His Majesty, Eze Ènweleána II Obidiegwu Onyeso is the traditional ruler of Nri Kingdom in Anambra State. In this interview with a group of journalists, the monarch speaks on the history of Igbos and constitutional roles for traditional rulers. Patrick Ahanor was there
Constitutional roles for traditional rulers
I think it is overdue. In those days, you find out that the centre of governance revolves around our traditional institution. It was the traditional institution who governed communities. The white man came and changed it. After a certain time, they now realized that the existence and importance of traditional rulers is high.
Initially, while Igbo land was under direct rule of the District Officers, the other areas were under indirect rule. Our people in those days relied mostly on their traditional rulers. And whatever Eze (king) says; goes.
So, when these colonialists attacked these institutions, they compelled the traditional rulers to call their subjects to see them (colonialists) as their direct rulers. When you now say you want to return traditional rulers to the constitution, it’s not a new thing.
It has always been there. It was just one General that woke up one morning and scrapped it. I won’t mention his name, we are now saying that the security of the communities rely mostly on the traditional rulers. It’s only the traditional ruler that will tell you what is on ground.
Every thief, every kidnapper came from one community or the other. And they know one another. It’s only the traditional ruler who knows them and has the traditional authority to bring them out from the nooks and crannies where they hide. They also will mete out the customary punishment to such people. The traditional rulers also know how to control infiltration.
Nagging issue of indigenship
There has been the issue of indigeneship. Even among the Nri. In every Nri settlement, we have Ifite and Ezi, because we all travel all the time. So the Ifite are the original owners of the place. The Ezi are the travellers who came to meet them. It was recognized from the beginning by Eze Nri, and all the communities have them so.
They have their administration; and it helps them know who is who. We know that people from Ezi are not the original owners of the land, but are comers. So coming back to your question, these original owners are the indigenes. Now, the white man will come and interpret indigeneship. We don’t know what they interpret, but what I know is that we have Ezi and Ifite. If everybody has to be indigene, then it’s left for them to make it constitutional.
The argument is that if one has lived in a community for certain years and contributes to the development of the area, and qualifies him to enjoy whatever privileges others enjoy or even running for elections is to me, political indigeneship. If you really want to interpret the main indigeneship like of the Ifite and Ezi, the owners of the land are the indigenes.
Conflicting account over Igbo ancestral home
This ancient kingdom (Nri) has been the custodian of Igbo culture. It’s far ahead of the entire Igbo race; and all the Ndi Igbo have regarded this place as their ancestral homeland. Any other thing that you hear is a matter of politics. Empirical reports, historical evidence, and others have shown that Nri is origin of Igbo culture and the head of Igbo traditional religion. Any other person telling you otherwise is playing politics. I am saying this, and have every evidence to support what I say. Those evidences are there, and will remain till anybody else proves me wrong.
When the white people came to these parts in 1911, they sent people known as archaeologists, anthropologists. Before whites do anything with you, they study the people to know how they behave; and the study is all based on traditional religions. So, I am saying this based on the anthropological reports that went to the queen of England then, dated 1937… Any serious thinking person who wants to learn about a
people uses the archives.
And those colonialists who came as administrators, right from the time of Lord Lugard, wrote intelligence reports. All their reports indicated that this is the origin of Ndi Igbo. Again, our own historians like Professor Kenneth Dike, Prof Umejiogwu, Prof Adiele Afigbo- all concurred with them. All these are known anthropologists, and their evidence are verifiable.
Origin of Igbo ethic group
Like I said before, our grand progenitor is Eri, who gave birth Nri; and they set off as refugees in Egypt. They came from Egypt, travelling along the Nile valley. The progenitors were travelling and running away from jihadists because at that time, when jihadists captured anybody, they would want to convert you to Islam or kill you.
So, they all started coming down this way and got to Nubia, the place now called Sudan. They were at the Southern part, and resisted conversion to Islam. So these people took refuge there; and each time there is an invasion, they will run away. They kept moving like refugees, and after a while, another jihad led by Usman Dan Fodio started conquering everybody. But my progenitors rejected it. They moved away from there and started coming down until they got to the confluence of two great rivers, and decided that it would be a good place to settle down. It was very interior, a thick forest area, and they decided that they can now stay there as those invaders will never be able to come that far.
They then settled at a place in that bush known as Eri Aka, meaning, ‘home of Eri’. After a while, they borne children. Our progenitors were mindful that they were not as a conquering people, but assimilating people. This is because there was a nation of people that they met. So, these people wanted to know who they were and what are
they doing in their land? And our progenitors called themselves ‘Igbo’. Igbo means ‘stranger’. That is the interpretation of how that name started.
They could not understand each other because of language barrier, and they called each other Igbo. So, Igbo language didn’t start from anywhere else but there (Eri Aka). That is why the core language is concentrate in Anambra, and the other Igbo peoples speaking dialects like the Delta Igbo, Rivers. But the central Igbo started here in Anambra zone, and that area is extinct, as other peoples have taken
over those areas. One of the places is called Aguleri.
After all said and done, our progenitors finally settled there, and for you to settle down with the big population, you must assimilate, and in the process of assimilation, he took two wives among the people there. The first wife gave birth to Mems as the first born, and Mems took a title, and became Nri. So, Mems in Nri means king.
Did your progenitors dominate the people they met in the area?
When a civilized person comes into a community where there is none, those people will look upon that person for direction. The people our forefather met there were not civilized. They saw a new people that they needed to approach for direction. So he became their leader.
Aguleri is not the ancestral home of the Igbo people. Mems, that is Nri’s mother gave birth to five children, and the first born was Nri. Another one that followed him was the founder of Igbariam, and the third one founded Amoduke. The last one was known as Agulu, and he stayed back and became Agulu Nke Eri. They lived within that area which was the initial settlement.
Back to Agulu, when the last child founded his own area, called Aguleri, Nri was still there. Nri was the incarnate of his great grandfather Eri, and he was performing miracles. He was known because he was gifted by God.
