yes! He has already bought clothes and
sent to me. He said I should wear them and attend his inauguration on
May 29 and I will attend. I will not attend with other traditional
rulers. I can only go with them on the day they will go for a courtesy
visit to Buhari. But during his swearing in, the environment would be so
rowdy that they may not be recognised.
During the courtesy visit,
what key requests germane to Abia State and Ndigbo in general would you
be presenting to your friend, Buhari?
God knows I will remind him of the
promises he made in my palace. He said he would rebuild Aba at least to
reciprocate my hospitality to him. I trust Buhari. He is a straight
forward man. I will ask him not to exclude Ndigbo in his government but
accord us whatever that is due to us in the country because Ndigbo is
one of the tripods of Nigeria. Though our people didn’t vote massively
for him, he should know that politics is different from governance and I
have no doubt in me that Buhari will not maltreat Ndigbo.
What challenges do you think traditional rulers face?
Propaganda among ourselves is our major challenge. Some of us engage in gossip and backstabbing.
Are you satisfied with the remuneration of traditional rulers in Abia State?
That is how Abia government wants it
because there is no other state in Nigeria that has over 700 traditional
rulers except in Abia. Some villages are split into three autonomous
communities. Some traditional rulers don’t have up to 10 men in their
domain.
What is your view about the monthly stipends or allowances to royal fathers?
That does not bother me at all because
any royal father worth the throne should not depend on the so-called
stipends. But I am confident Buhari will address all that and bring us at par with the Emirs and the Obas.
Are you saying you don’t receive any form of royalty or levy from Aba residents for the upkeep of your palace?
No. I don’t have time to bother my
subjects unlike other newly appointed traditional rulers who have motor
parks and markets in their domain where they collect levies. Since I
became a traditional ruler, I have never made any demands from my
subjects because I am a self-sufficient and proud farmer. I don’t need
levies to survive.
There were rumours that you
did not support the agitation for Abia Governor of Ukwa- Ngwa extraction
having endorsed one of the candidates from Abia North prior to the
election. Are you remorseful for towing that path now that your Ngwa
kinsman has eventually been elected governor?
That rumour was false. I never endorsed
any candidate. When I heard the rumour, I quickly went to radio stations
and refuted it. How could I have endorsed any candidate when
traditional rulers are not supposed to be involved in partisan politics?
Those who claim that I endorsed them were only trying to be smart
because they knew I am very influential. I never endorsed anybody but
supported all of them because they are my subjects.
How would you advise the in-coming governor, Ikpeazu?
I will advise him to beware of
sycophants. He should avoid selfish politicians who are only after their
personal pockets. He should first consider the needs of our people and I
am sure he knows the need of Ngwa people.
Are you saying he should first address the challenges of Ngwa people before attending to the needs of the entire state?
No. I am saying he knows the need of
Abia people especially road. He should also quickly address the issue of
waste because everywhere is littered with refuse. You will observe that
my subjects, the people of Osusu have converted the entrance to my
palace into refuse dump with the argument that since I am the owner of
the land, I should know what to do. Ikpeazu knows we don’t have water
and electricity. I am determined and willing to help Ikpeazu to succeed.
I will link him with Buhari to help him re-build Abia. I will not
pester him or become a parasite on him. I don’t have time for that. I
will assist him to have good relationship with Buhari. Blackmailers
wanted to stop him from coming to me but thank God, Ikpeazu later came
to see me and discovered that my children and I are strong pillars of
support to him. I also want to use this opportunity to appeal to all
those disputing his victory to please give him a chance to rule because
he is the first Abia governor of Ngwa extraction. We have never tasted
power and we should be allowed to do so now.
Source - Punch
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