The Anambra State Government has condemned as sacrilegious, the conferment of a chieftaincy title on the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bianca Ojukwu by an outlawed, self-acclaimed traditional ruler in Awka Kingdom, Austin Ndigwe.
Ojukwu had recently issued a publication indicating that she has been conferred with a chieftaincy title of “Anyanwu N’Awalu Ora” which according to her was “conferred at the prestigious Igu Aro Cultural Festival by His Majesty Obi Austin Ndigwe”.
The title-taking by Mrs Ojukwu, who is an APGA chieftain and an ally of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, has made many to wonder whether her involvement in the chieftaincy title signals a change in the State government’s policy stance or simply an affront to the State government and the Anambra traditional institution.
This is because Governor Soludo had at a public event, formally informed Ndigwe that he is not the recognized traditional of Awka Kingdom.
Reacting to the development, the State Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, TonyCollins Nwabunwanne noted that the conferment of chieftaincy titles in Anambra State is the exclusive prerogative of recognized traditional rulers in their respective communities, and they do so only to residents/indigenes of their communities.
He further explained that in the case of a person not from the community, the approval of the Traditional Ruler of the conferee’s community and the Commissioner for Local Government, Communities and Chieftaincy must be sought and obtained, in line with the extant Traditional Rulers’ Code of Conduct.
According to the Commissioner, while none of the above conditions was met in the case under reference, Chief Ndigwe is an impostor, and not a traditional ruler in Awka or Anambra State.
The government said it had sighted a letter signed by Ndigwe under a letterhead as the “Eze Uzu III” of Awka, when the traditional ruler of Awka, HRH Gibson Nwosu (Eze Uzu II) is still alive, and with the official certificate and recognition by government as the traditional ruler of Awka.
“This 92-year-old Eze Uzu Awka is known to be the first Nigerian that flew a fighter jet solo. He was Second in Command in the Biafran Air Force who left with Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu to Cote d’Ivoire and later to Zambia and was in exile for 15 years.
“Even the late Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu will be turning in his grave at this unwarranted insult on HRH Gibson Nwosu designed just to wet some megalomaniacal appetite. In the Anambra/Igbo culture, this is an abomination.
“Minister Ojukwu, with her background and pedigree, knows or should know these facts very well. She was in the home of Chief Ndigwe when the Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Soludo, attended his birthday celebration a few years ago and publicly advised him ‘as a friend’ to desist from impersonating the traditional ruler of the town and that the recognized traditional ruler remained HRH Gibson Nwosu.
“The video went viral. Indeed, in her publication in her verified Facebook account, Mrs Ojukwu carefully avoided referring to Mr. Ndigwe as a traditional ruler but rather described him as ‘Supreme Commander of Awka Ancient Kingdom,’ a phantom title/position that does not exist in Awka.
“By proceeding to describe Mr. Ndigwe conjunctively as ‘His Majesty’ and ‘Obi’, the message unequivocally evinced an intention to portray and as a matter of fact portrayed him as a Traditional Ruler. This is against the spirit of the Traditional Rulers Law of Anambra State,” Nwabunwanne said.
The state government noted that by purporting to confer a chieftaincy title, Mr. Ndigwe usurped the ceremonial functions of the bona fide Traditional Ruler of Awka, describing it as totally unacceptable, insisting that “it will not tolerate this desecration of the Traditional Institution and will take every lawful step to promote and protect our culture and traditional institutions.”
It stated that the Chieftaincy title Mrs Ojukwu purports to have received from Mr. Austin Ndigwe is fake and not recognized under the Anambra culture and tradition or law, warning the Minister to desist from addressing herself by any such fake title conferred by Mr. Austin Ndigwe.
“Anambra State government wishes to assure our people that it is committed to a new social order. We must restore sensible values and respect for law and order, custom and tradition and ennobling values that elevate our collective social consciousness rather than the nascent subculture that celebrates a few with megalomaniacal delusions and who attempt to play God.
“These few cannot be role models for our children nor the foundation for our future. As a responsible government we must take all necessary steps to protect our collective heritage from willful assault. To the great and law abiding people of Awka, we have your back,” the government assured.
