There is this adage in Igboland which says that when elders are not<\/p>\n
at home Children may wear snakes as necklaces. Another one says only<\/p>\n
a foolish elder will be at home when a she goat delivers while in<\/p>\n
tether. The holy Book added a great voice when it says;woe betides a<\/p>\n
nation whose leaders are Children. Another school of thought rebuked<\/p>\n
that evil triumph in any society when good men doing nothing.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The needless encounter between HRH ,Deji of Akure\u00a0 and one Mr Gregory<\/p>\n
Iloehike who is claiming to be the Ezeigbo in Akure has once again<\/p>\n
put in the front burner the vexed issue of Ezeigbo outside Igboland<\/p>\n
in Nigeria. In the South West, Northern Nigeria and even South South<\/p>\n
this reoccurring decimal , noise and confusion about Ezeigbo titles<\/p>\n
outside Igboland has lingered on for too long for it to be given a<\/p>\n
deserved attention. Disturbed by the deluge of crisis being generated<\/p>\n
in cities outside Igboland by the so called Ezeigbo titles few years<\/p>\n
back, Ohaneze Ndigbo asked that the title should be Onyendu Ndigbo<\/p>\n
not Ezeigbo. Few of these jesters and impostors complied for a while<\/p>\n
but within a very short time these clowns returned to continue to<\/p>\n
embarrass themselves and Igboland. I had thought that Ohaneze will<\/p>\n
stand up to carry the big stick and beat these pretenders back on the<\/p>\n
track but not Ohaneze. I had thought that Ohaneze will write a strong<\/p>\n
letter to all Governors outside Igboland to convey their strong<\/p>\n
position of this very important matter but not Ohaneze . I had<\/p>\n
thought that Ohaneze will go extra mile in introducing heavy<\/p>\n
sanctions for any nonentity that will flout the directive but not<\/p>\n
Ohaneze . Rather we have continued to live with this comic drama and<\/p>\n
primitive display of inanities outside Igboland.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In Lagos we have these Ezeigbos in all the 54 local governments and<\/p>\n
LCDAs\u00a0 and this writer has witnessed all the troubles and confusion<\/p>\n
associated with this misnomer . One Chief Nwachukwu who lives in<\/p>\n
Okota\u00a0 in Isolo and one Chief Ohazurike who lives in Oko Oba ,Agege<\/p>\n
have engaged each other in a supremacy contest of who will be the<\/p>\n
Ezeigbo of the whole of Lagos for years now with no respite in sight.<\/p>\n
At a time Mr Babalola , the former Chief of Staff Lagos wrote to me<\/p>\n
to help him clarify the real Ezeigbo of Lagos among the two. I never<\/p>\n
reported back to the Chief of Staff of Lagos because I considered the<\/p>\n
drama as a needless distraction that needed no government attention.<\/p>\n
While Ohazurike is tilting towards PDP , Nwachukwu pitched his tent<\/p>\n
with APC. It is all about politics of the stomach and that of<\/p>\n
survival.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But how did we come to this sorry pass that ordinary people who left<\/p>\n
Igboland in search of a better life in other parts of Nigeria got<\/p>\n
themselves entangled into this power struggle in order to get<\/p>\n
something to eat? Who introduced this aberration into our moral and<\/p>\n
cultural lexicon? Who are the progenitors of this shenanigan outside<\/p>\n
Igboland? What points were they trying to score in the first place?<\/p>\n
What is the purpose? Is it another form buy and sell phenomenon Igbo<\/p>\n
is known for all over the world? Is Ezeigbo title now goods to be<\/p>\n
sold in an open market? What is the benefit or for whose benefit?<\/p>\n
When these Ezeigbos get to Igboland what do we call them? Do we call<\/p>\n
them Igwes or Obis when when the royals gather? Does anybody know the<\/p>\n
background and antecedents of these people who parade themselves as<\/p>\n
Ezeigbos?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
From my little investigations I have found out that these local<\/p>\n
Ezeigbos left Igboland as common traders, carpenters , bricklayers,<\/p>\n
motor mechanics, barbers, house boys, drivers, apprentices, etc. Some<\/p>\n
of them made some money in business and needed some political power<\/p>\n
to raise their status both at home and outside Igboland . Some are<\/p>\n
failed business men who are looking for a way to earn a living and be<\/p>\n
important again.\u00a0 Some resort to it to attract attention to<\/p>\n
themselves and attract political , social and economic patronage. All<\/p>\n
they need to do is to buy red caps and piece together some attires<\/p>\n
that look royal and kingly. Some of them who are landlords build<\/p>\n
meeting halls in their compounds where they call palaces. Soon they<\/p>\n
will start inviting people of like minds to start coming to meetings.<\/p>\n
Soon they start organizing new yam festivals just to get gifts ,<\/p>\n
money inclusive. Paid singers and drummers will also be in attendance<\/p>\n
to make the drama to be complete. Elections times are also times for<\/p>\n
government recognition and money is involved also. The local Ezeigbos<\/p>\n
get money from governments for mobilization and support . At<\/p>\n
government functions they are sometimes invited to add Colour to the<\/p>\n
event. Politicians use them a lot to try to reach Igbo in their local<\/p>\n
governments and development areas. It is pure business and those who<\/p>\n
know about the gains have seized the space and they are not in a<\/p>\n
hurry to let go. No wonder the craze is now all over Nigeria except<\/p>\n
Igboland .<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Ezeigbo title outside Igboland may be an embarrassment to Igbo<\/p>\n
culture and dignity but politicians outside Igboland exploit it\u00a0 to<\/p>\n
their own advantage. While the governors and other politicians need<\/p>\n
them win elections, the Obas and Kabiyesis see them as intruders,<\/p>\n
interlopers and impostors who are encroaching into their kingdoms.<\/p>\n
They see them as rivals and competitors who are taking some of what<\/p>\n
belong to them. They see it as a case of two captains in one boat<\/p>\n
given the way the Ezeigbos carry themselves about with deafening<\/p>\n
noise and arrogance . This is the reason why HRH The Deji of Akure is<\/p>\n
fighting back. The real king does not want a fake king in his<\/p>\n
kingdom. The Deji of Akure does not want a divided kingdom or divided<\/p>\n
royalty. He wants total control of his people including those who<\/p>\n
came from other lands.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I suggest that Igbo leaders especially Ohaneze Ndigbo should move<\/p>\n
into action now and stop this nonsense forever working with the<\/p>\n
governors outside Igboland. We must produce a position paper on it<\/p>\n
and compel our people to abide by it. We must stamp our feet down by<\/p>\n
doing the needful before it gets out of hand. Our people must care<\/p>\n
about the feelings of other Nigerians outside Igboland where they do<\/p>\n
businesses and must be told in the strongest terms to respect the<\/p>\n
rules of engagement and rules of business anywhere they are. This<\/p>\n
craze for titles outside Igboland is making a mockery our\u00a0 tradition,<\/p>\n
culture and cherished ideals. Now, who are these Ezeigbos? What are<\/p>\n
their pedigree? What do they do for a living? Where are they coming<\/p>\n
from? Do we know whom they are and what they represent? What is their<\/p>\n
status in their home towns? A situation where drug kingpins, 419ers,<\/p>\n
armed robbers, kidnappers, failed business men hide under Ezeigbo<\/p>\n
titles to continue to embarrass us calls for immediate attention and<\/p>\n
concrete actions. We cannot continue to pretend that all is well when<\/p>\n
these pretenders sow seeds of discord between our people and the host<\/p>\n
communities. We need to convince other Nigerians that we care about<\/p>\n
peaceful co existence and the need to understand our differences. We<\/p>\n
need to have the courage to do away with this dangerous trend which<\/p>\n
tends to cause disaffection between us and the host communities<\/p>\n
across Nigeria. Let us abolish this Ezeigbo title outside Igboland<\/p>\n
for peace to reign.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Joe igbokwe<\/p>\n
Lagos<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There is this adage in Igboland which says that when elders are not at home Children may wear snakes as necklaces. Another one says only a foolish elder will be…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n