Protests: I’m Ready to Vacate the Throne, Says Ogwashi-Uku Monarch

Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

Following series of protests that have rocked different parts of the kingdom in recent times, the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State, HRM Obi Chukwude Anishi Okonjo II, has declared that he was so concerned about the development that he would voluntarily vacate his throne on one condition.

The monarch said that there was no iota of truth the defamatory allegations levelled against him concerning land sales in the kingdom, adding that it was laughable to say Otulu which is part of Ward 1 in Ogwashi-Uku was no longer part of his traditional domain.

“I think the allegation is preposterous, very ridiculous. If I am involved in the sale of lands (in Otulu) why would I go to the place to look into the matter of illegal sale of land in the community? That would be indicting myself. It doesn’t make sense.

“What I’ll tell you is that if anybody has any document whatsoever with my signature for the sale of any land, they should bring it out and today I will abdicate this position. This is how strongly I feel about it.

“I have not sold any land. My father did not sell any land; but some of the chiefs under him did sell land.

“The truth is that I am doing a sweeping reform. Those of them involved in land racketeering, I have suspended them. And, that is why you see a lot of crises. Those who want to continue with this activity are really behind the crisis.

“So, if anybody tells you that I’m involved, he is telling you a falsehood. It’s just not me!

“Let them show you documentary evidence to support (because) talk is cheap.

“All sorts of people have come making claims and, when they come to you with such claims, ask them to provide you with documentary evidence to support such claims.”

Nevertheless, the royal father harped on the fact that the controversy about the status of Otulu was baseless because “Otulu has been part and parcel of Ogwashi-Uku from time immemorial.”

Okonjo also cited several legal and historical documents, including defunct Bendel State Gazette of 1983 based on 1979 and that of the then Western Region Local Government Law of 1952, to buttress his insistence that the call for autonomy for Otulu by non-indigenes of Ogwashi-Uku was baseless and unwarranted.

Members of Agidiase kindred of Ogwashi-Uku in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State on Monday took to the streets of the ancient town to protest what they called indiscriminate grabbing and selling of their ancestral lands upon which successive generations of Agiase people carried out agriculture and other activities.

Their decision to embark on a peaceful march through the streets of Ogwashi-Uku followed the recent protest to Government House Asaba by those they called a group of largely tenant-farmers in Otulu-Ogwashi, calling on the government to grant the community monarchical autonomy.

The Otulu community was about 10 days ago also in the news following an attack on the convoy of the Ogwashi-Uku monarch, HRM Obi Chukwude Anishi Okonjo II, by suspected thugs after a peace-building visit to the town, leading to the death of one young man and the burning of cars.

A spokesperson for the protesters and Agidiase kindred, Elue Adigwe, said, “This peaceful protest is necessitated by the need to tell the general public that over 80 per cent of the crisis in Ogwashi-Uku comprises land-related matters induced by Obi Chude (Chukwude) Okonjo in his claim to be the ‘Trustee’ as well as the ‘Overlord’ and absolute ‘Owner’ of all lands in Ogwashi-Uku kingdom.”

He noted that the Nigerian constitution does not permit any “forceful takeover of landed property by any individual no matter his or her position in the society.”

“We are, therefore, calling on the authorities, particularly the Delta State Government” to call the monarch and his younger brother to order “to save the Ogwashi-Uku community from disintegration and terror.”

The protesters also warned the traditional ruler of Issele-Azagba and others who recently claimed ownership of Otulu to steer clear of the area as the community remains part and parcel of Agidiase landed property for generations past.

Another representative of the Agidiase kindred of Ogwashi-Uku, Sir Augustine Egbebue, said that they were challenging “any people that still make claims on Otulu to publish their documents (including the Supreme Court judgement being claimed by Issele-Azagba) and publish them or wait for us in court.”

Inscriptions on some of the placards wielded by the protesters read: “Otulu is Agidiase farmland; Governor, save us from autocracy; Azagba is Agidiase farmlands; Obi cannot be ‘Trustee’ and ‘Owner’ of Ogwashi-Uku lands; Ogbe-Ofu is part of Agidiase; Protect our human rights.”