Iwuanyanwu: Ohanaeze Ndigbo returns to leadership row of old

The demise of President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has sparked another leadership tussle, and a return to the tenure and zoning arguments among member-states. Central in the current row is the status of River State in the Igbo nation and its socio-cultural organisation, LAWRENCE NJOKU reports.

A fresh leadership tussle may have erupted in the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, following the death of its President General, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, on July 25, 2024.

Without delay, the Chairman, Elders’ Council of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in River State, Chief Jackson Omenazu, has declared himself “de facto and acting President General”, to run the affairs of the organisation pending fresh election in January next year. This is even when his nomination as Deputy President General of the organisation, which was presented to the National Executive Council (NEC) of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in 2023, did not receive approval.

Imo’s tenure in Ohanaeze Ndigbo is still running, though there are uncertainties if the state would want to nominate another candidate to serve out the remaining four months of its tenure after losing two of its illustrious sons on the seat. The tenure of the current executive of the organisation will expire in January 2025.

Omenazu, who may have relied on the saying that “nature abhors vacuum,” also stated that he is constitutionally bound to lead Ohanaeze Ndigbo following his nomination by the Rivers State branch and his presentation to the National Executive Council (NEC) last year.

He told The Guardian: “I will take over. By the constitution of Ohanaeze and its organogram, I will take over. I am the de facto President General and acting President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo by the demise of Chief Iwuanyanwu. There is no provision for the Secretary General to takeover. I am coming to take over so that we can plan the burial of Iwuanyanwu and midwife the procession of our transition next year.”

He noted that he had been nominated by the Rivers State branch of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to serve out their turn last year following the death of the former Deputy President General Joel Kroham, who died in active service in 2022.

He disclosed that the letter approving his nomination dated September 21, 2023, was signed by17 leaders of the various chapters of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Rivers State including the State President, Chief Lucky Ekeji, and presented to the NEC of Ohanaeze Ndigbo through Iwuanyanwu.

The letter, which he made available to The Guardian read in part, “In a meeting held on September 20, 2023, we unanimously nominated Chief Jackson N. E. Omenazu as our Deputy President General to occupy the Rivers State slot. We also affirm that this resolution of the said meeting reflects the overall interest, commitment and dedication of all Ohanaeze members in Rivers State to the course of Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide.

“Chief Omenazu is the Chairman, Elders Council of Ohanaeze Rivers State and he is hereby nominated to replace our late Deputy President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide, which is zoned to Rivers State in accordance to the rules and ordinances of our great Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide.”

It went further to ask NEC to accept his nomination in good faith “believing solemnly that Chief Omenazu possesses the requisite sine qua non to effectively function in that capacity.”

Although officials of the Rivers State branch of Ohanaeze Ndigbo had attended a NEC meeting where the letter was presented, the matter, which was supposed to be escalated to the Imeobi meeting, was never discussed even when it was listed as an agenda in the meeting of November.

Contacted then, Secretary General, Ambassador Okey Emuchay, stated that the matter would be looked into. However, when he spoke last week during the formal opening of the condolence register for late Iwuanyanwu at the Ohanaeze Ndigbo secretariat, Enugu, he stated that “consultations are still ongoing.”

There are rumours, however, that one of the Vice Presidents may step into acting presidential capacity to conclude the tenure of the current administration of the organisation.

It would be recalled that at the conclusion of their general election in Owerri, Imo State, in January 2021, Professor George Obiozor emerged as president general because the position was zoned to Imo State. In the same vein, Chief Joel Kroham from Rivers State emerged the Deputy President General because the position was zoned to his state.

Kroham died in 2022. Obiozor also died few days to the second year anniversary of his tenure in December 2022. This created a vacuum in the offices of the Deputy President General and President General.

After the burial of Obiozor, the Imo State chapter was asked to nominate another credible person that would replace him as President General so as to serve out the tenure of the state in the group. It took four months to select Chief Iwuanyanwu in April last year to succeed Obiozor.

Iwuanyanwu was expected to complete the four-year tenure zoned to the state but he died last month. While in office, he had served without a Deputy President General.

It was gathered that prior to his death, Rivers State chapter made a case to represent a candidate to complete their tenure as deputy president general.Chief Omenazu, said to be committed to Ohanaeze Ndigbo affairs, was picked after the meeting of the Rivers State chapter of the organisation. Their decision was communicated to the National Executive Committee (NEC) of Ohanaeze Ndigbo through Iwuanyanwu.

The letter communicating the decision, dated September 21, 2023, was signed by 17 leaders of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Rivers State including the State President, Chief Lucky Ekeji, his executive and chairmen of the local government branches.

It was learnt that the letter was only acknowledged at the NEC, it was never discussed. But why was the request by the Rivers State chapter not giving similar treatment as was given to Imo State, especially when the Deputy from the state died before Obiozor? Was it part of the internal politics in the organisation or an attempt to deny the state its right to produce the next President General in January 2025? How come Iwuanyanwu was accepted four months after the burial of Obiozor to lead Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the nomination made by Rivers state since September last year is still pending?

Sources attributed the development to the way Rivers State government had treated issues of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, explaining that, despite defaulting in remitting their financial obligations, they “don’t see themselves as Igbo.”

The source cited utterances by former Governor Nyesom Wike, while he was in office, allegedly counted himself out as an Igbo man and several other people in the area, explaining that many of them have lost interest in the group.

A chieftain of the organisation, Chukwuneke Uwaneke, however, stated that: “It is wrong to compare what happened in the case of Imo State with that of Rivers. This is because in the case of Imo State, even the state governor was involved and ensured timely replacement. But in the case of Rivers State, it has not been that way; it is only the state chapter that handled it. I believe that this is why they decided to undertake further consultations before arriving or accepting the choice by the state chapter.” He queried the claim by Omenazu that he would soon take over as “acting president”, stressing that the tenure of Imo State remains active and running.

“Who told them that Imo State is not interested in serving out its tenure? We were elected for four years and so far, we have done a substantial part of the tenure. We have a few months to go,” he stated.

But Omenazu alleged that there is an orchestrated plot to continue to manipulate the organisation by the enthronement of persons incapable of performing their assigned responsibilities. He added that his decision to watch things from the side line was not out of cowardice but for the respect he has for the organisation.

He said: “I decided to keep quiet before now not because I don’t know my legal bearing. I kept quiet because no sensible man will pull down a house he joined in building. I have the wherewithal to prosecute the matter. It was a deliberate decision to stem down and watch what our people will do. This is a group of people who have been crying against marginalisation, yet they are champions of marginalisation.

“How can a people come to equity with dirty hands? The reason our people here from Rivers State are skeptical about our identity is because of this level of domination, which has reared its head in Ohanaeze. I watched them all through since last year, till today, they are happy to run the affairs of Ohanaeze Ndigbo without a deputy president general. So, it is a very sorry situation. I kept quiet because I didn’t want to heat up the system but it is a shame.

“I have been the chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in both Rivers and Bayelsa States for 10 years. I was instrumental in the land that was used in building the Ohanaeze Ndigbo secretariat in Yenagoa. We try to encourage our brother out there. I attend the Imeobi, I attend the General Assembly and I make my contributions. The conduct of our elder brothers is shameful and immoral and unacceptable. This is a people that are supposed to beckon to their younger ones and say, ‘sit down with us, whatever we see, we take’. Their grouse with me is that they say they cannot control me. The Igbo blood does not encourage slavery,” he stated.

National President of Njiko Igbo, an affiliate of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Okechukwu Obioha, stated that the leadership challenge “could have been avoided if our people were not greedy.” Obioha stated that “what they have tried to do with the deputy president general position is what they are trying to do with the president general position billed to go to Rivers State next year, but we shall resist them, because the constitution is clear on zoning. It is the turn of Rivers State after Imo.”

Meanwhile, when he spoke on the leadership issue in the organisation prior to the nomination of Iwuanyanwu, its National Publicity Secretary, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, stated that the organisation invoked the “doctrine of necessity” to fill the vacant office of the president general.

Will the same doctrine be followed now to appoint a new president or will the organisation run without a president until the national election in January next year? The coming days will certainly answer the puzzle.