John Ameh, Onitsha

The installation climaxed a protracted kingship tussle in the Onitsha Traditional Council.

Opponents of Achebe, led by the Onowu (traditional Prime Minister), Chief Olisa Mortune,crowned a former Managing Director of the Anambra Motor Manufacturing Company, Chief Godwin Odukwe, as the new Obi.

Observers feared that this action could lead to a breach of the peace in the commercial centre.

Mortune crowned Odukwe as Obi at 8.15am on Monday. He said that as the prime minister, he had the authority to perform the ceremony according to Onitsha customs and tradition.

But the supporters of Achebe dismissed Mortune’s action as an empty ritual.

Mortune said, “I hereby pronounce him (Odukwe) the 21st Obi Onitsha, the successor to our last Obi, Igwe Okagbue Ofala. This is the first time we have elected an Obi since his death.

“Anybody parading himself as an Obi since then is an impostor. I am the only person who has the powers to crown a new Obi, and I have done so today.”

Investigations by our correspondent showed that the disagreement between Mortune and Achebe arose from the process of selecting an Obi in 2002, which Mortune and his loyalists claimed was faulty.

Achebe was alleged to have failed to perform some of the traditional rites expected of a king among the Onitsha people.

Mortune said, “Such a person cannot be king. We have repeated this many times. I have been the Onowu for 11 eleven years and my duty is to tell who shall be the Obi.

“Today, for the first time since the death of Obi Okagbue, the 20th Obi of Onitsha, we have a new Obi; Chief Gowin Odukwe.”

He claimed to have the backing of a majority of the “truly recognised” titled chiefs in the Onitsha Traditional Council, including the Ajie of Onitsha, Col. Gabriel Emordi (rtd); the Odu of Onitsha (for his camp), Chief Arthur Mbanefo; the Onyia of Onitsha, Chief Aniweta Aningbowa; and the Owelle of Onitsha and son to the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Chukwuma Azikiwe.

It was, however, learnt that out of the number, only Emordi, Mortune and some other loyalists of the group witnessed the installation of the Odukwe, which was held at one of the private residences of Mortune in Onitsha.

In their reaction, Achebe’s loyalists accused Mortune of taking the law into his hands and attempting to precipitate a major crisis in Onitsha.

One of the high chiefs in Achebe’s camp, Mike Areh, the Ede Gbugbugaga of Onitsha, said Mortune’s action was an open display of disregard for constituted authority.

He added, “As far as we are concerned in Onitsha, Igwe Achebe is the Obi of Onitsha and he remains so.

“What is happening in Mortune’s camp is mere amusement, which nobody should take seriously.”

Dismissing the installation of a new Obi, the secretary of the committee that selected Achebe in 2002, Mr. Onyeachi Ipkeazu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said the Achebe group would take it that it had not heard what Mortune purportedly did until the picture became clearer. He added that recourse to the law courts could not be ruled out.

Achebe, who assumed the throne in 2002, is recognised by both the Federal and Anambra State governments.

In 2003 and 2004, Achebe performed the annual Ofala festival, one of the traditional duties that confer legitimacy on a reigning king in Onitsha. The 2005 edition of the festival is scheduled to hold in August.

Achebe is currently attending the ongoing National Political Reform Conference in Abuja, as the representative of traditional rulers in the five South-East states of Abia, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi and Enugu.

Shortly after becoming Obi in 2002, he was said to have relieved Mortune of his position as Onowu; and in his place, appointed a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Chike Ofodile, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

Last year, he also removed Mbanefo, a former Nigerian Ambassador to the United Nations, as the Odu (fourth most powerful chief in Onitsha).

In Mbanefo’s place, he named a retired director of First Bank Plc, Chief Onyeachonam Okolonji. The move that was interpreted as Achebe’s way of consolidating his position as the Obi. The matter is now a subject of litigation at an Onitsha high court.

The Onitsha Police Area Commander, Mr. Dennis Anyagafu, told newsmen on Monday that the most appropriate thing to do if the Mortune group felt aggrieved was to go to court.

“It is wishful thinking to have two Obis at the same time. The police have tolerated these people for long. We shall arrest and prosecute them if it is found that they crowned another Igwe,” the commander warned.

The PUNCH, Tuesday, April, 26, 2005