The Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, and other prominent Igbo monarchs have abolished the Ezendigbo title outside Igboland, advising Ndigbo to be humble wherever they find themselves and respect the owners of the land where they reside.

The advice was given at the weekend during the formal presentation and inauguration of the Council of Ndindu Ndigbo in Lagos by the Association of Ndindu Ndigbo Nauzoije, Lagos State branch, in collaboration with the Committee on Regularisation of Igbo Diaspora Traditional Title and Leadership (CRIDTTL), under the auspices of the South-East Council of Traditional Rulers (SECTR).

The event, which attracted prominent figures from across Igbo traditional and community leadership circles, marked the abolition of the Ezendigbo. In its place are the newly certified Ndindu (leaders), who will operate without the His Royal Highness (HRH) or similar titles.

While praying over the kolanut, with permission from Igwe Achebe, the Chairman, Imo State Traditional Institution and Community Policing, HRM (Dr) Emmanuel Okeke, said the event was a celebration of the Ndindu Ndigbo in the Diaspora, who were recently certified in Imo.

He disclosed that the event had the endorsement of traditional rulers of Lagos and other South-West states. So, he chided those who might want to challenge “what we are doing here today”.

Explaining the significance of the ceremony, legal practitioner and member of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Badagry Chapter, Barnabas Okoro, said the initiative was primarily aimed at bringing structure, uniformity and clarity to Igbo cultural leadership across communities in Lagos.

According to him, the inauguration was not about creating another layer of traditional rulership, but about formally recognising individuals who have been selected and endorsed to provide cultural leadership within their respective Igbo communities.

The exercise, he added, was designed to address situations in which individuals emerge independently and claim leadership of a particular Igbo community without the necessary endorsement from the relevant traditional institutions.