…Traditional ruler not willing to reside in his community  unfit for the throne — Enachoken Abiriba.

…You can’t live outside to serve as traditional ruler — Archbishop Onuagha

…Insecurity forced us to operate from outside our domain — Imo monarchs

…It is not a hindrance to the performance of his duties — Azia monarch

…Government should dethrone such traditional rulers — Community leader

By Anayo Okoli, Vincent Ujumadu, Steve Oko, Ugochukwu Alaribe, Alumona Ugwueze, Chinonso Alozie & Chimaobi Nwaiwu

IN Igbo land, traditional rulers are the chief security officers of their communities. However, many of them reside outside their domain and visit home from time to time. Can they effectively oversee the happenings in their communities as chief security officers?

Any traditional ruler not residing in his community is unfit for the throne; he should resign – Enachoken Abiriba

Notable Abia traditional ruler, the monarch of Abiriba Ancient Kingdom, Eze Kalu Kalu Ogbu,  Enachoken Abiriba,  made it clear that it is strange and an abuse of royalty for any traditional ruler to operate from outside his community. He said any traditional ruler living outside his domain is not fit to occupy the throne.

“Is any traditional ruler operating from another man’s land a traditional ruler? It shows he is not. How can he look after his people?  As a traditional ruler, on a daily basis, I attend to my people. I adjudicate on their matters. Almost everything in the community revolves around the traditional ruler. How can you reside somewhere else and say you are a traditional ruler? Such a person is everything but a traditional ruler.

“If it is a place where the  Ezeship stool is hereditary, he either abdicates the throne or leaves whatever he is doing abroad and returns home to perform his duties as a traditional ruler. These are the only options for him. But if it is one of these autonomous communities, the people should remove him or bring another person as their traditional ruler,” the renowned monarch said.

You can’t live outside to serve as a monarch in Igbo land — Archbishop Onuagha

The Methodist Archbishop of Okigwe Archdiocese, Most Rev. Biereonwu Livinus Onuagha supports that monarchs should reside with their people to know what happens in the community. He likened Igbo traditional practice to that of the Israelites where Kings live among the subjects to rule over them. This way, they know where things are going wrong and how to resolve them in time. He said when the king is not there, the people are in disarray, and there will be no clear direction.

“I feel that the best thing for us to do in Igbo land is that the kingship should be in the hands of the people at home, those who understand the yearnings and aspirations of their communities.

“When the king is enthroned and he lives outside his domain and visits home once or twice a year to see his people, it begs the matter so much. Unfortunately, our people have taken the institution of kingship for granted.

“For me, I know and believe that the Igwe  or Eze of Igbo land should reside among the people. How can you reside in Jakarta, Indonesia, Dallas, USA, Lagos or Abuja and you are answering the Igwe of your community in Igbo land? It is not proper and real. So I feel that we should as a matter of urgency look into it. The State Houses of Assembly should enact laws to make it compulsory for monarchs to reside within their communities.

“Money should be de-emphasized in selecting the monarchs as money cannot take care of all things demanded by the traditional stool. Money has destroyed a lot of traditional matters in Igbo land.

Many kings use their Onowus, (the Traditional Prime Ministers)  to run the affairs of their communities but sometimes they are sabotaged and make things even difficult for them.

“If you go to all the communities where insecurity is high, their kings are living abroad and they are afraid of coming back to their communities, then what is the essence of giving them the kingship stool? So the State Houses of Assembly in the South-East should enact laws clearly specifying the roles of the traditional rulers and we should be on the same page. In Yoruba land, the Oba is Oba but in Igbo land, some answer Igwe, others answer Eze, we have to harmonize it,” he said.

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Chief Clifford Madichie from Awka believes that a traditional ruler who resides outside his community loses touch with the people, and handling issues in such communities will be difficult. According to him, one of the first requirements for one to aspire to be a traditional ruler should be that he must reside with his subjects.

He said: “To me, it is not proper for a traditional ruler to live outside his domain. Why should anyone aspire to be a traditional ruler if he is not ready to live with the people? There are usually land disputes and disputes between villages and families; and a monarch that knows his onions should not be delegating such important functions to other people. He should always be there for his people.”

It is not a hindrance to the performance of his duties— Azia monarch

But the Igwe-elect of Azia in Ihiala Council Area of Anambra State, Chief Felix Ifeanyimuo said living outside the community is not a hindrance to his performance as a traditional ruler. According to him, a traditional ruler should always provide kola and drinks to visitors to the palace and he will not be commanding the respect of his subjects if he had to wait for donations to do that.

“Being a traditional ruler does not mean that one should stay in the village and just be breaking kola nuts.  As a young man, I should have something tangible to be doing. I am a businessman. I am into real estate. I buy and sell land, build houses and sell. But I will ensure that functional committees are on ground in my domain to handle emergencies in my absence,” adding that he could also meet virtually with his Igwe-In-Council.

Govt. should dethrone monarchs who reside outside their communities

A community leader in Aba North Council, Abia State, Chief Chukwuemeka Ogbugo, urges state governments to dethrone traditional rulers who reside outside their communities.  He explained that a traditional ruler being the custodian of tradition and culture of his people can’t effectively carry out such functions from outside his domain. He noted that there are usually crises in communities which require personal intervention of the monarchs. He called on the state governments in the region to issue stern warnings to traditional rulers residing outside their territory and dethrone any who refuses to relocate to his community.

“A traditional ruler is the representative of his people. It is a position no one holds by proxy. A traditional ruler is meant to live with his people, adjudicate over disputes, preside over traditional events and ensure the peace and security of his community,” Ogbugo said.

We relocated out of our community for fear of attacks – Imo monarchs

In Imo State, monarchs who spoke to SEV said they relocated out of their communities due to the high level of insecurity in their areas which had led to attacks and killings of their colleagues. The monarchs, mainly from Orlu, Orsu, Onuimo, and Okigwe council areas, pleaded anonymity. They said once security is restored in their areas, they would return to their domain and stay with their people.

One of them from Orsu area, the hotbed of insecurity in Imo said: “Yes, we ran away from our area because of insecurity. Even now, there is still fear in my community which is around the deadliest camp of the gunmen. They call it the Mother Valley.  It is true that security agencies are doing a lot to arrest the situation, and gradually things are normalizing, but we still live in fear. We expect more presence of security.”

Also, a monarch who relocated from Okigwe to Owerri area after the kidnap and murder of two of his colleagues, said: “I suspect something about insecurity in Imo State; those who carry out the attacks are the locals. So, for peace to return, it is time security agencies infiltrate our communities to get hold of these bad eggs. Again, they should listen, liaise with stakeholders from these crisis-prone areas. We want these boys to be apprehended and kept in  custody.  Just like last Saturday, they had another attack in Okigwe and killed two police officers.”

Residing outside will affect the security of the community—  Igwe Ike Oke

The Chairman, Igbo-Eze South Traditional Rulers Council, Igwe Ike Oke, said communities where their traditional rulers live outside cannot be adequately secured.

Oke, the traditional ruler of Itchi Agu community in Igbo-Eze South Council Area, Enugu State, added that traditional rulers need to live with their subjects in order to know and solve their needs.

“It is not good for traditional rulers to live outside their communities. What this means is that they are not taking adequate care of their communities and the subjects.  If they live with their subjects, they would be able to tackle issues of traditional abuses from the root and equally caution the culprits accordingly. I live with my subjects and I have been in the forefront of the security arrangements in my community,” he said.

They should spend more time in their communities to govern effectively—Abia commissioner

Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Abia State, Prince Uzor Nwachukwu, agrees that traditional rulers should spend more time in their communities to govern effectively.

The Commissioner said although  there was no law in the state confining them to their domains permanently, they should try to live more with their subjects so as to know their challenges.  He, however, hinted that the Ministry was reviewing some of the codes of conduct for royal fathers in the state.

Vanguard Newspaper