Ohaneze chieftain reiterates why they don’t recognize Ezigbo outside Igboland •Insists Ohaneze yet to get PG, and he is FCT Ohaneze president

By Ekuson Nw’Ogbunka

Though Igbo Kings in the Diaspora (Ndieze Igbo na Uzije) have never wanted to hear that they are not recognized as Ndieze, but the factional president of Ohaneze Ndigbo in Abuja the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr (Nze) Ifeanyichukwu Obasi – Nweze, AKA Mmuo has reiterated the reason why they don’t recognize the Igbo kings outside Igboland as Kings.

Informing that the Igbo socio cultural organisation is yet to have a President General (PG), with the reason that election has not been conducted to fill the vacancy after the death of their PG, Prof Obiozor, he adds that he is the authentic President of Ohaneze in the FCT, having been duly elected to the position by members.

Making their stand known at his new year message to Igbo people (Ndigbo) resident in Abuja on Saturday in his office in the nation’s capital, Mmuo said: “I have been saying it that there are no Ezes here in the FCT. The only eze I know is when somebody is an eze, a crowned king in his community in Igboland. I have made it abundantly clear; you can’t create a kingdom in another man’s kingdom, that is number one.

“Number two, the Eze of Nnewi isn’t the eze of Uburu where I come from. So in Igboland, we don’t have Eze Ndigbo, because it is neither traditional, nor customary; there is no position like that. You can’t come here to say you are Eze Ndigbo; that yours crossed boundary, which boundary are you crossing and which Igbo are you their Eze?”

He continued: “What we have is Elders’ Council (EC) and they are people of proven character and integrity and some of them are titled men, from their villages, but we don’t call them Ezes, because they are not Ezes. We also have executives, period. Those who call themselves Eze, where do they fall in? In my place you go to the Eze, and they know where the Eze is from and they know everything, because there is a certificate from the government.

“If they say they are Eze, let them show their certificates. That is not why we come here; we left our land to come here; some came as civil servant, some came as businessmen. Do your business and go. Submit to the local authority, and to the government, very simple. Let me make this point, we leave the things we should be pursuing and be pursuing other things. Most people you find in this are the people who have either failed in their businesses. As I am here now, why would you crown me Eze and Eze of who?

“I have job that I am doing, so I don’t need to utilize a particular position and be defrauding people. In fact I am sorry to say this; you know that I mentioned that there are people that are mischievous, so all they need is call me an Eze so that he will be walking here and there and be getting some kind of patronage, which ordinarily, they shouldn’t get.”

Informing that he has written to the FCT minister to let him know that Ndigbo don’t have Ezes outside Igboland, Ifeanyichukwu Obasi – Nweze therefore said that after him as a president of Ohaneze from Ebonyi in the FCT, it will be the turn of Enugu State. He also informed that at the level of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, after Imo state, it will be the turn Rivers State to produce PG.

Added to his message to Ndigbo in the FCT were not only for them to be law – abiding, but also to be their brothers’ keepers, which if done, according to him would go a long way for them, even as he invited Ndigbo to join them in a prayer they would be holding at Top Rank Hotel, Jabi, FCT for the good of all, so for God to continue to bless those who go about leadership with the fear of God.

On FCT Ohaneze, he said he was duly elected as the president and was declared as such by a court of competent jurisdiction, to the disappointment of opponents, when the matter was taken court. At the national and international level of the Igbo socio – cultural organization, Mmuo said that the illustrious and respected son of Igboland, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu isn’t the PG of Ohaneze. According to him, a person is accepted as a leader only by election. So the Ahaejiejemba, he went on isn’t the president of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide.