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From Felix Ikem, Nsukka
Anibueze Nnadi, 65, from Uwani Utobo Aku, Igbo-Etiti Local Government, Enugu State, is in double jeopardy. He is blind and has no roof over his head. His case is further worsened by the fact that he has no children to take care of him.
In September 2021, Nnadi was maltreated when some persons allegedly sponsored by a traditional ruler demolished a two-bedroom apartment being constructed for him by some concerned members of his kindred. The incident generated tension, protests and condemnations. It necessitated the intervention of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
The governor immediately suspended the monarch. He also constituted a panel of inquiry into the matter and directed all parties to maintain peace pending the outcome of the panel’s report.
Six months after, Nnadi is in total quandary, as he seemed to have been abandoned. His kindred Umuagana family is also worried that since the house they built for him was destroyed over land ownership dispute between the monarch and Nnadi, they had not received the approval of government to go back to the site.
They, however, lauded Ugwuanyi for his intervention that brought back peace to the community. Their spokesman, Uchenna Ezemagu, said after reviewing the deplorable condition of the mud house Nnadi lives in and his health challenges, they contributed money and erected the two-bedroom bungalow for him:
“Later, some hoodlums came with guns and were shooting sporadically to fend off family members for preventing them from carrying out the dreaded act of demolition of the blind man’s house. The entire family was left with tears and sorrow. Some of us at home ran away from our houses because of fear of unknown.
“We started coming back home after Governor Ugwuanyi’s intervention, who set up panel of inquiry to look into the matter after he suspended our traditional ruler to pave way for investigation. We commend the governor for coming to the aid of the blind man, Umuagana family and indeed the Aku community in a most diplomatic fashion.”
The Umuaganas still expressed concern over the fate of their visually impaired kinsman as the rainy season is fast approaching: “Anibueze is still living in his unhealthy mud house with leaking roofs. We are afraid that the house might not survive this year’s rainy season which poses a big threat to blind man’s life.”
The oldest man in the community, Sylvester Okpe, called for the immediate resolution of the issue: “I maintain my earlier position as the eldest man in this community that the very land in question belongs to Anibueze, the blind man. I in company of others elders marked the land when they wanted to start the foundation of the building.
“Therefore, anybody laying claim to the ownership of that land is a troublemaker. We eagerly await government final decision on the matter.”
The traditional ruler of Ihekwuenu Aku, Igwe Christopher Okwor, insisted that he had no hand in the demolition of the blind man’s house.
He claimed that a certain individual in the area was cashing in on the blind man’s condition to use him in land grabbing.
He accused Nnamdi Ezemagu, a legal practitioner, of sponsoring hoodlums to invade his residence: “The building in question is on a land where I have my house. The visually impaired man is not from our kindred. He has his own compound.”
He said the only wrong he did was to stop the lawyer from grabbing land in the community. He said the visually impaired man was being used as proxy to grab the land as court documents revealed that the lawyer was contesting ownership of the land.
But Ezemagu alleged that the only reason the monarch was mentioning his name was because he had resisted his attempts to grab people’s land:
“He had said that as the traditional ruler, all the lands in the community belong to him. As a lawyer I cannot allow him to do so.
“The land where the building was demolished was not the same land which is in court. That land is not in contention between anybody and it is not in court anywhere in Nigeria.
“The one in court is suit number OG/7/2019 where he encroached on my own family land. That land where the building was demolished belongs to the family of Anibueze Nnadi Ozor. The land in question is not a subject of litigation anywhere in Nigeria.”
Nnadi told Daily Sun that he was overwhelmed by the show of love from the Umuagana family. He thanked the governor too for his interest in the matter, urging him not to relent until he was fully rehabilitated:
“When my new building was demolished, I thought the world had collapsed on me. But the type of care and support my family members gave me was what kept me strong and alive against all odds.
“It is six months now since they pulled down my new house. I want the governor to know that I am still living in the old mud house. I want him to come to my aid as the mud house is no longer habitable.”
