When you critically review the amount of misinformation that is circulating in this Eze Aro issue, you cannot help wondering how we got here.
In the Arochukwu Kingdom, we have three kindreds. Each kindred has the responsibility to make their own Eze without interference from the other kindreds.
In the Arochukwu tradition, Okennachi has the same rights and responsibilities as the other kindreds to select their own Eze without undue interference from the other kindreds.
Any person selected by Okennachi as their Eze becomes the Eze Aro automatically. Okennachi does not, and has never had a separate Eze from the Eze Aro.
So, what is the problem? Why do we now have this massive interference from all the other kindreds on who becomes the head of Okennachi? So if Eze Agwu needs a new Eze tomorrow, Okennachi will also have a right to fight for who becomes their Eze.
I am certain they will resist that imposition as much as we are resisting the imposition of an Eze for Okennachi. If you don’t like our choice of Eze, so be it. Who tells you Okennachi loves the choice of your Ezes; but we have lived with them so far. That is the rule of engagement.
There is a need to address the lies surrounding the legal issues that have arisen so far. These lies have traction because people don’t bother to read anything and the information they get is hearsay.
Yes, Justice Nwakanma made a ruling asking the government to withdraw the certificate of recognition of His Eminence and for him to vacate the throne. Fair enough.
That ruling was made without those involved present in court. It was tantamount to shaving a man’s hair in his absence.
As soon as that ruling was made, hoodlums invaded the palace, destroying property, with the intent to force compliance with the ruling. That is not how things are done. These hoodlums broke the law because it is not their duty to enforce court rulings. Those who perpetrated that act are being rounded up by the police. There are consequences for hooliganism in a civilized society.
Okennachi filed a motion in court for the setting aside of the injunctive orders of the Umunneochi High Court that were given without the service of the mandatory hearing notices.
Okennachi has no issue with the case filed in Umunnechi High Court. It should be heard and judged on its merit. Now, the setting aside of injunctive orders has been adjourned sine die. The motion and the case will be heard in due course.
Therefore, until these legal processes are completed, there is no value in lying that the matter has ended in anyone’s favor.
Legal matters are not settled in the court of WhatsApp. Innuendos by the supposed educated elite in the Arochukwu society that Okennachi is not obeying court orders is the biggest sign of ignorance and propaganda ever in our history.
If the case in Ummunnochi court happens to go against Okennachi for any reason, Okennachi still has a legal recourse to approach an Appeal Court and up to the Supreme Court. Does it then make sense to count your chicken when it has not been hatched? Okennachi is patient. We will prosecute our inalienable right to protect our traditional right of choosing who will be the Eze of Okennachi and concomitantly, the Eze of the Arochukwu Kingdom.
I had wondered at the start how we got here. I have, therefore, concluded that we got here as a result of four interlocking forces. These are land matters, politics, narcotics, and personal ego. These issues are in no particular order. Let’s look at them one by one.
Land matters
Most of the individuals coalescing to choose an Eze for Okennachi have illegally appropriated land in the kingdom. With a leadership vacuum that occurred when the now late Eze Vincent became incapacitated just barely two years after ascending the throne, those who filled that vacuum became land speculators and even seized land belonging to the State. A series of petitions to the Palace for redress went nowhere as the perpetrators have compromised those who otherwise would have given justice to the ordinary Aro men and women. These men will fight with every drop of their blood to avoid accountability for their illegality.
Politics
The second interlocking factor is politics. Those who oppose the choice of Okennachi as their Eze clearly state that they object that he was chosen by the Governor of Abia State, His Excellency Dr. Alex Otti. This is not true. His Excellency, by the special Grace of God, is from the Okennachi kindred and an Aro son who loves the kingdom dearly.
However, he had no hand in the selection of the leader of the Okennachi kindred. He did not interfere with the process that led to the emergence of the Eze. What is going on is that opposition parties to the party of the governor have seized on this false narrative to rubbish the governor. They gleefully repost and support the propaganda of the PDP that feel aggrieved that they lost the State to Labour Party. For them, this Eze Aro matter is now a campaign issue. Many of them have openly lamented that the governor did not give them political appointments because of the Eze Aro matter.
Narcotics
The third is narcotics. The latest NDLEA report on narcotics use in Abia State towns named Arochukwu as number one. Most narcotics dealers and users have built alliances that see a new sheriff in town as a disruption of a lucrative business. This is the group feeding cult members and thugs in the kingdom. For the avoidance of doubt, Arochukwu has the largest number of mad people on the street. That is the direct effect of narcotics use.
Personal ego
The last one I will talk about is personal ego. There are other minor ones but there are individuals in the kingdom that have gotten used to calling the shot that the idea of Okennachi kindred selecting their Eze without their participation became an aberration and a slight to their inflated ego. The explanation that traditionally they don’t have to be part of it makes no sense to them. A major reason is their complete ignorance of the customs and traditions of Arochukwu in general and Okennachi in particular.
Arochukwu’s leadership issues have suffered for a long time. From 1988 to 1995 – a period of 7 years – there was a vacuum of leadership, which some ambitious leaders of other kindreds exploited effectively. When the now late Eze Vincent finally took the throne, those who were making decisions in the kingdom had consolidated power so effectively that they constantly undermined his leadership.
By 2000, late Eze Vincent began to have health issues and for the next 21 years – before his passing in 2021 – he practically left the kingdom in the hands of those who wanted his throne. Then for three years after the burial of Eze Vincent, these elements had a stranglehold on the “Onye ojeozi Arianzu”.
Now, how do you believe that these power brokers will willingly allow Okennachi to choose a leader they cannot control after being in control for more than 35 years?
They were not about to see that happen. They had earlier broken up the kingdom into autonomous communities and the final game plan was to impose a leader for Okennachi. Once they achieved that, the appropriation of the kingdom would have been completed.
Okennachi kindred had a divine duty to save the kingdom and take it back from those who had the intent to return it to darkness. Our appeal to all Arochukwu progressives is to join the palace, led by our God-ordained King, to “Rebuild the Aro Nation”.
Dr. Chima Dike, DBA, is Ebubedike Aro.
