The emerging politics of endorsement in Anambra State has placed the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, as one of the most critical factors in the November 16 governorship election. Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, who digs into the background of the traditional ruler wonders if he can safeguard the neutrality of the ancient stool.
The Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, is, no doubt, one of the most influential traditional rulers in the South-East geo-political zone and in Nigeria in general.
In his state, Anambra, his political relevance, according to our investigations, is further punctuated not only by the awe in which the ancient throne is viewed in Onitsha and its environs but also because of the sheer population advantage the Onitsha commercial city presents.
Igwe Achebe’s influence, we learnt, also derives from the wide connections he made in the corporate, political and social circles even before he ascended the throne.
So, as the campaign for the November 16, 2013 governorship election gathers momentum, each of the leading candidates and their political parties are desperately jostling for his public endorsement and support. This, we learnt, has somehow put the traditional ruler and his council in a fix, as they allegedly dread over-politicisation of the ancient throne ahead of the governorship election.
One of the elders of Onitsha, who confirmed that top state government officials and leaders of the contending political parties are piling up pressure on the traditional council of Onitsha, said in confidence that the matter has reached a stage that the council, even the Obi himself cannot but play a part in the decision for the next governor of the state.
“Traditional elders, who as custodians of our culture and tradition and would have loved to remain neutral as fathers, are being dragged to come out in the open to endorse a political party or candidate. This is a hard knot to crack, but I can only tell you that even the Agbogidi, our father, His Majesty, is being pressured to take a stand in the public, but our gods are awake and will guide the throne,” he said guardedly.
Politics of endorsement
To confirm his political relevance in the forthcoming election, virtually all the candidates have made overtures to get Obi of Onitsha’s public endorsement.
This had been ongoing even before the final emergence of the current candidates.
The heat, we learnt, was felt more within the All Progressives Grand Alliance, where most of the heavyweights that contested during the primaries ran to the Obi of Onitsha for the traditional blessing.
By then, it was alleged that the traditional ruler held both the knife and the yam.
So, before the news filtered out that the sudden resignation of the Obi of Onitsha as the Chairman of the Anambra State Council of Traditional Rulers was as a result of alleged disagreement between him and Governor Peter Obi over the choice of the governorship candidate of APGA, the Obi of Onitsha’s council had laboured hard to disprove allegations of direct involvement in the politics of 2013 governorship election in Anambra.
It was reported that the governor had asked the revered traditional ruler to help shop for an acceptable governorship candidate from Anambra North Senatorial District.
But before the Igwe would get somebody, Obi had announced his choice. Insiders said Igwe Achebe felt slighted and decided to leave office as the chairman of traditional council.
Although both the Obi of Onitsha and governor Obi had since denied this, the full details of these reports, especially the reason for the resignation, is on record that it was after the reported resignation that visits to the Igwe for endorsement and open blessing peaked or at least became a public show.
Added to it has been political intrigues, described by some as “cheap blackmail” by each of the major political parties. It is on record also that in most of the allegations and counter allegations, the name of the traditional stool and the person of the Agbogidi, have been roped in, thus exposing the dilemma the traditional stool and the Igwe are left to cope with.
The peak
The drama that has so far been built around the Obi of Onitsha in the ongoing political campaigns may be said to have peaked the upper weekend, when the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Anambra State, held its first campaign rally in Onitsha.
Falling within the week of the Obi of Onitsha’s Ofala celebration, Senator Chris Ngige’s political opponents cried to high heavens that he had desecrated the land and disrespected the traditional ruler.
It was consequently reported that Igwe Achebe had expressed surprise that the APC and its governorship candidate, Senator Ngige, could launch their governorship campaign in Onitsha the same day he was celebrating his Ofala festival despite the one-year notice given to that effect.
He was quoted in the reports as saying: “Today, a political party has chosen to launch its campaign for governorship in Onitsha at the same time the Ofala is going on despite the one-year notice we gave to them. If anybody defiles the land, the land shall defile the person.”
Ngige was accused of holding the rally without taking permission from the Obi of Onitsha.
But Hon Uche Okonkwo –Okom, former member, Anambra State House of Assembly and Director in the Chris Ngige Campaign Organisation, and several others, including Ngige himself, have since denied the impression created by the cries of their opponents.
While Ngige emphasised that he never intended and will never disrespect the Obi of Onitsha, Okonkwo-Okom said, “I communicated the Igwe in my capacity as Director of Operations and got a text approval… Those who are using the name of our revered traditional ruler, who extended all courtesies to me and my principal, are out to make mischief, and to take away the attention of an upbeat Anambra State from the gains pf a successful rally, attended by close to 120,000 dedicated supporters who willingly gave out their funds for Ngige to be the next governor.”
Okonkwo also said, “I contacted the Igwe on October 5, 2013 to intimate him with our programme and to request a visit to his palace by Ngige and governors attending the rally and he gladly approved.”
A text message response, Okonkwo reportedly displayed, which allegedly came from Igwe Alfred Achebe himself, read in part: ‘Sorry I was not in a position to talk last night .Indeed his Excellency Dr Ngige and the governors are very welcome. To ensure proper protocol, please advise the number coming and the names if possible.”
Fear for the throne:
As the election date draws nearer, observers are saying that the ancient traditional stool in Onitsha must be sheltered from partisan politics. The elder, who spoke to us in confidence, said, “every one of us is worried at the desperation of the politicians but we have confidence in the ability of the Agbogidi to weather the storm and preserve the neutrality of the ancient stool. We believe he will do so because of who he is.”
Can Igwe Achebe cope?
A direct descendant of Ezearoli, official records say lgwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe was born in Onitsha on May 14, 1941, being the first child of Akunne Anthony Chinwuba, and Chukwuebuka Winifred Ogbenyeanu Achebe.
With a degree in Chemistry from Standford University in California, USA, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Columbia University in New York, the young Prince Achebe then, started corporate life in the United States at a very humble level.
He returned to Nigeria in 1972 to begin a robust career with the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria. For over 30 years, he worked and held positions in several strategic departments in the multinational company, including Human Resources, Operations, External Relations, General Management and international Representation/Reputation Management.
It is said that while there, he set a record achievement that has remained unequalled in the company as he was appointed to the Board of Directors of Shell Nigeria barely nine years after joining the company.
After his retirement, the company sought a way of retaining his services. He was therefore transferred to Shell International in London, where he served as “ambassador at large” for Shell Nigeria with the title of Senior Corporate Adviser. He maintained this globally strategic position until his coronation as the 21st Obi of Onitsha.
Some reports confirmed that the position of Senior Advisor “brought him in close working contact with international figures in politics, business, the academia and civil society.”
Aside corporate clout, which he garnered in his days in Shell and after, it seems his political connections in Nigeria owes so much to his nomination in 1979 to the maiden set of the Senior Executive Course of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, Jos. A source said in that privileged set were some of the most powerful political godfathers that have dominated Nigeria’s political chess game in the last two to three decades.
Given this background and the awesome powers an Obi of Onitsha commands traditionally, there is the belief that Igwe Achebe can still shield the stool from the turbulent political waters ahead of the November election. How far he can go remains to be seen as the D- day draws nearer.
