Interview
Umuoba Anam has witnessed sustainable peace under my reign – Igwe Ekwealor
His Royal Majesty, Igwe George Obalim Ekwealor (KSJI), is commemorating his 10th coronation anniversary and special Ovala as the Oba Agu II of Umuoba Anam kingdom in the Anambra East local government area of Anambra state on December 29, 2023. Ahead of the epoch-making event, Igwe Ekwealor, in this exclusive interview with AnambraDaily’s Olisemeka Obeche, spoke on the achievements, challenges and prospects that his remarkable reign on the throne of Oga Agu kingdom has thrown up, among other sundry issues.
To the uninformed, who may be curious to know about Igwe George Ekwealor, how do you share your personal story and journey to this throne?
Igwe (Sir) George Obalim Ekwealor was crowned the Oba Agu II of Umuoba Anam Autonomous Community in the Anambra East local government area of Anambra state on June 13, 2013. I’m a traditional ruler with a strong Christian faith, the reason I’m widely known as ‘Igwe na Eje Ụka’ (the monarch who attends church service). The whole of Igboland, Anambra, Anam, and even Otuocha know me as a monarch who promotes peace and unity as well as the well-being of everybody. If you go to the Anambra East local traditional council, I have a post as the welfare officer. I’m the secretary of the Anambra North Zone Traditional Rulers Council. In Anam, I also hold an important position.
“I consider the cordial relationship we have already established with Aguleri, Umueri and other Anam communities as a worthy legacy that should be emulated. The fact remains that no meaningful development can take place in any village, community, town or area where there is no peace.”
The fact remains that traditional rulers across Anambra state know and respect me, and I expect as many of them to also attend this year’s Ovala. We are equally expecting traditional rulers from Enugu state to attend the festival to show solidarity with me.
First and foremost, Your Royal Majesty, we of Anambra Daily congratulate you on the 10th anniversary of your coronation. Can you share with us your feeling of being the longest-reigning monarch in the history of the kingdom?
I thank Anambra Daily for that felicitation. Firstly, this year, 2023, marks 10 years of my ascending the throne of Umuoba Anam as Oba Agu, the second. I am delighted because it is not easy to spend over a decade on the throne. This anniversary is significant because my predecessor, Igwe Raphael Anijah, Oba Agu I, did not last this long on the throne. Shortly after he was crowned as the very first monarch of our community, he took ill. That illness did not allow him to enjoy his reign neither did it allow the community to get the best services from him as their monarch. It was after his death that the mantle fell on me, and now that my reign has lasted up to 10 years, we decided to celebrate it as a significant milestone in our history as a community. I know many of my age mates that have died but God has continued to sustain me as the traditional ruler of Oba Agu Kingdom. That is the reason I want to celebrate my tenth anniversary with an Ovala. It’s equally a thing of celebration for the community because Umuoba Anam has witnessed sustainable peace under my reign.
Can you recall how this journey as the traditional ruler of Oba Agu kingdom began?
It started in 2013. I was a civil servant then, at the Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe. A delegation sent by our people came to inform me that they wanted me to become their traditional ruler. I rejected the offer outrightly, initially but after some time, I gave in and decided to accept it. I was eventually crowned the traditional ruler of Umuoba Anam on 13th June 2013.
Looking back through the years, what do you consider as achievements recorded in the kingdom under your reign so far?
Since I became the traditional ruler of Umuoba Anam, my community and indeed the entire Anam people have been rejoicing because of the peace and unity that they enjoy. I’m a traditional ruler who promotes peace, and works hard to ensure sustained peace between our community and its neighbours, notably the Aguleri and Umueri communities. I am proud to say that since I ascended the throne, Umuoba Anam people and their neighbours have not had any hostility. Whenever misunderstandings come up, they are amicably settled. In a similar vein, whenever such a misunderstanding arises in Anam, I usually take it upon myself to see that it is resolved amicably as my brothers do. I’m still mediating on the dispute involving Ndi-Okpokolo Anam (Anam elders). I have held meetings with elders of Ifite-Anam and their Ezi-Anam counterparts with a view to finding lasting solution to the matter. I have also gone to Awka to meet with those handling the case and I am confident that the matter has been resolved. I have also brought some innovations to our customs and traditions.
“I have also brought some innovations to our customs and traditions. For instance, I was the person who introduced the Iwa-Ji to our new yam festival.”
For instance, I was the person who introduced the Iwa-Ji to our new yam festival. What our people were used to was the Otite Anam festival which does not include the aspect of the Iwa-Ji ceremony as is done in other parts of Igboland. However, I looked into it and felt that our people need to adopt it into our rich Otite Anam and it has added colour and grandeur to our new yam festival. Today, our sons and daughters at home, across Nigeria and beyond are keen to participate in the new yam festival in its modern form. It’s no longer viewed as a fetish custom. Both Christians and traditional believers now celebrate the new yam festival because it resonates with everybody. I’m proud to have played a key part in it. On the other hand, I have been at the forefront of everything that will bring development in our community as well as ensuring that our community enjoys sustained peace and unity, both within our community and with our neighbours. I have been proactive in my service as the traditional ruler of the Oba Agu Kingdom and my people also recognised the great impact of my Igweship and that could be seen from the kind of massive support that this year’s Ovala has received from them.
Presiding over the affairs of a populous and diverse kingdom as Umuoba Anam has its challenges. What are the challenges you have faced as the monarch of this kingdom and how did you navigate them?
There is no doubt about there being challenges in my position as the traditional ruler of this kingdom. Everyone knows that leadership is very tasking and comes with challenges just like everything else in life. In a kingdom like this, some people would definitely be working against the monarch while some would be working in support of him. Some would be plotting the downfall of the traditional ruler for their selfish interests. All these and more are some of the challenges we face every day but we are not deterred by such challenges. I strongly believe that once you are working for the overall interest of your people, there is no challenge you meet in your work that you cannot surmount. I am always confident because I know that I have the full support of the patriotic citizens among both the people you might say that matter and the lot of ordinary people of this kingdom. Above all, I enjoy the backing of God Almighty who is the giver of life and everything in it.
Can you identify some of the people whose support has been crucial in your effective leadership as the traditional ruler of this kingdom?
Well, I am blessed to have capable and dependable people as cabinet members. They have been largely instrumental to my successful reign so far and I am indebted to them for their service to our community. There is a saying that ‘where there is a good thing, there is equally peace and love’. From the moment I was crowned and I selected the cabinet, they have been with me all the way. Through rough and smooth periods, they have been helpful to me. Even for this 10th anniversary and Ovala celebration, they have been behind the planning. They have been the pillar of my reign. I can also say the same thing with the entire Umuoba Anam people. They have given me tremendous support from day one. I consider myself very lucky for the kind of widespread support my Igweship has enjoyed so far in my community and Anam in general. Not many traditional rulers enjoy such support.
“I have been at the forefront of everything that will bring development in our community as well as ensuring that our community enjoys sustained peace and unity, both within our community and with our neighbours.”
Right now, our people have been contributing massively towards this Ovala celebration. I am aware that many villages in our community are sewing uniforms and levying themselves as well as making all kinds of preparations to ensure that the festival is a huge success. Many of them are coming up with different masquerades and other traditional performances to make that event colourful. That is another way of showing support for the traditional institution.
You are celebrating your first Ovala this year, 10 years after your coronation. Can you shed more light on this event and why did you choose to start it this year?
Well, the truth is that this is not the first Ovala I am celebrating as the Oba Agu II of Oba Agu Kingdom. Rather, this is the first time we are celebrating it in a big way. This is the third Ovala that I will be celebrating as Oba Agu II. The last one we organised was during the flooding season and the flood destroyed most of the things we prepared for the celebration, forcing us to defer it. That was why we decided to shift the Ovala to the dry season, instead of the rainy season, as it were. This Ovala festival is being planned by the community and that is why the community issued a decree that no other activities will take place within the kingdom on that date. It’s literally regarded as Ovala Oba Agu kingdom and not just that of the traditional ruler, Igwe George Ekwealor, Oba Agu II. It is, therefore, heartwarming for me that our community has decided to take this Ovala to a new level as it would boost our profile as one of the respected traditional kingdoms in Anambra state and Igboland.
What do you think makes this Ovala festival so significant to the kingdom and what message are you sending to your subjects this time?
I want to appreciate everything our people have done towards making this Ovala a reality, and make it very special. We started planning this event by sending out messages to our people at home and abroad, seeking their support. It was the same way we communicated our intention to incorporate Iwa-ji into our new yam festival and they cued into that. Today, our sons and daughters living in Europe, America and other parts of the world and Africa are celebrating Otite Anam in its new form and they are enjoying it. We want a situation where wherever an Anam person is, he will celebrate the Otite Anam (new yam festival) in grand style. In a similar vein, we are telling our people that this Ovala is our collective festival. We had to include people abroad in the planning committee so as to emphasise our commitment to carrying everybody along in everything we do.
This festival is coming at a period of deep economic crisis but, in spite of that, your subjects have continued to support it massively. How do you react to that?
First of all, I am satisfied with the level of preparations so far and the sacrifices made by our people towards it. We all know that many people are struggling at the moment due to the worsening economic climate in Nigeria. But that did not deter our people from contributing towards this Ovala. My prayer is that whatever anybody puts in for the success of this celebration, he or she would be rewarded. Whoever supported this Ovala from Umuoba Anam, Anam and beyond, would receive a divine upliftment afterwards. That is my prayer at all times. I want to assure everyone that I am committed to using my position to foster peace and progress among our community and Anam in general and I pray that Umuoba, and indeed the entire Anam, will witness massive development during my reign. Our people will see massive breakthroughs in their lives. That is my one prayer point at all times, as Igwe na eje uka. I strongly believe in the power of prayers and that one with God has everything.
How would you appraise the efforts of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo administration so far in transforming Anambra, especially from the rural communities so far?
My assessment of Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration is that he has brought a different kind of leadership that will be a reference point later on. If I begin to talk about some things he has done that made me say this, we will not round off this session today. But let me say that, as it concerns my people, Soludo has done us well. Our son is the chairman of the Anambra East local government transition committee, courtesy of Soludo. Our son, from Oroma Etiti Anam, Tony Collins Nwabunwanne, is the commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affair, because of Soludo. I will also add that our people have been getting their due share of political appointments and development attention. For instance, Governor Soludo’s administration has expedited action on the abandoned Mmiata to Nzam road project in Anambra West. That road is very critical to our people and he has given it urgent attention because he wants to ease the pains of residents of the area. This is why I am praying that it will be well with Soludo and his government.
What areas would you like to see the state government intervene in your kingdom in terms of infrastructure and human capital development?
Thank you. We have many expectations. You know that human wants are insatiable but resources to attend to them are scarce. That is why there is always the need to draw your scale of preference and choose which of your wants you need most among others. As a community, certain projects require urgent government intervention like one building at Community Secondary School Umuoba Anam that is collapsing. We would appreciate it if the state government could assist us in refurbishing the structure before it collapses.
“I am blessed to have capable and dependable people as cabinet members. They have been largely instrumental to my successful reign so far and I am indebted to their services.”
You know that the school buildings are affected by seasonal flooding and if we don’t do anything and they collapse, it may affect academic activities at the school. We also have other pressing needs which we will channel to him in due time through our local government TC chairman and we know that whenever it reaches him, he will factor it into the budget and see that it is implemented because he is a Solution Governor.
What legacy would you love to leave behind as Oba Agu II?
Already, the legacy is in place. I consider the cordial relationship we have already established with Aguleri, Umueri and other Anam communities as a worthy legacy that should be emulated. The fact remains that no meaningful development can take place in any village, community, town or area where there is no peace. The moment there is no guarantee of lives and property in any society, development will be threatened. If you look at the rate of development around Otuocha in the last decade, you will understand the impact of peace. That is why all stakeholders must be committed to the sustenance of peace at Otuocha because it is critical for prosperity and development.
“My prayer is that whatever anybody puts into the success of this celebration, would be rewarded. Whoever supported this Ovala from Umuoba Anam, Anam and beyond, would receive divine upliftment afterwards. That is my prayer at all times.”
So, I am happy to have contributed in my way to the peaceful coexistence we are enjoying and my prayer and wish is that it will be upheld by those coming after us. I’m also optimistic that so many other achievements would be recorded in Umuoba Agu kingdom before my time on earth is over. For instance, we expect that many notable personalities will be in Umuoba Anam to participate in this year’s Ovala and it will add to my legacy because we are looking forward to using it to show the world positive things about the customs and traditions of the Umuoba Anam kingdom.
What will be your message ahead of the Ovala?
I am seizing this opportunity to thank those who love the Umuoba Anam autonomous community. I am sending my special Christmas greetings to lovers and promoters of peace in Anam, Anambra state, Igboland, Nigeria and the world over. I want to urge them to continue on this path because it’s the surest foundation for prosperity and development. I’m equally appreciating the efforts of the federal and state governments in ensuring that we live in an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity. Though we live in perilous times and are particularly faced with insecurity, made worse by economic hardship, my prayer is that we will overcome them sooner than later. My prayer is also that this Ovala festival will cement the peace legacy we are trying to bequeath to the next generation and that those trying to come and participate in it will come and return safely with blessings that go with it. Thank You.