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By Dickson Okafor
Igwe Gerald Obunadike Mbamalu, Eze Oranyelu 1, Eze Ojoto III, in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, has reaffirmed the decision of traditional rulers in the South-East to outlaw the title of Eze Ndigbo anywhere in the world outside Igbo land.
He spoke with Sunday Sun following a protest by Ghanaians against the attempt to introduce the “virus” into their country by a plan to enthrone someone as Eze Ndigbo Ghana.
He also spoke on Anambra State governorship election to be held on November 8, 2025. He commended the Comptroller General Of Customs Adewale Adeniyi for his efforts to fast track the clearing of cargo at the ports and advised President Bola Tinubu to review some policies of his administration and give such policies a human face.
The Super Falcons recently won the 2024 WAFCON trophy. Looking at the political and economic situation of the country, what lessons can Nigerians learn from the victory of the team?
What Nigerians should learn from the victory of the Super Falcons is that with real determination and all hands being on deck, we can overcome the economic challenges facing the country. In order for Nigeria to be victorious like the Falcons, we must not give up. Rather, we must elect competent and credible person with character, capacity and capability, to provide transparent and accountable leadership that is truly selfless and people-focused.
The Lagos chapter of Ohanaeze Ndigbo condemned the local government election held in Lagos because non-indigenes were excluded. What are your thoughts on this, especially considering the 2027 general elections?
The Lagos Chapter of Ohanaeze Ndigbo is playing politics because the members are not in a position to represent Ndigbo. That is why each time they want to conduct election to elect their officers, it will be a do-or-die affair. The reason is that they consider a position in the Ohanaeze Lagos executive committee as a passport to get closer to the state government for political or financial gains. That is why they kill themselves during elections all in the pretence that they are the mouthpiece of Ndigbo in Lagos. If they want to protect or speak for the Igbo race, they should start from the beginning and one of things they are supposed to do is to respect the traditional institution of Ndigbo. Unfortunately, the so-called Ohanaeze does not respect Igbo tradition. These so-called champions of Ohanaeze Ndigbo will come to Lagos and divide all parts of the state as their domain. And you begin to have Eze Ndigbo Mushin, Eze Ndigbo Iba, Eze Ndigbo Ikeja and so on. Have you heard of Emir of Alaba? Emir of Oshodi? Emir of Lagos Island? Why is it only in Igbo land you have such uncrowned titles? They desecrate the traditional institution of the Igbo. And they claim that they are protecting the interest of Igbo while they are hobnobbing with the politicians for their political gain and selfish interest. An Igbo adage says: Ana ebuonu wele ajunli, meaning ‘how can you be hungry and rejecting food?’ In those days when we were in the university, you could not bribe lecturers, no matter how much you tried to give them, you could not bribe them to alter your mark. That is integrity, you earn it. It is not by how much you make or who you know. It is integrity. Go down to the villages, some parents will see their son or daughter coming back with exotic cars. They won’t ask the son or daughter how he or she made the money to buy the car. But a responsible father and mother would want to know how you came about the car. Some will jump into it and start rejoicing that their son has arrived, without knowing what the person is doing to earn a living. That is not integrity. Again, an Igbo adage says Nwa Nnayadu nyere ori ne ji ukwu agbawa uzo, meaning a child his father sent to rob will use his foot to break the door. So, leave Ohanaeze Ndigbo and their matter because they are not serious. When they are serious, we will look into their matter.
The Anambra State Governorship Election 2025 is less than four months away. Do you foresee Governor Soludo being defeated?
There is one Igbo adage says: Eji ugegbe ele ihe agba na ka? meaning “what you are wearing on your hand, do use a mirror to look at it”. Let me tell you one story of what happened when I was in the university. I was in third year and we were conducting the departmental election. The electoral committee said the secretary must be a third year student. I came out for secretary and one student who was in second year came out because a convention is not a constitution. I thought it was an easy ride and when they asked my second year opponent what was his manifesto, what he could do for the department, the boy only said the “record speaks for itself.” People started asking, what does he mean by record speaks for itself? Do you that know I lost that election? Do you know why I lost? My opponent from year one scored A. He made the highest score in JAMB when entered with 349 over 400 and he was much younger. So, what delivered him was his records.
In Anambra State governorship election on November 8, the record will speak for itself and not radio jingles and posters. We the elite that normally make noise, we occupy the social media and television stations to give analysis and condemn some people and praise others. We don’t vote. We don’t have the patience to wait and cast our votes during elections. If you go to the Northern part of the country during elections, you will be surprised that highly placed people like the late President Muhammadu Buhari will go to the polling unit as early as 7:00 am and he will wait until he has cast his vote. He might seat down somewhere reading a newspaper, but here in the south, specially South-East, trust the elite. They would send boys to go and know whether the voting has started and tell the boy to call him when it starts. If the boy called to tell him that it had started, he would give an excuse that he had a visitor. So, do we really vote? That is why people will be in Lagos and Abuja and make noise about Anambra politics, but at the end of the day, do they travel down to vote? No. The people that cast their votes are the people resident in Anambra State – these are the market women and men. The okada riders and the artisans are the people who cast their votes. These are people who can access those contesting election and those leaving office in a democratic setting. There is another Igbo adage that says: Okuko gabu okokpa na esi na nwasisi ezi, meaning, the fowl that will become a cock shows from when it is a chick. Go to Enugu State and see the infrastructural development being carried out by Governor Peter Mbah. Also, go to Anambra State and see what Governor Soludo is doing. If you are bringing somebody to replace him, can the person be trusted? His record must surpass what Soludo has put on ground. If you ask me to judge Soludo with past governors of Anambra State, I will be in the right frame of mind to do so, but to judge Soludo with the governorship candidates, I may not give a right judgement. Soludo is not the best in Anambra State, but for now who is better than him? The devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know. Soludo is the only governor I don’t see old politicians clustering around, and also in Enugu State. Because if don’t carry old politicians along, they will give you all sorts of bad name. So, on November 8, Anambra people will judge Governor Soludo based on what he told us he has done in four years and what we saw that he has done, with the hope he will do more if re-elected. Soludo will be judged in the election based on verifiable facts.
It has been reported that the Onitsha-Owerri expressway has been cut in half by severe erosion. Former Ebonyi governor is the Minister of Works. What are your thoughts about this?
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It is important to acknowledge that former governor Dave Umahi and now Minister of Works should not be immediately blamed for the poor state of the road in question. The condition of the road was inherited, not created, by him. The primary responsibility for identifying and escalating such infrastructure issues lies with the Controller of Works in Anambra State, who failed to bring the situation to the necessary level of urgency and attention.
Unfortunately, many political appointees and government representatives do not use this road regularly and are therefore unaware of its dire state. This disconnect contributes to the neglect and lack of prioritisation in addressing the problem.
If the road is not captured in the upcoming federal budget, only then should Minister Umahi be held accountable, as that would reflect a deliberate oversight during his tenure. Until then, the focus should be on ensuring that the appropriate personnel of the Ministry are doing their part to escalate and advocate for solutions.
Ghanaians recently protested against an attempt to enthrone someone as Eze Ndigbo Ghana. What is your take on this?
We were at Colonade Hotel in Lagos when Babatunde Fashola, who was Lagos State governor at the time, came to address Igbo businessmen. I happened to be there that day when kola nut was brought. Some people said they were Eze Ndigbo and I said I didn’t recognise them and I would never recognise them unless I’m not a traditional ruler from Anambra State. Ghanaians are right for stopping the establishment of Eze Ndigbo in their country. Like I said, have you heard of Emir of Agege in Lagos State? No. Have you heard of Emir of Onitsha in Anambra State or Emir of Enugu? No. You can have a Muslim Community. Have you heard of Oba of Onitsha? No. They respect them. So, must it be only Igbo that practise this illegal act? That is why South-East Traditional Rulers Council recently abolished “Eze Ndigbo” title for Igbo leaders in the Diaspora. The Ghanaians are right because this is outlawed in the South-East. So, they told you that Igbo did not vote during the just concluded local government election in Lagos State? Is it the only thing that is wrong or only area where the rights of Ndigbo are being trampled upon by the government?
President Buhari built a rail line into Niger Republic. But leaders like Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan are being blamed for not constructing the Lagos-Ota expressway and the East West road respectively while they were president. What do you say to that?
Ultimately, it is a matter of choice and leadership style. Perhaps previous leaders had easy access to good roads leading to their homes or villages, and as such, didn’t feel the urgency to act on deteriorating infrastructure elsewhere. Leadership priorities differ from one administration to another. Some choose to focus on visible projects in urban centres while others pay closer attention to neglected rural roads and communities. What matters most is whether those in power are willing to address issues that don’t directly affect them but impact the lives of everyday citizens. True leadership is shown not just in building new things, but in fixing what others have overlooked.
Please assess the speed and ease of clearance of goods at the ports under Buhari with Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) as Customs Comptroller General and now under Tinubu with Adewale Adeniyi as CG. What needs to be done to meet global standards?
The current Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC) is making commendable efforts to improve the clearing process and reduce turnaround time through the introduction of the Made-in-Nigeria clearing platform, BODOGWU. I strongly believe that this innovation has helped eliminate several bottlenecks and fraudulent practices that have long hindered the ease of doing business in the maritime industry.
It is my hope that other key stakeholders will actively support and complement the CGC’s initiatives in order to rewrite the history of the clearing process in our country. So far, the improvements have been significant and promising.
What do you suggest President Tinubu should do to reduce hardship and hunger in the country?
My advice to President Tinubu is to introduce fresh policies and restructure the team he has assembled to work with him and he should be open to other policies that will come from outside. Because nobody is a repository of all knowledge, useful information can come from anywhere.
