By Hugo Odiogor & Evelyn Usman Onicha-Ugbo, located in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, was, recently, in the news, following reports of alleged rape of women in the community by Hausa/Fulani herdsmen. Aside this was the report of rancor over the choice of one of its prominent sons as the Odogwu-designate( a traditional administrator).
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But in this interview after the "Ida nzu" ceremony penultimate Saturday, in Onicha-Ugbo, where the Executive Vice Chairman of Exxon Mobil and publisher of Hints magazine, Mr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, bagged the Odogwu title, the Obi of Onicha Ugbo, Agbogidi Chukwumalieze the first, bares his mind on the activities of Hausa/Fulani cattle rearers, saying they might have a motive than mere rearing of cattle in his community.
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Excerpts:
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What is the celebration all about ?
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Well, you call it celebration. But the celebration is yet to come. In any case, what is actually going on is that our last Odogwu, in the person of Justice Maido, passed on last November and, because of Christianity and modernization, the burial rites took place within a very short time otherwise, traditionally, it is supposed to be longer than that.
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With his death, the seat became vacant and there was clamor for the Odogwu stool to be filled. But Odogwu is not a title anybody in Onicha Ugbo can take. There is a particular village that takes the title. For instance, Onicha Ugbo is a community made up of five villages and each is entitled to a particular traditional title. Ogbobi village, for instance, has Esama title; Isepe has Odogwu title ; Obekenu has Iyese title; Unulu has Aza; while Agba has another type of culture because of certain things that happened in the past. Their own title is Iyese too.
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Now, when the late Odogwu passed away, the stool became vacant. And it is only from Isepe that an Odogwu will emerge. It is not my duty to appoint one. It is the duty of the Isepe people to appoint. They are to come together and choose a particular person. When they started bringing different persons, I gave them eight market days to rub minds and decide to pick one particular person. I gave that order to the head of the Isepe people , in the person of Odafe, during one of the council meetings.
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At the expiration o f that eight market days, he (Odafe) came and appealed that they had not been able to decide and asked for another four market days. Again, after the expiration of that four days,he came and told me that they were still unable to reach a consensus and begged me to give them more time. I said go ahead.