By Okey Maduforo Awka
The decades of Chieftaincy tussle in Nri kingdom the believed ancestral home of the Igbos of the South East over who is the substantive Eze Nri may likely end up in the production of two separate Monarchs and two separate Kingdom.
This is on the account of the face off between the two major quarters Akampisi Nri and Agukwu Nri since after the death of Eze Obodiegwu Onyeso .
Deepening the crisis situation, the two quarters have approached the Ministry of local government and Town Union Affairs insisting that they have resolved to have their different autonomous Communities with two different Traditional Rulers.
Confirming this development the Commissioner for local government and Town Union Affairs Chief Tony Collins Nwabunwane told reporters that the state government is awear of the crisis in the town .
Nwabunwane further said that ;
“I went for a training and have not been in the office for sometime now but the letters must be in my office but the state government knows that there is Chieftaincy dispute but we are trying to resolve the matter ”
“You know that the idea of autonomous Communities is not akin to our state Anambra state and with time we shall resolve the matter through meeting with both parties for peace to reign” he said.
Addressing reporters earlier the leader of one of the quarters Ezeoba Ramaz Asuzu lamented the over the dispute contending that since both parties have resolved to go their sperate ways so be it for peace to reign.
“All the state in Nigeria has autonomy but only Anambra state that do not have autonomy but when Obiano came he recommended autonomy and approved the three Communities from his area but abandoned others ”
“When Obumuo first traveled on a long journey for over thirteen years we are still waiting to see if Nri can unite but it did not work until Odiedo traveled a long journey meaning that he died just like Obumuo the same matter came up again when Onyeso died the same came up again we said ok the next village to produce Eze Nri is Akampisi but they manipulated it and zoned it down to Agu Ukwu Nri again”
“When this one happened we called the stakeholders and say let us unite they said no and that the aborigines will be perpetual slaves to them and our people said no that it can’t happen again we continued with the meeting a d then they worked out on the meeting several times”
“The next thing we heard is that they said that Afah has selected on Chukwudi Nwokoye which has never happened before”
“The Agu Ukwu Nri people in their own section the late Eze Onyeso people said that they don’t accept Nwokoye that it has been approved by them”
“The matter about the selection of one Nwokoye is not acceptable in Agu Ukwu Nri and the entire Nri people”
“We had another meeting to settle the matter telling them that since they have produced Eze Nri and his is dead , it is our turn to produce Eze Nri and they walked out of the meeting”
“The next thing was a letter to the Ministry of Local government and Town Union Affairs to the Commissioner that they will be on their own and that we should be on our own ”
“That is Akampisi Nri should be on their own and themselves Agu Ukwu Nri should be on their own that we are not the same thing and that we do not celebrate Ozo or Iyom title together that we should be on our own ”
“We are now writing to the Anambra state government that we have accepted their offer for them to be on their own and we will be on our own and we shall select our own king and crown our king and they select their own king and crown their own”
“So that peace to reign and that is what we want so that we do not begin to kill ourselves and cause breakdown of law and order” he said.
