“Our Traditional Ruler is a Pharoah”

Don Adizue

—Don Adizue, a lawyer and indigene of crisis-torn Ogwu-Ikpele community in Ogbaru local government area of Anambra state
By Okechukwu Obenta, Awka
Your community appears to be heading towards a civil war, what is the cause of the crisis?
Well, the cause of the crisis in my community that resulted in the killing of four innocent people started sometime in 2007 when the traditional ruler (Igwe V.B.C. Onyema) sent a bill of over N400,000 to the community, asking that it should be paid urgently. When the community x-rayed all the heads of that letter and the bill sent to the community, they could not understand whether each of the transactions that made up the bill is realistic or known to any member of the town. So, they wrote a letter to the traditional ruler asking for clarification of the account that made up the over N400,000. When the traditional ruler received this letter, what he did was that he was infuriated. He said who gave the community the guts to ask him to clarify account for them. So, what he did was to go and send thugs to the secretary of the town, Ogwu-Ikpele Town Union, where his father was living in the bush. His father was sent out from where he was living at 12 midnight under the rain. His property were thrown out and asked to leave that place without notice. The only offence the old man committed was that his son had the temerity to sign a letter written on behalf of Ogwu-Ikpele community asking for clarification of an account. So, when the community met again to examine this action of the traditional ruler, they now decided that they should boycott all attendance in the palace. This, they communicated to him (the traditional ruler) in writing, and sent a copy to the Governor of Anambra State (Peter Obi). And because nothing happened, he (the traditional ruler) didn’t consider the letter to be of any relevance to react to. And the community after a long time decided to write to the Governor, stating that they have decided to cease to regard him as their traditional ruler; that the Governor should withdraw the staff of office given to him on behalf of the community. So, that was how the whole crisis started.
Curiously, the traditional ruler and his children – who I believe are well educated and enlightened and are in various high positions of human endeavour – did not consider it wise to approach the community and see how they will reach amicable settlement on the issues; rather they felt that the community should be silenced by force. So, they started grooming thugs led by one Richard Odili (alias Kodo) and one Kemudi Onyema. At that time, every time we will be receiving calls from the village that the number of arms being sent from the family, (Igwe’s family) to these youths who are meant to recruit others to join them was intimidating. The thing got to a very high point that one of the incidences of the intimidation was when he went to the Commissioner of Police, Anambra State (Mr. Philemon Leha) and reported that the villagers were undermining his authority, in spite of our letter. And, this letter was also copied to the Commissioner of Police. So, the Commissioner of Police invited the elders or their representatives to his office. When they got there, the three men were detained for three days. Reason: because they, (the three elders) said that the matter could only be resolved in the community, not in Awka (office of the Commissioner of Police) where they invited all the red-cap chiefs (including the oldest member of the community, the then Ezenwanne who was then over 102 years). He died at 104 years during the period of this crisis. Those are the people they were inviting to Awka. So, that led the community to go to court; that those men were detained unlawfully; that there was no reason why the police should detain those men for three days in Awka, and, asked that the rest should be brought to Awka. So, Ogwu-Ikpele Community went to court, at Onitsha High Court before Honourable Justice Iyizoba. And Honourable Justice Iyizoba gave judgment in favour of the community, asking that the matter was not such a matter for police to start arresting, and, inviting the community; that the traditional ruler should seek amicable resolution of the matter. He did not listen to that judgment. Instead, he went ahead employing intimidation. These youths that have been armed then went to the village. There was an occasion and I received a call that Kemudi went to where the elders were seated – there is this thing we call agbachi – if you get old enough and you represent a kindred, if there is a meeting of all the villagers, you will come with the agbachi and when you come, you put your own. It is like a spear, but it is a cultural staff of office. So, each of them will come with their own and put it there and when you are going you go and pick your own. It is just like a staff, but we call it agbachi in my village. So, this Kemudi went with a gun where these elders were holding a meeting and carried all their agbachi and was abusing them; that look at all of you – that is to tell you the extent this arming of the youths can embolden them, because they were so emboldened that they could go and collect the agbachi of the elders and abuse them. It was when people started appealing to him that he now returned the agbachi. The last incident that the boys did towards intimidating the village elders, just because they said that the traditional leadership is not doing well; that he should change, and when they said this they enumerated all the bad conduct, all the bad activities that forced them to condemn the traditional ruler’s leadership, including dispossession of people of their lands, including bulldozing a school owned by the Catholic Church, including bulldozing Grace of God Church. So the community said that the traditional ruler has grown so powerful, even to the extent of challenging God and undermining the future of our youths by bulldozing these two institutions, that this is the height of bad leadership and that they won’t tolerate it. There is also another burning issue of the chieftaincy constitution of the community that the traditional ruler single-handedly prepared and submitted (to the state government). When the community became aware of this, they demanded that he should withdraw such constitution, because, the constitution which he submitted to the office of the Governor is not a true representation of the traditional institution in the community. So, the whole crisis continued with him arming the youths who will assist him to intimidate the elders to submission, and at a stage, we didn't know what happened. I was in Awka, we were actually at one burial at Ogidi when I started receiving calls to the effect that one of the thugs, Kemudi Onyema died, that he died somewhere in Rivers State. Indeed, it is worthy to note that a day before that incident, he (Kemudi) led his group of thugs to Ossomala Police Station to over-power the policemen there and take away an arrested suspect in the police station, because they know they have a godfather, the traditional ruler who is influential and his son who is in the House of Representatives in Abuja and a member of the House Committee on Police Affairs. So they know that they can do anything and nothing will happen. So, that emboldened them to go to a police station, release a suspect and take away the motorcycle he was suspected to have stolen. From there – Ossomala – they came to the village in their speed boat, and were daring anyone who says that he has power, that he will not respect the traditional ruler? And when they were doing this, they were drinking and smoking. That was how they came to the village and left. The next day, we heard that the guy (Kemudi) died. Obviously, from police investigation, the boy must have confronted some people on the way, but we don’t know. What happened was that the traditional ruler now, saw that as an opportunity to gag the opposition: those who have been saying that his leadership is bad. He now went to Abuja, the police in Awka was not even allowed to investigate the matter? It was the police at Abuja which came and they listed everybody – all of us, every member of the village who has an opinion in the village was listed as having contributed to the death of Kemudi, including all the red-cap chiefs. That was how they started hunting everybody, wherever you are, nobody was safe. So, we had to go to court to liberate ourselves. And that matter is still pending before the Federal High Court, Awka when on the 6th of May, 2010, the worst happened in my village. Ogwu-Ikpele community saw hell that day and what I’m ashamed to say is happening in my community in this generation. Assassins were sent in at 2am to come and camp in the palace, and, then, early in the morning they sent out two baits in the persons of Ekezie Ikpeazu and Chiedu Onyema (alias One Door) to come and be harassing and be making noise with knives, parading in the town, asking for anybody who says he is a man to come out, that they will kill everybody that day, all those who are saying that Igwe is not a good ruler, that they should come out. So, that was the situation that morning when I received phone calls, I was in the court in Awka. When I came out, I now advised our people that nobody should do anything with them; that they should run, and, that they should call the police at Atani. They said they were still calling the police but before the police at Atani could make it, it was to harvest dead bodies. The call I received that time was that eight persons were already dead in the village. So, when police came eventually, it was four dead bodies. And more than five injured, and, are receiving treatment right now at various hospitals. So that is the summary of the crisis in my village. And everybody in the community knows some of the boys that came. One of them is this Kodo (Richard Odili), Ekezie Ikpeazu (alias Danjuma), One Door and one other Nwadike. The villagers know some of them, but about three of them came from Ossomala Town; indeed, one of them is Okey Asubo who they say is late now, who was a PA (Personal Assistant) to Chu-chu Onyema. Others are unknown persons numbering about 30 who unleashed mayhem on the very small and peaceful community of Ogwu-Ikpele that early morning of May when the late President Yar’Adua was being buried in Katsina. The Governor (Peter Obi) was on that day in Katsina. It was only the Commissioner of Police who assisted the community; he did his best, at least that by now that there is still some lives in Ogwu is because of the C.P. And I must commend him for what he did that day. When he noticed that it was a very serious problem he sent down about 20 mobile policemen who are still there in Ogwu-Ikpele. They are maintaining law and order, and we thank him very much for that. But one thing is that the peace in Ogwu-Ikpele is still not a genuine one, because, those whose children were killed and their fathers were killed are still nursing the injury, we are all mourning. As you see me now, I bleed from my heart that we have lost a lot of human beings, and even property. During the first incident, the death of Kemudi, because, the whole community had to flee, it was this Kodo who came and burnt houses in Ogwu-Ikpele. He burnt the house of Mr. Somudi Ogene, then Akaka, torched Ezenwanne’s house too, and in the process he killed one Sunday Akubue from Okitchi village. And all these reports, the community wrote to the Commissioner of Police asking them to investigate, but they did nothing. That is why they felt emboldened, and were able to carry out this last one. In fact, when we heard about the massive importation of arms, we, through our lawyer, wrote a petition to the police that they should arrest these people and take possession of all these arms. The amount of ammunition in the hands of these boys I don’t think the Biafrans had that kind of ammunition during the war. So, the police could not make that arrest till the death of Kemudi, then they started pursuing everybody.
Igwe V.C.B Onyema is currently in his mid-80s, and had been on that throne over 30 years now. How come that your people are discovering that he is not a good ruler any more. Mores. Chu-Chu Onyema, his son who is representing Ogbaru Federal constituency, claims that those who are causing the trouble in the community are actually those who allege that he has done nothing since he went to the National Assembly.
Well, if he says that he is not performing well, it has come out from his mouth. And, indeed, for him to champion what has just happened has confirmed the fears and the problems this community has suffered over these 30 years. The community from the beginning if they so loved this man and gave him this position and he has been there all these 30 years, they have been condoning all these things thinking that maybe he is going to change but he did not change, until this letter came. For God’s sake, this community has suffered. Even in the bill (of over N400,000), he said that a land belonging to another community, that the whole community assisted a church to get for a  secondary school was now his own. But the community knows the owner of the land, they know that the land belongs to Umueneke, and it is Umueneke which did agreement with the Catholic Church before they gave them that land for the school. Infact, any time he decides to own anything he will just get up and say it belongs to him and the community has been condoning it over these years, thinking that with time he will harken to good governance. This is a traditional ruler that later came to Ogwu-Ikpele, brought transformers, brought cables, about five drums of cables were missing. Even when the community started looking for them, it was later traced to the traditional ruler and the traditional ruler now said that he sold the five drums of high-tension cables at N800,000. That N800, 000 is still with the traditional ruler, the community has not seen it. Five drums of high-tension cables given to the community by the government and the community had to pay over N240,000 to the traditional ruler for transporting these materials – the transformer and the cables – to Ogwu from Awka. And when they were brought to the community they were taken to the palace of the traditional ruler. One of the transformers is still there, he said it belongs to him, it does not belong to the community. The community paid over N240,000 for transporting them to the community. And the cables which should have been used to supply power to other parts of the community, about five drums, were sold and no one was informed. So, this is what the community has been suffering over the years. Our traditional ruler is a Pharoah.