Meet this veteran journalists turned traditional ruler who fought all the deities in his kingdom and killed all of them

Are you satisfied with one wife? Can you put up a fight with a deity? Do you regret studying that course of yours?

HRH, Eze Cletus Uwadiegwu Ogbonnaya is one Abia State traditional ruler who speaks his mind with forthrightness. He is a veteran journalist who practiced for 23 years and rose to the position of Editor and Managing Editor at vari­ous times, before answering the call of his people to come home and be their traditional ruler. He has been on the throne for 14 years. Quite of­ten, traditional rulers tend to be po­lygamous, but the monarch who has been married for 35 years to his wife holds the view that a man does not need to substitute his wife as along she performs her duties well. In this interview he relives the experience of ascending to the throne and his career as a journalist, particularly, the story that got him detained for one month under Major General Muham­madu Buhari’s Decree 4 of 1984.

Excerpts…

Could you give us a snap shot of who Eze Ogbonnaya is?

HRH Eze Cletus Uwadiegwu Og­bonnaya is the Ojim 1 of Umuanya Autonomous Community, Uturu , the host community of Abia State Univer­sity, Uturu. I practiced journalism for 23 years. I graduated from University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1978 with a de­gree in Mass Communication. I was in journalism practice up to 2001, when Umuanya Autonomous Community, Uturu was created and my people felt that they needed somebody with my level of exposure to be the Eze. It was on that basis that I came home and since then I have been the traditional ruler of this community for 14 years. I got a Master’s degree in Mass Communica­tion from Imo State University, Owerri. I have an honorary doctorate degree (Doctor of Literature) from an Ameri­can University and I am a member of the Governing Council of Gregory University, Uturu, a private University in Abia State. I sit on the Governing Council of the Brethren College of Theology, Umuahia, Nigerian affiliate of National University, USA.

I am 63 years, having been born on October 30, 1951; I am a product of Holy Cross School, Uturu, where I got my First Leaving Certificate in 1964, before proceeding to Acquinas Second­ary School, Nsu, Mbano. I was barely 16 years old and in Class-3, when the Nigerian Civil War started in 1967; like all other young men in Biafra with true Igbo blood in them, I enlisted into the Biafran Army on February 12, 1968. I fought as an infantry and a ranger in the guerilla wing of the Biafran Army. I was an intelligence officer too. When the war ended in 1970, everybody had to start all over again.

What does it feel like being an Eze?

I had no idea that I was going to be an Eze; the constitution of Umuanya community specifies that the Ezeship is neither hereditary, by seniority of villages or by rotation. What you have is a situation, where any time there is vacancy for Eze, the person seen to be most eligible either through election or selection becomes the Eze. I was not born into royalty, I’m a free son of the soil and luckily in Uturu, we do not have the outcast system. Any free born son of Uturu can aspire to be the mon­arch in his own community; so by the grace of God, I became the monarch on personal merit. My people saw me fit and qualified to be their monarch. I feel honored and that is why I left journal­ism and the left urban area to relocate to the rural community. I have been here for the past 14 years.

Were you given a new name when you became the Eze of your community?

From my title, Ojim, you get the his­tory of the community. Ojim was the legendary founder of Uturu, Umuany­im, and he was very warlike. Through conquest, he extended our frontiers up to Okigwe, we have a border with Okigwe, towards Ihube. In those days, Umuanyi people were said to be very warlike. They could muster up to 400 men in the warfront. And allow 400 men to remain at home to defend the home; that is why we are called Ojim Nnu Egbe. Nnu is 400 in Igbo, it means that we were able to muster 400 soldiers with 400 guns both at the warfront and home front to defend us. There were other artifacts discovered through study that man had lived in Uturu, between 300,000 years ago to 500,000. We have where we call Ekeu­kwu which is our own Garden of Eden, where the first man was said to have settled. Again the man Uturu was said to have migrated from the Onoafia area in Afikpo, Ebonyi state.

What is your religion?

I am a Christian, I was born into Christianity but I am a student of com­parative religion. I am into Jewish stud­ies and I can call myself a messianic Jew if one can look at it that way.

Do you have gods that you worship, and how many shrines do you have?

You know the tragedy of African gods is that if you don’t worship it after some time, they will die. Since Christi­anity came to Uturu in 1906, the Brit­ish man subdued Uturu people, which my grandfather, Ogbonnaya, was one of the traditional defenders, and intro­duced Christianity, we have heard that those deities are gone and even if they were anywhere, nobody will tell you this is where they are now because nobody goes there again. They are all dead, all those deities.

How did you develop interest in journalism?

When I was young, I was buying this Catholic newspaper for two pence weekly and another that was being sold for four pence; so when I eventu­ally went to Port Harcourt, my elder brother who was working with The Voice Agency in London was buying papers like Daily Flash, Eastern Ni­geria Guardian, Newsweek and Time magazines Magazine. So I started reading those papers and this made me a voracious reader. That was what made me develop interest in journal­ism. After passing school certificate in 1971, I went to St Augustine’s Gram­mar School, Nkwerre, for my Higher School Certificate (HSC). I had a won­derful result, ABB (A in Government, B in History and B in Economics). In 1975, all the five universities I applied to for admission offered me direct en­try. My first interest was to become a lawyer, so if I had been well-advised, I would have taken a degree in Law rath­er than Mass Communication. Nsukka offered me Mass Communication, UNILAG (Mass Comm), University of Ibadan (Political Science), Universi­ty of Benin (Political Science) and Uni­versity of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) offered me Law. If I had ac­cepted, I would the offer from Ife, Eme Awah, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and I would have been together at Ife.

Do you regret studying and practicing journalism?

I studied Mass Communication, so I don’t regret it. I did my NYSC at Ondo State Radio station, Oba Ile Akure in 1978/79, and from there I joined NTA Aba, Channel 6 as Editor II, under Mazi Ukonu. In 1980, when Abiola started Concord and as a vibrant young man, I resigned from NTA Aba and joined Concord Newspapers as the first Chief Correspondent in old Imo State. In 1986, I was among the first Com­munity Concord Editors appointed by Abiola. I joined Concord the same day with Dele Giwa, Innocent Oparadike, Tom Borha, Doyin Abiola (was still a maiden then) and Mike Awoyinfa. They were all our contemporaries in Concord. In 1989, when the Commu­nity Concord experiment failed, I went to Lagos and was appointed Defence Correspondent with the rank of Assis­tant Editor. I covered the Gideon Orkar coup on April 22, 1990. I was in Dodan Barracks as the battle raged; I was at Radio Nigeria, Ikoyi when Gideon Orkar was captured. During the trials at Brigade of Guards on Kofo Abayomi, which Ike Nwachukwu presided over as Chairman of the Military Tribunal, I covered all those events for Concord. I almost lost my life during the coup be­cause some soldiers captured us at the airport and thoroughly beat us. Eventu­ally, we covered the trial and execution of Gideon Orkar. In 1990 after 10 years in Concord I left to be the Editor of Ar­thur Nzeribe’s Spectator newspaper in Owerri. The paper folded up and I went into private public relations/advertising practice. In 1996, I joined Iwuanyan­wu’s National Post as the first Deputy Editor. I left in 2000 as Managing Edi­tor of National Post and we floated An­nouncer Express in Owerri which is still publishing, myself, Joe Anyama and Victor Alozie, who is now the Head of Mass Communication, Fed­eral Polytechnic, Nekede. I was the Executive Director, Publications when my people said I should come home to be the Eze.

As the traditional ruler, do you still engage in private business?

The issue of traditional rulership in Igbo land is a different ballgame from what you have in Yorubaland and Northern states. Any Eze in Igbo land who is not sufficiently buoyant cannot survive on the throne, no matter what the government gives you; you must have what you are doing and that is why you see some our traditional rulers resident in Lagos. How many of us are in our communities? Any Eze in Igbo land who stays put in his community will find it difficult to feed himself, not to talk of his family. That is why you must have something that you are do­ing.

As an Eze, can you participate in politics?

That one is completely out of it. From day one you know that you have nothing to do in politics. In fact, if some of us who are traditional rulers in Igbo land had gone into politics, politics in Igbo land would have been hotter than what we are having. Most of us who are traditional rulers are born politi­cians and if not that we are not free like other people, politics would have been hotter.

How many wives do you have, and where and when did you meet your first wife?

(He laughs first and said) Polygamy is out of the way, I have one wife, who is the mother of my children and I have never contemplated taking a second wife. She has not been found wanting in her duties, both in the palace and in my bedroom, so I don’t need a substi­tute. My wife is from Imo State. We were all in old Imo State. She was posted to Uturu as a teacher after her Grade II Teachers Certificate Course in 1978 and I came home from NTA Aba, around January 30, 1980. We met when she was teaching in Uturu and one thing led to another and we have been together for the past 35 years.

What actually attracted you to her?

Her simplicity and honesty was what attracted me to her. There were no pretences when we met unlike others who play this hide and seek game. Again, her elder brother had been a friend of mine and I never knew that, so when she mentioned his name, I asked if she was a sister to this my friend and she said yes, and from there, we started talking and that was it.

You said that you don’t have a second wife and that you have no plans of marrying another. Why?

It is in Yoruba land, where you have Yoruba Obas, like the late Olateru-Olagbegi of Owo, who was said to have over 100 children, even in his old age of 90s, he still had a younger wife. It is part of their own culture, but with Christianity in Igbo land, and from the way we were brought up, one wife is a burden so there is no point. It has never occurred to me any day to take a second wife.

A lot of people have the view that royalty has to do with a lot of wives and children, what do you think?

In Yoruba land, in the North, and even Islam permits them to have more than one wife or as much as you can control, and in most of the Yoruba land you find Muslims marrying more than one wife. Yoruba people by nature are polygamous and you see some of them under the guise of Islam taking many wives. But it is not like that in Igbo land. I doubt if there is any Eze in Uturu, where we have 24 autonomous communities, who has a second wife.

Does this mean that no lady has ever attracted your attention and you decided to commandeer her or take her as a wife?

That reminds me of the story of one Oba at Akure where I did my national youth service, a former Deji of Akure, who was said to be very fond of moving around the palace in the evening and any time he saw any young lady would marry her whether she liked it or not.

You have only one queen who has been with you for the past 35 years. Does she perform her duties to your satisfaction?

Yes, she is an educationist and she is of a school principal in the Abia State school system and she would retire next year. She has never been found wanting in her duties, she makes room for every other job that concerns the palace and it doesn’t affect her profes­sional calling. That is why I have been progressing.

What kind of food is your favorite?

From infancy, I have always loved eating yams because we pro­duce yams; people come to our market, Nkwo Achara to buy yams. I like ‘swallow’, no day passes without my having swallow. These days, I take wheat, but in those days, it could be garri, akpu or even pounded yam.

Do you drink alcohol?

You may be surprised to hear that for the past 34 years I have never tasted beer, not even as a practicing journalist; the reason be­ing that when I came into journalism, a bottle of beer was 80 kobo. During my youth service in Akure there was one place called Motor Motel, near Adeyemi College of Education, I think beer was sold there at 60 kobo. The general impression was that journalists drink and that journalists could take 10 bottles of beer in a day without paying kobo. When I came to Owerri, I was still taking beer, but I felt insulted one day that somebody came to my office, weeping that he wanted to see the late Governor Sam Mbakwe. I made it possible for him to see the governor, and the next time we met in a friend’s office, the first thing he did was to tell them to get me beer to drink and I felt insulted and from that day I vowed not to drink beer again – that was in February 1981. I know that I write better when I am tipsy, but I don’t want alcohol to control me. As an Eze, they are all in my palace, but I don’t like them to control me.

What attire do you feel most comfortable wearing?

As a journalist, I used to dress in very formal manner. There was a time I had up to 10 suits, because you don’t know where you can meet any personality that you may want to interview. I was noted for wearing suit, particularly when I was at NTA Aba. I used to run a programme called Behind the News, so I could meet people and interview them anywhere, but since I became Eze, it became a dif­ferent style of dressing; all those my suits, I don’t wear them again, I don’t wear tie again. At least while appearing in public, you have to wear something that distinguishes you as a traditional ruler, it is already part of us. But when am relaxing, I wear simple clothes like jumper as an elder; in the house I wear simple things within the pal­ace, but while going outside I have to dress formally as an Eze.

Tell us about your happiest moment.

The day my wife had our first child who is now married, I was happy that very day having seen myself as a father. Again, the day my people made me the Eze on a platter of gold, I felt very happy that I had been recognized; recently, when my second daughter was called to the Bar at the Nigerian Law School, Abuja, on November 26, 2014.

Looking back, which day would say was your most embarrassing moment?

It happened during my days as a journalist, when I was detained under Decree 4, in 1984, when Ike Nwachukwu, who was the then military governor of Imo State. I wrote a story with the headline, ‘5000 Teachers lose jobs in Imo.’ And Ike Nwachukwu ordered that I should be arrested. I was detained for one month. Our General Manager in Concord, M.C. Ajuluchukwu, who was coming from Enugu to seek my release was involved in an accident and had to go back. My wife had to write a letter through Dr Okereke, the then Attorney General in Imo State, and it was read at the State Executive Council meeting. In fact, Ike Nwachukwu had ordered that I should be charged under Decree 4 when Dr. Okereke reminded him that Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon had imprisoned Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor in Lagos, and argued that it would be unfortunate to have another journalist from Imo State imprisoned. The Decree 4 said that even if you wrote the truth and it was em­barrassing to the government, the journalist must be jailed. So I re­mained in detention for one month.

Where would say is your favorite holiday spot?

Before the Boko Haram insurgency started, I always considered the Yankari Games Reserve in Bauchi State as my favourite holiday spot, followed by Obudu Ranch in Cross River State and the Ba­guada Lake in the North. I had opportunities to travel to those places.

And your favourite quotes?

I have a lot of quotes, but what I normally tell people is that they should do unto others as they will want others to do unto them. Then because of this mad rush for wealth in Nigeria, I came across a quote in the Bible and since I came across it, it has tailored my life. It says: “A man sitting over ill-acquired wealth is like a hen trying to hatch an egg it never laid. At the end the wealth disappears and it becomes stupid.” Since I came across that quotation in the Bible, it has been guiding my life. So that is why when you see some people, they will be so wealthy while alive, immediately they die, the wealth disap­pears. If you have stolen public property, because you have public office, you are sitting over ill-acquired wealth. At the end the wealth will disappear and you will not have the opportunity for repentance or even making restitution. I live a very simple life. I am not both­ered with whatever as long as I can take care of my family and meet the basic necessities of life, nature will take care of itself.

Do you wear designer clothes?

I don’t, but I have a tailor in Okigwe who sews for me. I don’t go to the market to buy, but I have someone who sews all my clothes.

Can you remember any of the funny things you did since ascending the throne?

Yes, some of the people who shouted Hosanna! yesterday eventu­ally turned out to say crucify him. Not that I used to take people for granted but all that glitters is not gold, and then when people come with different ideas, you have to be careful in being able to see which is which. The counsel of Ahithophel is what many people will bring to you. That advice they are bringing to you is to destroy you so you have to be careful. I know what I have passed through since I ascended the throne.

Are there any sporting activities you cannot do with­out?

I try to exercise within the compound, I cannot be seen outside now trying to jog or something like that, because as the traditional ruler I cannot do things like that. I have to maintain some privacy. Whatever exercise I do, I do it within my compound to maintain some privacy.

How much time do you spend with your children?

When they are around, I spend quality time with them. Inciden­tally, journalism is the type of job that keeps you working without finding time for yourself. That was one of the things that made me to leave Lagos. In 1989, when I was transferred to Lagos, my fam­ily was in Owerri and every month, I would drive to Owerri to be with my family and then come back to Lagos. So immediately I saw the opportunity to go and edit Nzeribe’s paper along Okigwe Road, Owerri, I resigned and came back to Owerri, even while in Owerri , it was not long before Abia State was created and my wife and children had to move to Umuahia. Even when my family was in Umuahia, I was still working in Owerri up to the time that this Eze­ship came and I went back home. Anytime I was around, I ensured that I spent time with them, but I think that journalism took me too far. Even my daughter who is now a lawyer, I was the one that influ­enced her to go and read Law – the Law that I missed. I wanted her to read Law particularly because we are close.

How old is your last child?

I don’t have too many children; I have two girls and a boy. The girls are both graduates now and the young man is still in second­ary school. After our first two issues, we spent fourteen years before having him. My daughter who is a lawyer now was already in Uturu Secondary School in Class 1, when the mother conceived and had him. So you can see the gap between them, the boy is just 17 and he is in SS 3 now.

What do you despise as a person?

I hate people telling lies, pretending to be what they are not. I also don’t like people who are not straightforward. People who try to cut corners put me off. The people who boast and create the impression that they are what they are not.

If you could change one thing about your life, what would that be?

Trusting people so much; I trusted people so much and they dis­appointed me. If I had to live my life again, I would be very careful in trusting people and the type of people to trust.

What virtue do you admire most in people?

I like people who work hard, who don’t expect manna to fall from heaven; whatever you get out of your efforts, you admire it. But if you think you can get things to drop on your laps every day of your life without working for them, it is your business. I hate people be­ing lazy. I worked in the private sector and it helped me so much, I didn’t work in the civil service, the private sector made me to put in extra hours of duty.

How would you describe yourself?

I can describe myself as a very simple man, a typical Uturu man who was brought up to be honest in all he does. I was brought up as a typical Catholic child who if he tells lies must go for confession. That molded our lives. Today it is no longer the same.

How would you like to be remembered?

I would want to be remembered as the man who came, saw and conquered.

 By Chuks Onuoha