By Ikenna Anyaogu
Let me start by observing that, among the five South-East states of Abia, Enugu, Imo, Anambra and Ebonyi, Ebonyi parades the egregious credential of an epicentre of communal clashes and bloody conflicts. And I have been wondering what the causative factors could be. Is it in our stars as a people? I mean, were we born to be so torn apart by inter- and, sometimes, intra- community conflicts? Or is it a consequence of lack of political will on the part of the successive governments of the State to do the needful? I will go with the second possibility: governments’ lack of political will.
The war between Ishinkwo and Abaomege dates back to 1902 when the space that was to become Nigeria was under the then nascent colonial administration of Britain. The war had taken off as one between the colonial agents and the Ishinkwos, following the dynamics of history whose details brevity might not permit in this article. It suffices to state that the inhuman conditions to which Africans were subjected by the colonial agents had provoked the Ishinkwos to bravely challenge them to a fight. It was for the Ishinkwos a fight against western imperialism and its attendant sadism.
The Abaomeges, who ought to have fought on the side of their fellow blacks – the Ishinkwos – betrayed them and fought on the side of the colonialists. But, it was not without a consideration. According to a documented history, the contract was that the Abaomeges would inhabit the land of the Ishinkwos if and when the Ishinkwos were exterminated or driven away by the combined firepower of the foreign and local conspirators. But Ishinkwo bravely and stoically stood its ground, refusing to be exterminated or driven away until colonialism kissed the dust and its agents left the shores of Nigeria, leaving the war to be inherited by the Abaomeges. So, the Abaomeges had all along been fighting a proxy war for the defunct colonialism.
The military and civilian governments of Abia and Imo states, to which both communities had belonged at various stages of Nigeria’s political evolution, knew this fact, but did little or nothing to settle the matter amicably. Instead, it was allowed to continue in court from where the colonial agents had left it. The recurrent war also had intensified, with the consequence that the post-colonial engagements had witnessed large-scale destruction of lives and property on exponential progression. The unfortunate phenomenon had continued until 1984, when the Appeal Court sitting in Enugu issued a Denovo Order in respect of the matter. This simply meant that the disputants had to start the matter all over again. The Order invalidated all previous court proceedings as well as all losses or victories recorded by both parties starting from 1912, when the case made its first appearance in court, with Ishinkwo as the plaintiff.
Both communities were obviously too tired at that stage to start the matter all over again as ordered, with vital documents either missing or lost and with critical witnesses all dead. Smarting from the great challenge, the communities advised themselves and decided to settle amicably.
Unfortunately, the Abaomeges failed, neglected or refused to appreciate the legal reality of ‘no-victor-no vanquished’ stipulated by the Denovo Order. Up until as this writer writes, they still belligerently claim in every given opportunity that they won the case in court during the colonial era, as did the Traditional Head of the Abaomege Community, HRH, Eze Augustine Ineke, when representatives of both communities had a meeting with the Chief of Staff to His Excellency, Governor Nwifuru, recently, according to an insider source.
This invidious demonstration of entitlement mentality has been the clog in the wheel of progress of peace. It had been responsible for the recurrence of the war in 2020, thirty something good years after the peace agreement of 1984! Let the details be for another day. But, the lawyers in Abaomege should, as a matter of urgency, educate HRH, Ezeogo Augustine Ineke, and the Abaomege Community generally, especially the youths, on the legal effects and consequences of the Denovo Order. This will help them to know the truth and be free from the illusion that Ishinkwo is unjustifiably claiming ownership of their land, a perception that seems ingrained in their psyche and drives their belligerence. Letting the generality of Abaomeges know the truth is the first step towards enabling the current peace initiative to fructify.
The writer is one of the shinkwo leaders that have kept educating Ishinkwo populace on the need for peace and peaceful coexistence between, not only Abaomege but all the other communities and her neighbours. This is despite the fact that Ishinkwo is, indisputably, the owner of the land purportedly in dispute, a fact contained in the Ebonyi State Government White Paper. It is crucial to note that Ishinkwo had presented a most logical and convincing account to ground her ownership of the land to the Boundary Tracing Committee constituted by the Ebonyi State government to trace and establish the boundary location between both communities prior to the gazetting of the White Paper; Abaomege could not write, much less submit anything. “Nemo quod dat non habet,” “you can’t give what you don’t have”. In law and in history, therefore, Abaomege has no land to share with Ishinkwo.
However, Ishinkwo leaders prioritize and value peace and have decided to cooperate with the Ebonyi State government’s initiative to demarcate or share the land equally between both communities. I must appreciate and commend His Excellency, Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru for the praiseworthy initiative and crystalized genuine commitment to the objective.
It is noted that Ishinkwo community had erupted in celebrations when the news broke that government had mobilized men, machinery and money to share the property. But, the joy was as shortlived as it came, bringing us to the shenanigans and duplicitous conduct of the personnel mandated to carry out the demarcation. The leader of the demarcation committee had decided he was not going to rely on the government’s White Paper to share the land.
What had happened on the second day of the demarcation had pushed the Ishinkwo people to stage a protest to the palace of their Traditional Head, HRM, Ezeogo Josephat Ikegwu ( Obinire 1 of Ishinkwo Kingdom)
The Ishinkwo women protested to the office of the Ebonyi State Governor and the Ebonyi State House of Assembly. Although the two branches of government promised to look into the matter.
The Ishinkwos are now spoiling for a showdown. It is for this reason that the Ebonyi State government is urged to disband the Demarcation Committee and constitute a new, impartial one that would demarcate the land with equity, justice and fair play. The interior parts of Ishinkwo that have been ceded to Abaomege without the use of the White Paper should also be reversed. This is very important because if this committee is left to continue, what the government sought to address from the start might just be aggravated.
Chief Ikenna A Anyaogu (Coordinator, Ishinkwo Community in Overseas Countries) writes from Germany.