Victor EzejaChairman of Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council (ASTRC), and Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, has expressed outrage over what he called “dehumanizing” treatment of traditional institution in the state by Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration.
In a strongly-worded letter signed by Achebe and addressed to the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Hon. Tony Collins Nwabunwanne, he said traditional rulers were being disrespected by the state government.
Achebe’s statement was in reaction to the recent events in the state involving the suspension of HRH Igwe Damian O. Ezeani, the traditional ruler of Neni in Anaocha LGA by the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs over the conferment of honorary chieftaincy title to Senator Ifeanyi Uba.
The ministry claimed that the conferment of the chieftaincy title was in violation of the code of conduct for traditional rulers in Anambra State and threatened others if they did not reverse the recognition.
Consequently, the traditional rulers affected by the state government’s action – Igwe Damian Ezeani of Neni, Igwe Gerald Obunadike Mbamalu of Ojoto in Idemili South LGA, and Igwe F.E. Ebelendu of Aguluezechukwu in Aguata LGA, have bowed to pressure and apologized to the governor and withdrawn the honours given to Senator Ifeanyi Uba at their respective palaces this January.
Reacting to the development, Igwe Achebe pointed out that the suspension of Igwe Ezeani for the conferment of chieftaincy title on Senator Uba was too harsh and dehumanizing on the traditional institution in the state.
He berated the state commissioner, Nwabunwanne for taking a unilateral action against the traditional rulers without recourse to the Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council which he (Achebe) is the chairman, and also choosing to communicate such sensitive action through social media.
He also described the action of suspending the traditional ruler as being selective, pointing out that there were other instances of violation of the code of conduct for traditional rulers that were ignored in the past.
The Obi of Onitsha added that even if Igwe Ezeani contravened the laws in the course of conferring the chieftaincy title, the withdrawal of his recognition as a traditional ruler was too extreme.
“Assuming that lgwe Neni did not strictly comply with the Code of Conduct, would the foregoing factors not be sufficiently extenuating to warrant a far less sanction on him as was meted to some other “tiny fen/’ that also failed to comply?
“The severity of suspension and threat of withdrawal of Certificate of Recognition suggests that there may be other issues with either lgwe Neni or Distinguished Senator Ubah which are being stealthily ventilated in this circumstance,” Achebe stated.
He said that no written directives from the Ministry on conferment of chieftaincy titles existed before 08 January 2024 when lgwe Neni was suspended and therefore found no reasonable justification for the action.
He further faulted the Commissioner for using a tone and language considered disrespectful to the traditional institution in his letter communicating the suspension of the traditional ruler.
The ASTRC chairman also contended that the commissioner made a wide allegation that “traditional rulers are trading chieftaincy titles for money” without providing any evidence.
“Without providing evidence for your sweeping statement about trading chieftaincy titles for money you also, wittingly or not, thereby indicted the entire traditional institution of the State. Your press release to a global audience put the institution into disrepute when a direct circular letter to all traditional rulers as the parties of interest would have sufficed,” Achebe stated.
“The tone and language of your letter were, by any measure, a public riot act and pontification to the same majority of traditional rulers that you extolled as acting with dignity and integrity. The letter lacked respect and sensitivity in addressing the traditional rulers of Anambra State who, by any standard, are held in very high esteem in the comity of the traditional institutions of Nigeria and beyond.
“I would like to state very clearly that your handling of this matter of conferment of honorary chieftaincy titles is the apogee of the progressive dehumanization and dismantling of the traditional institution of Anambra State by the present administration.
“The institution comprises of some of the finest sons of Anambra State who achieved sterling academic heights and professional/vocational attainments. At the behest of their communities, they took up the role of traditional rulers as shining examples for selflessly giving back to their communities in particular and society at large. They are the custodians of the culture and traditions of their people and lead on peace building, security, development issues, etc.”
Achebe made it clear that the livelihood of the traditional rulers were not tied to the N175,000 stipend given to each of them monthly by the State government but on their own hard-earned modest personal resources.
“By their office, age, attainment and standing in society, they deserve far better respect and dignity, than being publicly bullied and unfairly shamed at every opportunity by people in the State Government. The Federal and other State Governments hold the traditional institutions in high esteem. What then has gone wrong in Anambra State?
“The traditional institution of Anambra State feels strongly that the present administration is progressively dehumanizing and deprecating the institution against the trend in the rest of the country where the Federal and State Governments accord dignity and respect to the institution.”
Achebe also pointed out that contrary to current impression that the issue of honorary chieftaincy title was on the foremost front burner for the people of Anambra, the key challenges in various communities in the state were lack of basic amenities (electricity, potable water, healthcare, good access roads, etc.), youth unemployment leading to other delinquencies that pose security threats, and the inability of the communities to fund their contingents of the Anambra State Vigilante Group (AVG).
He called for “respectable stipends from the 5% of the statutory allocation to the Local Government Councils as is applicable in other States of the Federation.”
Achebe ended by calling on the commissioner to facilitate a meeting between the governor and traditional rulers, as earlier promised by Soludo, to address all issues of concern about the traditional institution in the state.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
