By Oguwike Nwachuku
Last week, most of the newspapers reported the feud
between the Deji of Akure, Aladelusi Aladetoyinbo, and Eze Ndigbo in Akure,
Gregory Iloehika, over claims of a plan by Aladetoyinbo to dethrone him.
Many issues were at stake but the glaring ones are who
should collect royalty from the Igbo community who seem more comfortable paying
to the Eze Ndigbo than the Deji, and the influx of “illegal traders” at Mojere
market where Igbo traders were accused of contravening the rules.
*Some Igbo Politicians
One Emeka Umeh, chair of the Igbo traders, was accused
by the interim chairman of the market, Saka Aliu, of responsibility over the
“illegal traders”.
A meeting was held where Umeh was mandated to do away
with the “illegal traders” but he allegedly refused, leading to forceful resort
to eject the “illegal occupants” on the directives of the Deji.
The forgoing was the background upon which the Eze
Ndigbo was brought into the picture to intervene, but the Deji may have
considered his intervention slow and his style, arrogant and disrespectful to
his authority and institution.
“We shall continue to allow integration of all
Nigerians, but we will not allow anyone to degrade or trample upon our
tradition and institution,” he said.
The Deji accused the Igbo in Akure of insubordination
and violation of tradition.
Rotimi Olusanya, the Asamo of Akure, who spoke for
Aladetoyinbo, accused Iloehika of disregard for Akure people and the
traditional ruler.
*Aladetoyinbo
Events came to a head when the Deji directed that
Iloehika should stop wearing a crown in his domain, Akure.
This, the Igbo in Akure kicked against, fingering the
Deji-in-Council as poking the fire to dethrone Iloehika. They shut their
businesses and markets in Akure in protest.
Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, convened a
meeting where Aladetoyinbo still listed conditions for a truce with Iloehika.
Aladetoyinbo reiterated that Iloehika is forbidden from
wearing any form of crown and must apologise to him in at least three national
newspapers and on radio.
Others include: “That the Igbo leader must write a
letter of apology to the Oba and the Deji-in-Council.
“That the title ‘Eze Ndigbo’ must be reviewed and
replaced with a non-controversial honorary title and that the Igbo leader must
comply with all the earlier directives of the palace.’’
Mimiko also met with Igbo leaders in Akure, led by
Iloehika. At the meeting, Ileohika denied disrespecting Aladetoyinbo as well as
the charges of insubordination.
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 up, but the police officers at the palace rescued me.”
True to type, some Yoruba ethnic irredentists,
including members of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) have keyed into the
Akure situation to do what they know how to do best – pour invectives on the
generality of Ndigbo.
Can one tell me how communication breakdown over Eze
Ndigbo issue can translate into an Igbo expansionist agenda as Afenifere is
telling its kit and kin? “The evolution of this structure has forced us to
consider it as an expansionist agenda as the structure is only rampant in
Yoruba land,” said Kunle Famoriyo, ARG Publicity Secretary.
Really?
The group claimed that its earlier communication to the
Igbo leadership of the unacceptability of Igbo kings in Yoruba land “fell on
deaf ears.” Which Igbo leadership did it complain to and what response did it
get?
Famoriyo said: “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 Lagos
“This is what used to be mere development unions and
associations of Igbo people living in Yoruba land. Almost all Igbo community
with a sizeable number of indigenes living in Yoruba land have a development
union or association.
“These associations are welcome and supported, being
organisations set up to discuss the welfare of their members.”
But Afenifere added that the spread of ‘Eze Ndigbo’
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 Yorubas to the breaking
point.
“This is something that Yoruba people living away from
Yoruba land do not even think of, and we therefore see no reason why migrants
living in Yoruba land should not know their boundaries.
“Consequently, ARG calls on all Yoruba traditional
rulers and the executive heads of government at state and local levels and
governors 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.”
Some of the posts on facebook or any other social media
platform by some Yoruba youths keeps one wondering if there is a course they
teach them at school called “How to hate Igbo.”
By derogatorily describing a people as migrants in
their own country, what has Afenifere achieved other than the usual sing song
of hate for the Igbo?
Unfortunately, what most of them forget is that not all
Igbo are wearing the crown of Eze Ndigbo in the Yoruba environment or any other
part of the country as the case may be where the fraud called Eze Ndigbo holds
sway.
In any case, they seldom also know that most of those
who adorn such Eze Ndigbo garbs and parade such titles do so in collaboration
with their equally fraudulent types, mostly for pecuniary reasons.
Afenifere waded in almost immediately the feud began
and used the opportunity to castigate and malign the Igbo Nation as expected.
By regarding the matter as an “unrelenting desecration
of Yoruba culture by the Igbo communities’ obsession with having a crowned king
in Yoruba domains” one could see clearly that the target here is no longer the
miniscule number of Igbo men who crave worthless social renown through the
instrumentality of Eze Ndigbo outside Igboland, but Ndigbo as a whole.
Afenifere said the title of Eze Ndigbo in Yoruba land
is not backed by any customary law and is therefore considered alien.
But wait minute, is Afenifere telling us anything new?
If they are not beneficiaries of the contraption why is it taking them time to
outlaw the shenanigan which even the majority of the Igbo know have little
relevance in their traditional institution back home?
It is worrisome that during every development that
tests the ability and patience of the Igbo and Yoruba to cohabit the popular
refrain would always be that Ndigbo should be led to the slaughter house.
It is on record that a few years ago, Eze Cletus
Ilomuanya, Chairman of South East Council of Traditional Rulers declared Eze
Ndigbo illegal and warned those who recognise and patronise them to desist from
doing so.
But do you blame the Afenifere?
The Igbo say imi
beme anya ebeme (when the
nose starts crying the eye joins) and that ihere
onye ara ji eme onyenweya (it
is the relation of the mad person who feels ashamed).
Why would anyone raise a finger for a bunch of Igbo
men, some better regarded as renegades or tricksters who make themselves
lackeys of the traditional and political institutions of other ethnic
nationalities, just because they seek social relevance they cannot get at home?
*Oguwike Nwachuku is the Executive
Editor/Editor of TheNiche, a weekly national paper published in Lagos Nigeria
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