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| One of the oldest traditional rulers in Igbo land, His Royal Majesty, Eze Isaac Ikonne, the Enyi 1 of Aba, Abia State, shares his 45 years experience on the throne in this interview. Read some excerpt from the interview |
---Shortly before the 2015 elections, you conferred on the
President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) a
chieftaincy title that generated much controversy in the state.
The traditional rulers council disowned you and a lot of
people criticised you for the action. How do you feel now that
Buhari would soon be sworn in as President of Nigeria?
----I feel vindicated. I feel happy because Aba will now be rebuilt.
Buhari assured me when he visited my palace that if he won,
he would rebuild Aba. I also thank God for giving us Okezie
Ikpeazu as governor who understands that Aba is suffering.
Aba used to be the Japan of Africa with a lot of industries.
Buhari assured me he would restore Aba, and I am confident
he would keep to his words. The first time Buhari took a shot
at the presidency even though as a military head of state, we
saw sincerity in him. Even though he did not last long, he was
able to make some remarkable impacts. That is why I believe
that if he is given another chance as a civilian president, he
will do better.
---Did you have any personal relationship with Buhari before
now?
--No. Not at all. It was God that told me to have faith in
Buhari.
What do you think will be the fate of those traditional rulers
who criticised you then for honouring Buhari with the
chieftaincy title of “Ogbuagu 1” ( killer of tiger) of Aba?
They are fraudsters masquerading as traditional rulers. They
even said I had no powers to speak for the entire Aba, and
that I am a stranger in my community. But there is a question
I will ask them when the chips are down. I am in court with
some of those traditional rulers but I will use them as an
example to prove to them that it is I is the custodian of the
Offor (tradition) of Osusu land. I have the ahiajioku and the
ogu of the land as the elder of the land. This is my 86 years
of existence. I am not a kid.
--Do you think Buhari should appreciate you for accepting him
when almost everybody rejected him?
--Yes! He has already bought clothes and sent to me. He said I
should wear them and attend his inauguration on May 29 and
I will attend. I will not attend with other traditional rulers. I
can only go with them on the day they will go for a courtesy
visit to Buhari. But during his swearing in, the environment
would be so rowdy that they may not be recognised.
--During the courtesy visit, what key requests germane to Abia
State and Ndigbo in general would you be presenting to your
friend, Buhari?
--God knows I will remind him of the promises he made in my
palace. He said he would rebuild Aba at least to reciprocate
my hospitality to him. I trust Buhari. He is a straight forward
man. I will ask him not to exclude Ndigbo in his government
but accord us whatever that is due to us in the country
because Ndigbo is one of the tripods of Nigeria. Though our
people didn’t vote massively for him, he should know that
politics is different from governance and I have no doubt in me
that Buhari will not maltreat Ndigbo.