Gideon Arinze in Enugu
Youths in four out of the five villages that make up Aguobu Iwollo Autonomous Community in Ezeagu Local government Area of Enugu State have held a protest demanding that Chief G.O.N Ofodile vacates the stool of the traditional ruler of the community.
The youths from the four villages including, Ndibunagu, Obunagu, Amagu and Owolloti, marched through the community yesterday, carrying placards that had such inscriptions as Chief Ofodile should stop parading himself as Igwe of Aguobu Iwollo; Chief Ofodile should give peace a chance in Aguobu.
Addressing newsmen during the protest, the oldest man in Amagu, Ozo Ezeako said that Ezeonyia village, from where Ofodile comes, being the most senior village, had produced the 1st traditional ruler in the person of H.R.H. Igwe C. E. Achu and a Warrant Chief equivalent to an Igwe for Aguobu Iwollo Autonomous Community.
He recalled that the Aguobu Iwollo Community drafted a constitution in 2005 after it became autonomous and before the death of the previous Igwe C. E Achu and it provided that the Igweship would be rotated amongst the five villages that make up the community.
“When it was the turn of the next most senior village which is Ndibunagu to produce the next traditional ruler of the Community, Chief Ofodile went behind and got the certificate of Igweship without the support of the people and he has refused to step aside despite opposition from other villages,” he said.
He noted that the constitution of 2005 was intended to prevent previous villages that had produced an Igwe or his equivalent from producing an Igwe until those villages, which had never produced one, had their turn.
One of the youth leaders in the community, Ernest Aliozo, said that the community had been held stagnant for over 15 years since Ofodile stole the mandate of the traditional ruler.
He said that Ofodile grabbed the certificate of the traditional ruler of the community because of the connections he had in government then and that he had not even done the traditional rites expected of the traditional ruler.
“He was not the choice of the people, “he said. “Ofodile does not have the interest of our people at heart and that is why he could not do anything ever since he became the traditional ruler”.
He explained that the village took the matter to the High Court of Enugu State and secured victory from the court which sacked Ofodile as the traditional ruler.
“But out of selfish interest, he refused to step aside and took the matter to the court of Appeal and we won him again,” he said. “The courts held that Ofodile is not the rightful traditional ruler because his village, Ezeonyia was not entitled to produce the next ruler”.
