OHANAEZE SCRIBE, ISIGUZORO BACKS FCT CHAPTER’S COURAGEOUS SACK/BAN OF EZEIGBO TITLE, URGES WIKE TO UPHOLD SAME
Aba – The Secretary General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro has hailed the sack/ban of Eze Igbo title by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja chapter of the Apex Igbo organization, describing the action as “courageous and commendable”.
According to Isiguzoro,”the title of Eze Igbo was officially banned by the Imeobi and ratified by the General Assembly in 2012 during the tenure of Late Ambassador Raph Chukwu Uwechue, as Ohanaeze President General due to the chaos and mischief they were causing”
“Therefore, the recent sack/ non recognition of the Eze Igbo title by the Ohanaeze FCT Chapter is courageous and commendable as other Ohanaeze chapters across Nigeria have all lacked the courage to effect the long standing ban on the controversial title”
Recall that the President, Ohanaeze Ndigbo FCT Chapter, Barr Ifeanyichukwu Obasi Nweze had recently written to the Minister of the FCT, Barr Nyesom Wike, notifying him of sack and urging him to ban those parading themselves as such.
In a letter dated Thursday, 21st September, 2023, captioned – Notification of Sack/Non recognition of purporting Eze Ndigbos- Uche Isaac Egenti and Ibe Nwosu and their cohorts: Request for ban of anybody parading as such in the FCT, Barr Nweze urged the Minister to ban anybody parading himself as Eze Igbo, Abuja since “they are hiding under the purporting cloak of Igbo traditional leadership in Abuja to cause unwarranted crisis and exploiting the said crisis for their material gain, thereby leading to insecurity”.
For several years now, Chiefs Uche Egenti and Ibe Nwosu, both from Imo State, have been engaged in bitter rivalry, as they both laid claim to the controversial title of Eze Igbo Abuja.
According to Isiguzoro, “Ohanaeze, then, (in 2012) stated that it was wrong for someone to be answering his His Royal Highness and parading himself as a traditional ruler in another man’s domain, as there cannot be two kings in one kingdom”
He noted that most of those ‘traditional rulers without kindom’ went as far as parading themselves as ‘Ezes’ in their communities in Ala-Igbo, thereby causing chaos. This, he said, led to Ohanaeze’s abrogation of the title of ‘Eze Igbo’. Rather, they were asked to adopt the title of ‘Ochi Igbo’ meaning Igbo leader (of their domains) without attaching ‘Eze’ which is reserved for crowned traditional rulers.
“Then most of them, complied with the directive, only to revert back to ‘Eze Igbo’ title when subsequent Ohanaeze leaderships seemed to overlook their insubordination”
He then urged Wike, the FCT Minister to uphold the ban on the title by the FCT Chapter, which merely reinforced the 2012 ban of the same controversial title.
