Forty-eight hours after the funeral of Prof. Chinua Achebe, the people of his hometown, Ogidi in Anambra State, gathered at their Town Hall for a meeting. The meeting was marred by a row because of its sensitive nature. The people gathered to deliberate on how to pick a new ruler for the town, about 10 years after the death of the last monarch. Evelyn Osagie report
In his life time, the late Prof Chinua Achebe was a rallying point for his kinsmen. His home was their home; he settled quarrels for them and also helped in the development of the community.
Despite his fame, the late Achebe never forgot his roots.
But that town, which he loved so much is in dire need of a monarch. Last Saturday, the people gathered at the Ogidi Town Hall in Idimili Local Government Area of Anambra State in their search for a monarch. The council’s secretariat also houses the building of Ogidi Traditional Ruling Council.
Ogidi like most Igbo towns, runs a form of kingship system, which is headed by the Igwe. He is the traditional custodian of culture, unity and oneness in the land. Unfortunately, The Nation gathered that for some time, there has been a rift over the position of the traditional ruler.
Over a decade after the death of the last Igwe, the stool has remained vacant. Thus, the centre has refused to hold in Ogidi as it is yet to get another head. A regent Chief Samuel Okeke acts as ruler.
Moreover, the town is not only bedeviled with problem of who would become the Igwe, the Ogidi Union that is supposed to work towards the enthronement of one is not also spared. For both parties, it has been one court case or another.
“Weeks before Achebe’s burial, there were fears in some quarters over whether the crises would affect it. Fortunately, with the federal and state might that played key role in his transitional programme, it went smoothly. But the seemingly peaceful ambiance was soon broken up,” a chief, who wished to be anonymous said.
An incident that took place last Saturday at the town’s hall was evident of the crises in the place. During a town’s meeting that morning, which was meant to review, among other things, the aftermath of Achebe’s transition, some policemen unjustly accosted them, stalling the town’s activity. It was later gathered that they were sent by a faction that did not want the meeting to hold because, as they put it, the executive were not meant to be presiding over the meeting given its case that is still in court. At the end, the parties involved took themselves to the police station.
“You have not seen anything yet,” an observer said, “this is what we face here. This tussle in the union and the Igweship has been on for a long time now, especially after the death of the last Igwe, Igwe Walter Amanobi, an engineer, who died mysteriously. The one before him was shot dead in his clinic in Enugu.”
That incident opened the can of worms and brought to the fore the crises in the place to which political chieftain and former Chairman, Ikenga-Ogidi Union, Dr Emmanuel Obianagha, said is the fallout of egocentricity and loss of value system. Despite having great minds like the late Achebe, regrettably, like most big towns typical of Ogidi, it has problem of “Igweship’’, adding that Achebe, who was a one-time president-general of Ogidi Union, had always felt sad about such happenings.
In his words: “If a land has problem with its ‘’Igweship’’ who is supposed to be the unifying force of the people, then, the centre cannot hold and things may surely fall apart. People need to have an Igwe who will be able to carry people along. Things have truly fallen apart here in Ogidi and the centre can no longer hold because of greed, pride, intolerant and our tradition have been undermined. If Achebe were around, I am sure, he would have frowned at what is happening in Ogidi today. We have no Igwe in Ogidi for the past 14 or so years since the last Igwe died as a result of which a new is yet to emerge. It has been one problem to another. It was only about five years ago that we had a president-general of Ogidi Union Nigeria. And it is still having some problems with its tenure and so its case is still in court. Things have changed for the worst. In those days, elders, especially the traditional ruler and the red cap chiefs, were highly revered.
And they do not tell lies.
“Here in Ogidi, the red cap chiefs had a place they called Erulu to wash their tongues. At that time, if they put their hands in anything evil, they’d die immediately. Then, someone with a criminal record cannot be given an Ozo title. Today, it is not the case: whether kidnappers or armed robbers as long as you have money, you’d get a title. This is not just the problem of Ogidi alone, but in most part of Igboland. But what is happening here pains my heart greatly. People have died over this Igweship and the Ogidi Union disputes,” he said.
Futhermore, he explains that ‘’the situation had worsen over the years because some people think that it is their birthright to rule while others feel that everybody should be given an equal opportunity. You see, the Amanobi family have always been ruling over Ogidi for years until they were challenged by some eminent personalities in the town and the court ruled that the Igweship is not exclusively preserved for one family alone, but is open to all indigenes of Ogidi. After which Chief Obi Ezegbo contested alongside three members of the Amanobi’s family and won. But he was soon taken to court by the Amanobi’s who claim that it is their birthright. And since then, there has not been a meeting point, the situation is stalement and a regent is in place,” he said.
This was over a decade ago. Yet, the battle for the seat of the Igwe rages on, as a relation of Achebe also informed that two dissatisfied factions (Chief Ezegbo and the Amanobis) clamouring for the position have continued to take themselves to court. Last December, the court ruled in favour of Chief Ezegbo, stating that any indigene of Ogidi is qualified to rule. And so, it was made open to the public. That judgment has since been contested in court by the Amanobi family. And so goes the vicious circle that is eating deep into the fragment of its cultural values.
Consequently, Chinedu Eze, a member of the community said: ‘’The community is still waiting to see the outcome and pray that soon an Ezegbo be made the Igwe or new fresh but capable one will emerge.’’
Like Eze, the allegedly Igwe-elect, Chief Ezegbo, who is also Achebe’s contemporary, wants the dispute to come to an end, saying it has hampered on the community’s move to properly immortalise the late author.
He said: “We hope everything is resolved soonest because we have gone to court and won. But there are always some complexities. If you are solving this problem, another problem is raising its head. Now that we have buried Chinua, we would begin again because the issue is in court and court cases don’t end overnight. If not for the problem within the Ogidi hierarchy, we were already contributing money to build a library not like the type of the present one at the council, which is political, but a massive one.”
On why he had kept up the over-a-decade fight for the position, he said: “ If the wrong person gets into the throne of Ogidi kingship, I wouldn’t know what to tell Ogidi people in Diaspora when the come to ask people like me, “Why did you people allow this type of person to be our Igwe”. So that was why people like myself entered into it thinking that it would soon be over (laughs). But since 2003, it has been on.”
Efforts to speak to the President-General Dr Eric Obiakor, on the problems confronting the union, which The Nation gathered are still in court; and the regent proved abortive.
Meanwhile, some youths have urged the elders of Ogidi to put their acts together, “if not only for the tourist potential of the town, but also for posterity sake”.
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