Awka Dust To Dust Palaver Traditionalists Persecute Ezeuzu For Backing The Church

                       

A fresh plot to impeach the traditional ruler of Awka town Obi Gibson Nwosu over his perceived support to the Catholic Church on the controversial dust to dust saga may have failed over the inability of the plotters to legitimize their secret agenda, Jude Atupulazi reports.

The dust to dust controversy in Awka came to a head last year when traditionalists opposed to Christians practicing their faith invaded the Nebolise family compound at Umudioka preventing them from burying their deceased member in the Catholic tradition.

The incident would later blossom into a full blown crisis when Umudioka youths suspected to be acting on the behest of the traditionalists attacked members of the Awka Catholic Diocese after a mass for the deceased Nebolise, inflicting bodily harm on many of the faithful.

The matter was later decided at the Awka High Court in favour of the Catholic Church, with the court ruling that members of the Church were free to practice their religion as guaranteed in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as in the constitution of Awa town concerning burials.

But the losers had challenged the
judgement by appealing against it which still subsists. This has however not
deterred the traditionalists from believing that their earlier loss in court
was attributable to the stand of their traditional ruler, Obi Gibson Nwosu.

Nwosu had in an interview with
Fides declared that he would pour sand into the grave of his wife if she died
first while he expected his wife to do dame for him in the reverse case. This
was apart from his publicly documented position on same matter.

Fides gathered that since the
court judgement the traditionalists had had a no love lost feeling against the
igwe and had been plotting ways to exact their pound of flesh which is believed
to be an impeachment.

Fides gathered from a reliable
source in Awka that the plot to impeach Nwosu was to have been perfected on
Friday June 13 at the Umudioka Town Hall where they planned to constitute a new
set of kingmakers from the 33 villages in Awka who would execute their plot.

However, according to our source
who witnessed the event, the gathering lacked legitimacy as those who would
have guaranteed that were missing.

According to Awka constitution a
kingmaker is for life once selected and can only be replaced by his village at
his death or involvement in a criminal act. It also stipulates that a kingmaker
has no known role except at the death of the traditional ruler when he will be
called upon to join other kingmakers in screening a new monarch. After this
kingmakers slide back into oblivion.

The Awka constitution also holds
that kingmakers can be called up to screen a person designated for a chieftaincy
title as part of the ofala festival. After these two irregular occasions the
kingmakers' roles become dormant.

Fides further learnt that the
Awka constitution very clearly stipulates that the selection, certification and
inauguration of the council of kingmakers are the sole responsibilities of the
town union and the traditional cabinet under the supervision of the oldest man
in the town known as Otochalu Awka.

Thus once the council is put in
place it elects its secretary from among the authentic members after which the
most senior titled man (Ozo Awka) assumes the chairmanship position of the
council.

According to our source 'It is
irregular and absurd for the council to inaugurate itself as this is the job of
Otochalu Awka. It must also be in his premises or his village square and
anything done outside of these processes is null and void and of no
consequence.'

The source added that in addition
to the irregularities neither the Otochalu Awka nor the monarch (Ezeuzu) as
well as the president general of the town was in support of the plot.

'A hastily planned coup never
succeeds. Every community in the state has Ozo Society and these are a group of
respectable elderly citizens who preach peace to all citizens. Our town, Awka
seems to be different. May God help my community,' our source prayed.

He called on the town union to
liaise with the institution of Otochalu Awka and the Ezeuzu to redefine the
roles and functions of some of the town clubs in order to avoid a breakdown of
law and order.

'They should limit their
activities to the confines of their club premises, eat and drink, enjoy their
sunset peacefully and refrain from igniting the polity by interfering with
other people's religion and beliefs,' he stressed.

FIDES