By PETER ANOSIKE

The National Chairman of Council of Ndi Ndu Ndigbo (Council of Igbo leaders) in Diaspora, High Chief Aloy Obi, has commended the men of the Nigeria Police for the arrest of self-style Obi of Lagos,Chibuike Azubuike.

Speaking while reacting to the arrest, High Chief Obi, who is also the Onye ndu Nidigbo in Ibadan in particular and Oyo state in general, said that the swift arrest and subsequent detention would serve as a deterrent to others criminal elements who want to bastardize the customs and tradition of Igbo land for monetary gains.

He said that the Southeast Council of Traditional Rulers has banned the installation of kings outside Igbo land, adding that there is also court of appeal decision to that effect.

According to him, the title of “Obi” is highly revered in Igbo land, therefore, whoever wants to cheapen the title should be summarily dealt with.

Furthermore, he said that Igbos in Lagos should not be taking advantage of the hospitality of their host community and doing things that are contrary to their customs and traditions.

According to him, to start with, the title of Obi is not known, let alone recognized by the host community.

He therefore, wondered why a man who is in his 60s should try to deliberately cause trouble for himself and his fellow Igbos in Lagos.

His words: “Respect for customs and tradition is key if you want to succeed in a foreign land. In fact, it should be the beginning of wisdom to non-indigenes anywhere they are. So, I want to advise Igbos resident in Lagos to always respect established customs and traditions of their host community when engaging in cultural activities. I want to thank the men of the Nigerian police for the swift arrest of Chibuike Azubuike because the planned installation of Obi of Lagos and construction of a palace would have caused problem for the whole Igbos resident in Lagos because there is an adage that when one finger is soiled with oil,it would affect the whole fingers. So the proposed plan is an affront on the customs and traditions of the host community as well as the Lagos State government.”

High Chief Obi said that as far as he is concerned, Lagos remains open and accommodating to all Nigerians, but traditions and titles that are not recognized by the indigenes and by the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Local Government Affairs cannot be instituted.

He said that Igbos in Lagos should try to ensure that all cultural and traditional celebrations is in line with the guidelines of their host community.

According to him that would bring about harmonious and peaceful relationship between them and their host community.

Speaking further he said that according to the flyer announcing the fraudulent celebration, some of the highlights of the event would have been the donation of N1.5 billion to build a palace for the so-called Obi of Lagos, an event centre and a guest house for Igbos in distress.

“I want to say without mincing words that what the organizers had wanted to do would have caused trouble for Igbos in Lagos because the title of Obi of Lagos is not recognized by the host community and therefore doing what is not recognized or accepted is a direct affront on them and should not have been taken likely. If they have such money to spend, they should look around themselves. Everybody has a Lazarus as a neigbhour. Let them help the less privileged. That is the best way to spend money. They can also use such money for developmental projects. What took most of us out of Igbo land is business. We should try to focus on them instead of using it to cause trouble,” Aloy Obi said.

He said that the only title that Southeast Council of Traditional Rulers approved outside Igbo land is “Onye ndu Ndi Ndigbo”, translated as the leader of the Igbos, and not Eze Ndigbo (King of the Igbos).

According to him, those who are still going by the title of Eze Ndigbo outside Igbo land should obey the revered traditional rulers in the southeast and comply with their directive, adding that even Bible says, “Obey your father and mother so that your days would be long on earth.”

He said that the Southeast council of traditional rulers have directed Council of Ndindu Ndigbo in Diaspora to be conferring this title to the deserved individuals as a way of promoting and projecting Igbo customs and traditions outside Igbo land.

High Chief Aloy Obi said that in his capacity as the National Chairman of Council of Ndi Ndu Ndigbo in Diaspora, he is making efforts to see that the bastardization is stopped.

He said that he had held meeting with those who are going by the title of Ezendigbo in Diaspora to ensure that the issue is resolved amicable so that Igbos outside Igbo land live in peace and harmony and also practice the culture and tradition as stipulated by the Southeast council of traditional rulers.

“On the 29th of April this year, I went to Awka, the capital of Anambra state, to meet with the members of the southeast council of traditional rulers and in the meeting I told them the importance of addressing the issue. I made them to understand that those who are going by the title of Ezendigbo in Diaspora said that they have not being called to a round table discussion. The traditional rulers agreed that there is need for harmony among the Igbos in diaspora. So something is already being done about it and very soon, the whole issue would be resolved,” Aloy Obi said.