Obazu Mbieri Monarch Crisis, Not A Recent Devt-Investigation
Mbieri Council of Ndi-Eze, Mbieri Nwaotuoke Union Filed Complaints Against Eze Agunwa 7 Years Ago
Concerns regarding the alleged incapacitation of the Traditional Ruler of the Obazu Mbieri Autonomous Community in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State, His Royal Highness Eze Nze Francis Elendu Agunwah, are not a recent development.
Agitations over his inability to fulfill his responsibilities became public in 2019, seven years ago, when the Mbieri Nwaotuoke Union (MNU), the umbrella organization of all associations in the Mbieri Ancient Kingdom, formally communicated with the Mbieri Welfare Union and the Supreme Council of Mbieri Traditional Rulers (Ndi-Eze).
In its letter dated November 7, 2019, the MNU expressed concerns that Eze Agunwa had not been representing the Obazu Community at meetings and was not participating in the decisions and activities of the Supreme Council of Mbieri Traditional Rulers.
The Supreme Council of Mbieri Traditional Rulers comprises the traditional rulers of the seven autonomous communities that constitute the Mbieri Ancient Kingdom.
The MNU noted that the Supreme Council of Mbieri Traditional Rulers does not convene regularly, but whenever the council did meet, Eze Agunwah was conspicuously absent and unaccounted for.
Honorable Onyeugo Martins Iwuajoku, the Interim President of MNU, disclosed that in his capacity, he would attend the meetings and observed that the Obazu Mbieri Community was not represented by its traditional ruler.
He stated that the Union’s concerns arose from the fact that the leaders, stakeholders, and people of the Obazu Mbieri Community have historically been at the forefront of issues concerning the unity and development of the Mbieri Ancient Kingdom.
In the letter addressed to the President General of the Obazu Welfare Union and copied to His Royal Highness Eze Peter Opara, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Mbieri Traditional Rulers, the MNU expressed regret that the Obazu Mbieri Community was being kept uninformed about developments in the Mbieri Ancient Kingdom due to the lack of representation by its monarch.
Iwuajoku, therefore, called on the leaders and stakeholders of the Obazu Mbieri Community to ensure that the community is represented at all MNU activities henceforth.
He emphasized that Mbieri is not the personal domain of any individual but belongs to all its indigenes.
In response, the Supreme Council of Mbieri Traditional Rulers commended the MNU for bringing the matter to its attention.
In a letter dated December 16, 2019, and signed by HRH Eze Peter Opara, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Mbieri Traditional Rulers, the council observed that the Obazu Mbieri Community was experiencing significant disadvantages due to the lack of representation by Eze Agunwah.
The council urged the Obazu Welfare Union, stakeholders, and residents of the community to take action to rectify the anomaly.
