Expelled Isiugwu 7:
IOCDA knows what to do. Let them do it... Agumba
Dissolve youth leadership, publish forensic report... Pioneer youth founder Etum
I will not respond... Onwuka, IOCDA
By Uduma Kalu
Chief Chukwudi Kalu Agbara, in this chat, confirms his post on the Isiugwu Ohafia youth platform that he was referring to the Isiugwu Ohafia Development Association IOCDA leadership. The IOCDA leadership was doubtful of the post.
Asked whether he was referring to the IOCDA leadership in his Isiugwu Ohafia Youth platform post, Chief Chukwudi Kalu Agbara, the Agumba of Ohafia, said:
Agumba: Everybody on the platform knows who I am referring to. Don't those in IOCDA know they are the ones I am talking to? Don't they know? You say you are educated but you don't know how to follow things. You don't know how to handle matters. Common something, you want it to turn to something, to turn to a problem in our community. You can't stand on your words. People have regard for them but they cannot do what they are supposed to do. Are they afraid of who, eh? Are they afraid of who? You don't want to treat the matter the way it's supposed to be treated. They are behaving as if they are afraid. Then, why did you contest as the PG of the community, eh? Why did you come out for the PG of the community?
My brother, what they are doing there is totally messed up. I have tried. The lizard that failed down from a tree said if no one praised it, it would praise itself. On this case, I have done what no one in that community can do. No one has the heart to do it. I have settled the matter for you... for you to give your conclusion in a very good way, so that people will praise you. You don't want to do it. My brother, let me not go further because I am driving. They know that I am talking to them. They know the right thing to do. They know the right thing to do. Let them do the right thing.
Ohafia Monarchs Step in... Agumba Continues
I think the Ohafia monarchs have asked them to bring the documents they used for the judgement. If you judged somebody that he did something wrong, then you explain why you expelled him. You must give the result. You present it to Isiugwu: this is the reason why he was expelled. This person did this and that's why he was expelled. This person did this, that's why he was expelled. One after the other. Isiugwu community is waiting for you to give the result of why those were expelled from Isiugwu. They can't do it. Because they don't even know what they are doing. You call yourself educated man.
IOCDA PG Responds
In his response to the various issues raised, the IOCDA president, Mr Udo Onwuka said many people have been writing rubbish without knowing what the problem is. He said the problem had lingered on for eight years. Pressed further to respond, Mr Onwuka said it was not by force that he must respond. Sounding angry, Onwuka said he would not respond to the issues and ended the call.
Dissolve the youth leadership, hold election.... Says pioneer youth founder Olugu Etum
Just when this report was about to be shared, Mr Prosper Olugu Etum, pioneer founder of the Isiugwu youth association called to express his views on the expulsion saga. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the expulsion since Oke had withdrawn the case against Isiugwu Ohafia and those whose properties were destroyed had been compensated by Chief Chukwudi Kalu Agbara, the Agumba of Ohafia.
He however called on the IOCDA leadership under Mr Udo Onwuka to urgently dissolve the youth leadership at home and abroad and call for election.
Mr Etum warned that the present selection method of appointing the youth leadership was dangerous. He said neglecting his call for sharing formula of derived commission from tapped resources would spell doom for the community in the long run.
Etum advised the Ezeogo Okorie Ukpe and the IOCDA chairman, Mr Udo Onwuka against using any of the youth factions for their personal interests as that would be detrimental to the peace and development of the community.
Etum noted that the root cause of the angst Oke has not been expressed. To him, the problem was based on the perks of office that come with the youth keay. He said as Oke has his youth faction, does Nmaju. He wanted the Ezeogo and Onwuka not to pander to either of the youth factions
According to him, the Ezeogo and Onwuka may not be aware that the putsch against Oke, mau be an internal struggle for who gets what as leader of the youth association. He said as Oke is more known to government and other agencies, the idea to push him away from the youth and from the community was away by the youth faction to stop him from getting the benefits while the new factional leadership takes over the perks without hindrance.
There in lay the haste to push Oke away, he opined.
Etum thanked Chief Chukwudi Kalu Agbara, the Agumba of Ohafia for his financial intervention, saying without that effort, the case would have escalated beyond what it is today.
Etum also called on Onwuka to constitute sn Advisory Council of Isiugwu Ohafia elites that will be giving him advice on difficult cases. Onwuka, he went on, should also reach out to people like him for advice for advice. Onwuka, he went on, should know that he is the leader of the community that voted him in and should not see himself as deputy or appendage to the Ezeogo. He should not therefore shirk his responsibility and shed his responsibility to the Ezeogo and his council. Etum also called for a drafting of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on how to share commission accrued to Isiugwu Ohafia in an event that a resource is discovered and tapped in the town in the future. This he warned, was necessary because the rampaging youth, already destroying properties in the town have their eyes on such future, adding that if the MOU was not drafted now spelling out what the youth, family that owns the land the resource was discovered and what the Isiugwu Ohafia people themselves stand to receive, it would become a problem then. Because, as he put it, the mouth that has started to eat will not like to stop eating, meaning, since the youth leaders, being exposed to the perks of office would not like to stop enjoying such benefits, once the discovery of such resource and exploitation begins, the youth would take over and it would be difficult to stop them. So, it was important to write the MOU now, he said.
Excerpts:
Udo Onwuka should dissolve the youth, call for election. The youth should declare declare their interest and election held. The youth leadership should not be based on age grade. IOCDA should be in charge of the election. It should not be based on age grade. I was youth chairman at 25 and I left at 30. I was having uxu consultations during the elders, ichin Isiugwu at 25. Many people didn't know. One day, there was a meeting between the IOCDA and the elders. The elders called me to attend. The IOCDA leadership was surprised. He remembered when he spoke at the Ogbo Ukwu to resolve a knotty case there, even at his youthful age. Etum also recalled a case he handled. This was to him a a way to handle the strong men in the town. He said the case involved the late Chief Kalu Oji and Mr. Anya, alias Kakpos, two strong man of the town then. Anya was strong and feared. Oji was rich and influential. How to handle their case was a problem to the elders. Etum said he was summoned to advise. He told the elders that truth should be upheld all the time, and that he who came for equity should come with clean hands.
He said he advised the elders to judge with truth and whoever was guilty should be fined. The fines, he said, should begin from the weak person till the most powerful under the Uke Akpan. This was how Anya and Oji were fined and tamed, he said.
I'm surprised to hear that Isiugwu Ohafia people now pay commission to the elders when they buy land in the town. Etum said if well investigated, it would be realized that some of the factional youth advised the elders, warning the Ezeogo and the elders not to get too close to the youth factions.
Etum argued that if such commissions continue, one day, Isiugwu Ohafia would be like Port Harcourt and other cities where youth hold someone buying and building a house hostage. Mark my words, if the MOU is not written now, we will regret it later.
Udo is the strength of the Ezeogo. Ezeogo may be weakened by extraneous factors. That is where Udo comes in, to assert the truth and justice. Udo needs not handover his responsibility to the Ezeogo. The IOCDA president is not the deputy to the Ezeogo. He is the chief of staff of the town. He comes in when there are tough cases. He is a strong person as every Isiugwu Ohafia person is behind him as an elected leader.
The greatest problem in Isiugwu Ohafia today are the youth. I heard the rampaging youth voted for him. I don't know. I wasn't there. But if he is using them, or the Ezeogo is using them, it will be worst thing for Isiugwu Ohafia. This is why Udo an advisory committee. He should seek advice, reach out to people for advice. He has not called me. I don't know whether he calls other people. I expect him to call me. I was his senior in school. Many Isiugwu Ohafia parents entrusted their wards in my care at Enuda Secondary School. I was popular there as I was in Isiugwu Ohafia. I expected him to reach out to people for advice.
I must warn again, there should be a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the resources of our land against whenever they are discovered. The MOU must spell out what the family that owns the land where the resource is discovered gets. The same thing for the youth... scholarship, training etc. Also, the Ezeogo and the Isiugwu Ohafia people themselves. We need it now. The youth want to hijack it when the time comes. It's their target. But they won't be able to do it once there is laid down principle on the sharing formula. If it's not done now, we will regret it. By then, the youth would be stronger.
Udo should do it. He should dissolve the youth and call for election. He should ask interested candidates to declare their interests. The people will select their leaders. Anyone anywhere can vie for any position, including the chairmanship of the youth association. Anyone anywhere should vote. Udo can give three months electioneering... campaigns and all. The state chapters too should have their own executives. It doesn't matter where the leader is resided. It will just be like the IOCDA. The leader can be anywhere. What makes a leader is charisma.
Isiugwu can be like a state. There's the national body. The home chairman should be reporting to the national chairman if the national chairman is living outside Isiugwu Ohafia. The national chairman is the overall chairman. . Election of the national chairman should not depend on where he resides but on popularity , performance and character.
On the Oke and Nmaju case, I asked the youth chairman to call a press conference. He didn't. This will let us know what he has done so far on the matter. We don't know what he has done on the matter. We should hold him accountable.
I am thinking that the youth, on this Oke and Nmaju matter are fighting over something. They are fighting Akanu because they know Akanu more connected and is getting something from there. They need their share. They know that once they get they Akanu out. That's my thinking of the whole matter.
Election is the way out. Yes, since my time, there has been no election of the youth chairmen. Only appointments. Appointments are like honorary degree, not academic degree where you study for it. The election winner will be respected, accepted. On my own case, I was the founder, and I was disciplined. I remember there were some stubborn boys like Agwu Okorie then. I controlled him through advice. There was once Ijekpa Kalu Okoro who reported his child to me. The boy was too stubborn. I went to the boy and advised him. He later changed and went to town to become useful.
The youth chairman should be somebody elected, somebody people can respect. It should not be based on uke or age grade. Udo should hold election and the people should elect a leader they can respect. The branches, such as the home chairman, should report to the national chairman.
The youth are a very strong body. They are stubborn. If you can control them, they calm down. If you can't, things will go wrong. You need strong hand to carry them along and they will become a willing tool.
Udo has not called me. I haven't heard any presidential speech from him do far. We expected him to give a speech when the boys were destroying things so that they would know there were law and order , and you expect us to appreciate him. No, we can't. I expected our leading lights to come out and shout. But they were silent.. People like chief justice. But they were all quiet. The PG was quiet. Maybe they were afraid their properties would be burnt. But there is no sense in that.
Udo should reach out to people like me for advice. He should establish an advisory council. Udo was my junior in school. Many parents entrusted their wards with me when I was at Enuda. I was well known. I expect Udo to use wisdom. I expect him to do that. Those to him like you should talk to him. It's not only Udo's case. It's our case.
I heard about his election. I'm told they supported him. . I wasn't there. They are in synergy with him. He should not pander to them. Neither should the Ezeogo. Why should they? Akanu has his friends. Kalu Nmaju has his friends. They are all youth. But they are factions. They call the factions clubs. Because money and other things from government come, not to individuals but to groups. My take is that tho other factions see Akanu us getting the upper hand. To take over, was to drive him away. It was not easy till now. That is why you need to dissolve the youth and hold election.
IOCDA Should Carry Agumba etc along
The IOCDA should carry people like Agumba along because if not because of what he did, hmmm. The PG should not be angry. There's no need to be. It's Isiugwu Ohafia problem, a public problem. This type of fear that made people run away from their homes never happened in Isiugwu Ohafia happened before. The first type, you may say it happened was in 1969 when some trucks were brought into the town during the war. People ran away..
Where's the Audit Report?
On the judgement that took place last Easter Sunday April 20, there is no forensic audit of what happened. You analyse what happened, group by group. There, you get to the root, the solution. Isiugwu Ohafia is created on the platform of peace. Perhaps, that's why Agumba was raised at this time. How would we have handled this without his contribution? Tha IOCDA should carry people along. They should not be angry. They may not know their mistakes. This type of expulsion can lead to everlasting enmity between the expelled and the expellers.
Is the executive afraid?
If the executives are afraid, they should liaise with people. The Isiugwu Council should advise. I bought my land at Uzo Akanu for N40, 000 long ago. I bought it from my rice farming. But our people have abandoned agriculture. They now sell lands and share the commission.
On the judgement, IOCDA should show its forensic audit of their judgement. Publish it. Those that destroyed what, what they destroyed. So that in future, you will see what you did.
They should have the MOU. If not, there will be a problem. Because, there are interested persons left and right, waiting for the right time. Udo should not be angry. It's not personal matter. We must talk about it. If things are not okay at home, it won't be easy for the Ezeogo and for the IOCDA. IOCDA should not fear . I still advise that anybody that has advice that should lead to peace should advise, contribute to the progress of our town .
0 Comments