Part SIX
Nwankwo T. Nwaezeigwe, PhD
Odogwu of Ibusa & President, International Coalition against Christian Genocide in Nigeria
Pioneer Director, Centre for Igbo Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Email: Nwaezeigwe.genocideafrica@gmail.com
In his response to part four titled “Nwaezeigwe & Hagiography”, Chukwuemeka Onyesoh among other fictitious allusions accused Nwankwo Nwaezeigwe of being paid by his late political icon Okwadike Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife on behalf of Igbo-Ukwu to publish his book on the Nri and that, now that Okwadike is dead, he has migrated to the traditional ruler of Enugwu-Ukwu, Igwe Ralph Ekpe who is his current paymaster. He further accused him of falsely stating that the Umunri were from Igala. To state it as he presented it:
“NWAEZEIGWE INDULGES IN HAGIOGRAPHY FOR HIS LIVING. IGBOUKWU, LED BY DR. CHUKWUEMEKA EZEIFE, OKWADIKE, PAID HIM TO WRITE THE BOOK "THE IGBO & THEIR NRI NEIGHBOURS - a Study in Igbo Culture and Origins" DECLARING THAT NRI PEOPLE ARE NOT IGBO BUT IGALA. I COUNTERED & DISMANTLED IGBOUKWU. IGBOUKWU WAS HUMBLED. EZEIFE IS DEAD. HE HAS NOW MIGRATED TO IGWE ENUGWU-UKWU RALPH EKPE AND IS PROMOTING THE IGWE'S PROPAGANDA BACKED BY ENUGWU- UKWU'S DEEP WALLET, THAT NDI NRI ARE NO LONGER FROM IGALA BUT AGUKWU UGBENE. WHAT PROSTITUTION OF IDEAS?”
First, it is important to begin by informing Chukwuemeka Onyesoh that hagiography deals with biographies of Saints and so far there are no Saints among Agukwu-Ugbene people. Secondly, Igbo-Ukwu never formed a subject matter of the book in question except the chapter that deals with ethnographic interpretation of the three archaeological excavation sites in the context of Nri claims and by extension Igbo history.
So there was nothing for Nwankwo Nwaezeigwe to be paid for or bribed by Igbo-Ukwu, contrary to the case of Agukwu-Ugbene. One does not need to waste his time with the case of His Royal Highness Igwe Ralph Ekpe of Enugwu-Ukwu because it is obvious from the trajectory of Nwaezeigwe’s interpretation of Umunri historical accounts that he can’t be in accord with official Enugwu-Ukwu version of Umunri accounts.
On the issue of Agukwu-Ugbene being originally of Igala stock, the evidence is there right before our eyes. Reference was earlier made to Prince M. C. M. Idigo of Aguleri in his “History of Aguleri”; reference was also made to Prof J. S. Boston in his “Notes on Contact between the Igala and the Ibo,” in Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria Vol. 1. 2, December 1960; reference was equally made to Prof O. N. Njoku in his “Awka and Early Iron Technology in Igboland: Myths, Probabilities and Reality” in Odu No. 33, January 1988.
Reference was further made to Prof Richard N. Henderson, in his “The King in Every Man: evolutionary trends in Onitsha Ibo Society and Culture. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972; yet our Agukwu-Ugbene pseudo-local historians would not accept simple facts of history based on extant evidence, except what they maliciously concocted in their minds as truth.
Now let us see what M. D. W. Jeffreys said in his “Awka Divisional Intelligence Report of 1931-33” currently located at National Archives, Enugu: “The Umundri tradition is that they came from the ruling stock of the Igala and are thus connected with the Atah of Idah.”
The same M. D. W. Jeffreys again wrote in his article, “The Winged Solar Disk or Ibo Itsi Facial Scarification” Africa Vol. Xxi, No. 1, 1951, that:
“The Umundri, though they speak only Igbo, yet like the Yoruba declared that they are not Igbo but settled amongst a people whom they call Igbo. Thus the Umundri tradition of penetration by a people of high culture into a people of a lower, i.e, the Igbo, is common to both Yoruba and Igala traditions.”
Let us conclude this matter of Igala origin of Eri and Umunri by referring Chukwuemeka Onyesoh to the well-known high-life music maestro Chief Akunwata Ozoemena Nsugbe & His Oliokata Singing Party in their single-hit album titled “Igbo” released on January 20, 2013 under Lex Records Ltd label, which is accessible at the following YouTube link: https://youtu.be/3rrsFNQW-zw?si=W_Sf_yFH84RkyVUK. Ozoemena Nsugbe told us that Eri came from Igala.
The Agukwu-Ugbene obstinate propensity to hang on their mendacious fabrications of Nri history and by the same token Igbo history, is anchored on their characteristic arrogance founded on their belief in the power of money to illicitly transform obvious falsehoods into acceptable universal truth. This has remained their fundamental conviction in their struggles against Akamkpisi-Nri. Agukwu-Ugbene umbrage against Odogwu Nwankwo Nwaezeigwe is that he declined to be used as their intellectual mercenary against Akamkpisi-Nri.
Indeed, where it was not possible to use their enormous financial chest to bribe their ways through Government agencies, they resort to applying force by hiring mercenaries. This was the technique they applied over the years right from the point the Eze-Nri throne entered their domain after Eze-Nri Buife’s reign against Akamkpisi-Nri. Whenever the Akamkpisi-Nri attempted to reclaim the Eze-Nri throne in pre-colonial times, Agukwu-Ugbene would employ mercenaries to attack them.
For instance, Diodi Village is the smallest village by population among the six major villages in Nri town today because of such attacks by mercenaries employed by Agukwu-Ugbene to stop them from contesting the Eze-Nri throne.
According to Nri traditional accounts, Diodo Village initially consisted of nine kindred of which only five currently exist. The existing ones include, Achalla, Nri Namoke, Umuanua, Umuokpe and Agbana, known also as Umunsekpe. On the other hand, the four that are now extinct were Umuofoma, Utu, Ovolo and Ugwuora. They were said to have been dispersed following a war of attrition by a combined force of Aboh and Onitsha mercenaries employed by Agukwu-Ugbene. The same source further stated that it was during that war that a section of the Nsekpe kindred crossed the Ezu Idemili (Agulu-Lake) and consequently settled among the present Umuowele Village in Agulu town.
It is important to note that owing to the constant threat posed by Agukwu-Ugbene to the existence of their host Akamkpisi-Nri over the usurpation of Eze-Nri throne, both communities existed virtually as independent towns during the pre-colonial and early colonial periods, with the Adama-Nri acting as the only connecting link between the two. Indeed it was only in the annual celebration of Igu-Aro which was officiated by the Adama that both communities appeared to have acted as one entity in pre-colonial times.
In fact, Akamkpisi-Nri and Agukwu-Ugbene first met together for joint administrative and developmental purposes on December 28, 1936 at Okwuani Village Ground in Agbadana Village, Agukwu-Ugbene under the auspices of the then newly formed Nri Co-operative Society (NCS). This association which later metamorphosed into the Nri Progress Union (NPU) soon became the first major instrument of unification of the two hitherto independent communities.
With the advantage of first contact with Christian Missionaries and being located strategically closer to Enugwu-Ukwu and Nise, Agukwu-Ugbene soon emerged as financial and educational center against Akamkpisi-Nri who were remotely located close to the Lake. With this advantage at their disposal Agukwu-Ugbene continued with their instinctive oppressive tendencies against Akamkpisi-Nri; and this explains why Agukwu-Ugbene was once adopted as the common name of the entire town for a long time, before it was shortened to Agukwu, then Agukwu-Nri and now Nri.
Thus, as at 1976 when the current dispute over the Eze-Nri throne started, Agukwu-Ugbene by far surpassed their Akamkpisi-Nri counterpart in both material and human resources. Such men as Prince R.N. Tabansi, son of the late Eze-Nri and heavy duty transporter, Chief D.C. Nwosu, Chief Executive of the Njikoka Transport Company, Chief G.A. Onuorah and Prince G.A.D. Tabansi, added to a crop of intellectuals and legal practitioners led by Chief Philip Umeadi, SAN, were an intimidating force no community like Akamkpisi-Nri would desire at the time to engage in modern-day legal battle. But Akamkpisi-Nri were willing to face them, if not for their intellectual and economic disabilities but because the truths of Nri history were on their side.
Although the intellectual and economic demography between the two communities might have been slightly altered over the last decades with Akamkpisi-Nri slightly edging closer to Agukwu-Ugbene, the latter still maintain appreciable advantage over the former with the same carriage of obnoxious native arrogance reminiscent of pre-colonial mercenary mentality.
Thus with the like of the former Chief Justice of Anambra State, Justice Peter Nnanna Chukwudi Umeadi sitting arrogantly confident in the cockpit of the current Agukwu-Ugbene resolve to continue with their despicable usurpation of Eze-Nri throne, the old order of arrogance driven by material wealth and overbearing influence within the Anambra State Government and judiciary persists among the Agukwu-Ugbene.
Justice Umeadi is not only positioning himself as the next usurper-Eze-Nri, but against the honorable tradition of retired Nigerian High Judges to remain visibly apolitical on retirement, decided to join APGA in the bid to hand-twist the Anambra State Government into doing the biddings of Agukwu-Ugbene. Not yet satisfied, he engaged himself as a Visiting Professor of law at University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus; all in the bid to sustain the usurpation of Eze-Nri throne against all factual evidence of its historicity.
Under the leadership of Justice Umeadi who believes that his legal pedigree will surmount any legal action instituted by Akamkpisi-Nri, one could see the utter manifestation of the same obnoxious arrogance.
On August 1, 2023, the then Anambra State Hon. Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Hon TonyCollins Nwabunwanne held a joint meeting with leaders of Akamkpisi-Nri and Agukwu-Ugbene at Government House, Awka, over the Eze-Nri dispute. Arising from the meeting the Hon. Commissioner adjourned the meeting to the next three months.
Exhuming the same characteristic primitive arrogance, in a letter addressed to the same Hon. Commissioner dated October 28, 2023, and signed by Justice P. N. C. Umeadi as Chairman, Pascal Mebuge as Secretary, and Oba Lawrence Nwagwu as Onye Isi Nze, the Agukwu-Ugbene blatantly decided to boycott the meeting. Relying on the same obnoxious Nri Political Constitution which has been at the root of the conflict, the letter stated:
“The Eze Nri Royal Families at its meeting held on Friday 20/10/2023 reviewed that meeting at Awka and is of the considered view that the matter relating to the impending vacant throne of Eze Nri is the exclusive preserve of the Eze Nri Royal Families of Agukwu Nri to determine. The attendance of Agukwu Nri at the meeting of 1/8/2023 at Awka was in error.”
This was the haughty response to the Anambra State Hon. Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs Hon TonyCollins Nwabunwanne by a group led by a man who prides himself as a retired Chief Justice of the same Anambra State and by the same token should be an ardent respecter of official protocols. He believes that he is not only above the law but above the Hon. Commissioner.
Moreover as a member of the ruling APGA and a former gambler-Presidential candidate of the Party, Justice P. N. C. Umeadi believes that the people of Akamkpisi-Nri are mere political midgets whose opinions and civil rights as full citizens of Anambra State do not count before the State Government. But where else could such blatant display of vainglorious arrogance be found if not Anambra State where those who assume the garb of political godfathers play the roles of political gods? The speechless members of public are watching.
This was the same situation Akamkpisi-Nri found themselves when they walked out of the Nri Progress Union (NPU) General Meeting of Saturday September 18, 1976, in when the Agukwu-Ugbene with the same carriage of primitive ignorance afterwards issued a solo communiqué on behalf of Nri Progress Union. It should be recalled that the following day after the General Meeting, being Sunday September 19, 1976, a General Meeting of Akamkpisi-Nri was summoned at Nri Namoke Hall, Diodo, to reassess the outcome of the boycotted meeting.
At the end of the meeting it was resolved among other issues that Akamkpisi-Nri would no longer recognize Nri Jiofo II Tabansi Udene as requested by Anambra State Government. Part of their resolutions reads:
“Whereas the attempt to reach a settlement on the selection/method of succession/code of conduct of Eze-Nri (chief) of Nri has failed.
Whereas there has been a deliberate attempt by the rich Ezi group to defile and disregard the customs and traditions of Nri, the Ifite people, the owners of the land and the originators of kingship institution as well as king-makers of Nri NO LONGER recognise any body as the king (chief) of Nri, and intend soon to install a king (chief) for Nri.”
Based on the foregoing resolutions, Akamkpisi-Nri wrote a strong-worded petition to the Permanent Secretary, Anambra State Ministry of Local Government and Social Development, Enugu, in which they conveyed the withdrawal of their recognition for the reigning Eze-Nri Jiofor II, Tabansi Udene, and their subsequent resolve to install a new Eze-Nri. This petition, copies of which were sent to both the Military Governor and the Hon. Commissioner for Local Government and Social Development, was written through their solicitor, Dr. Ejike Umeh, SAN. It reads in part:
“We refer to our letter to the Senior Divisional Officer, Njikoka, a copy of which was sent to you, Ref. FEOU/PCM/1 of 1st September 1976. It behoves us to point out that after that letter and on a second reflection, coupled with the receipt by us of a well-reply by the said Senior Divisional Officer as well as our pieces of advice, our clients adopted a conciliatory attitude to the whole affair. Consequently, on the 5th day of September, 1976, they caused a General Meeting of their Ezi counterpart to be summoned. Following from that a high powered Executive Meeting was convened on the 10th September, 1976. Again, on the 18th September, 1976 yet another General Meeting of Ezi and Ifite was summoned. Despite all co-operation, reasonable approach and constructive suggestions by our clients, the meeting ended in a total failure. There was no agreement on selection, method of succession and code of conduct of Eze-Nri (chief) of Nri town …. In the light of the aforementioned points, the Ifite people and villages hereby re-affirm their complete opposition to any documents which might have been submitted by any person or group of persons or any documents that would be in future submitted in respect of the selection/succession/code of conduct of Eze-Nri (chief) of Nri Town.”
Immediately after the petition to the Permanent Secretary, Akamkpisi-Nri went further to prepare their own version of the method of selecting, succession and code of conduct of a new Nri king (Eze-Nri), which was subsequently submitted to the Senior Divisional Officer in-charge of Njikoka Division on September 26, 1976.
Arising from the above actions, it became clear to the once puffed-up Agukwu-Ugbene that the State Government would not recognize Nri Jiofo II Tabansi Udene without the consent of Akamkpisi-Nri. In fact, the Government made it clear to the two factions that unless they settled their differences, no king would be recognized from Nri. Nri was to be without a recognized king. Thus seriously humbled by their AKamkpisi-Nri counterpart, Agukwu-Ugbene resorted to conciliatory approach.
It should be recalled that immediately after the Akamkpisi-Nri boycotted General Meeting of Nri Progress Nri of 18 September 1976, Agukwu-Ugbene, on Monday September 20, 1976, addressed a letter to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Social Development, Enugu, requesting for date for the official presentation of their king, Nri Jiofor II, Tabansi Udene. Unfortunately, the move was thwarted by Akamkpisi-Nri actions.
Following the conciliatory moves by Agukwu-Ugbene, it was resolved that both sides should sheath their swords and respectively go back and fashion out their respective opinions on the mode of succession to Eze-Nri, in order to save Nri Jiofo II from remaining unrecognized. Being that Akamkpisi-Nri had no problem with the reigning Eze-Nri, they saw the truce as an honor to him.
In 1979, four years after the struggle for the Eze-Nri throne began, Tabansi Udene, Eze-Nri Jiofo II died. He reigned for about forty-two years. Consequently, there began another phase in the struggle between the Akamkpisi-Nri and Agukwu-Ugbene for the coveted throne. But it was after seven years when the mandatory seven-year interregnum ended that the battle assumed vicious form once again.
During the interregnum, the second biological but usurper-eldest son of Nri Jiofo II, Prince Reuben Nwofor Tabansi took over the regency against the standing customs and tradition that reserved the right of regency to the Adama. Northcote Thomas explains to us what happens when the Eze-Nri dies in the following words:
“When the king is dead none of his family and no Agukwu man, except from the Adama quarter, may see him; his body is buried in the Onongo. There is frequently an interregnum of considerable length between successive kings. In the absence of a king the Adama people seem to take his place and sacrifice to Nri Menri, the Ndicie of the old kings.”
This is the same Adama some Agukwu-Ugbene pseudo-local historians like Chukwuemeka Onyesoh and Charles Tabansi Udene have been battling laboriously to obliterate from the main body of Nri history in order to legitimize their forgeries.
So one could not understand why Prince Rueben Nwofor Tabansi should emerge as the Regent to Nri, if not for the penchant of Agukwu-Ugbene to defile, denigrate and destroy time-honored customary values of Nri people. Of course this is common with most late immigrants in many Igbo communities, where those who lead the abuse of Igbo customs and tradition are mostly those linked to stranger-elements in their communities.
In February 1986, the seven-year interregnum following the death of Nri Jiofo II elapsed. Under a normal customary situation, before the period of interregnum finally expires, the machinery for selecting and subsequent crowning of a successor would have been set in motion. But this time, it was not to be so. The Agukwu-Ugbene proceeded without consultations with Akamkpisi-Nri as agreed in accordance with the spirit of 1976 truce, to initiate plans, for the installation of new Eze-Nri. As soon as the clandestine plan got to the knowledge of Akamkpisi-Nri, they immediately initiated a quick response.
On January 18, 1986, Diodo Village of Akamkpisi-Nri now acting as an independent entity for strategic reasons had addressed a letter through their apex village organization—Diodo Patriotic Union (D.P.U.), which was jointly signed by its Chairman, Alex Enujiugha, and Secretary Fabian Idemilika to the Oru-Nze-na-Ino (the Twenty-four Member Council of Elders), reiterating their right to the Eze-Nri throne through Nri Namoke lineage. As usual with their premeditated arrogance, the Oru-Nze-na-Ino which was headed by an Agukwu-Ugbene did not consider such notice worthy of response.
However, it was not until nearly eleven months later that the other two villages of Akamkpisi-Nri—Ekwenanyika and Uruofolo after watching carefully the unfolding developments decided to initiate their own action independent but in c
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