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It is my cousin Fred Osita Okeke that called to inform me of the fall of the big Iroko, our friend Enyiduru , who just passed on. Since then, I had been wanting to pay a befitting tribute to the memory of Enyiduru but lacked the words, maybe because I am still perplexed. Several times I tried to write only to stop. Luckily our mutual friend, Engr Ikechukwu Ugwuegede was able to weave the words in a way I can say he wrote my mind and I believe he spoke for all us who had encountered Enyiduru during his lifetime.
The following tribute was contributed by Ugwuegede, and the credit goes to him.
Sometime in 2006 or thereabouts, during the lead up to the political elections that ushered in the first tenure of Alhaji Yar’Adua as President of Nigeria, the government of Enugu State placed a ban on all traditional rulers of the state from receiving in audience any presidential candidate or delegation seeking prayers or endorsements of any kind.
That ban was covert as it was not backed by any law, but in those days the ‘thoughts’ of the government of the day were easily decoded and understood and you went against such at your peril. Additionally such dispositions of the government were usually targeted at specific individuals. The sitting Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, presumably the target of the gag order, was a presidential candidate and had scheduled, as part of his campaign visit to Enugu state, to pay a visit to a traditional ruler within the state, as was the norm then, if not even now. That particular scheduled visit held, and the visitor was welcomed to the Igwe’s palace and received blessings from the royal father and went on his way, much to the rage of the state government
Needless to say, the traditional ruler was HRH Igwe Sir Spencer Ugwuoke, the Enyiduru 1 of Obimo, a sleepy and laid back community on the outskirts of Nsukka in Enugu State. The Secretary to the State Government of the day promptly issued a letter suspending him as the traditional ruler of Obimo, asking him to explain and justify his actions. The government threatened further punishment if a satisfactory reply was not received by them.
I became involved in the matter when Enyiduru responded to the state government. I remember very vividly his understanding regarding both his actions in receiving his guest and the reactions of the state government in suspending him. He reasoned that it was unlawful of the government to seek to prevent him from receiving anyone who wished to visit him. A knowledgeable and lettered traditional ruler, Enyiduru knew not only the customs and traditions of his people but also the laws of the land. He was certain that he was within his constitutional rights to receive any visitor, notwithstanding the relationship of that person with the state government. Enyiduru was not at all perturbed by the so-called suspension from office as the traditional ruler of his home, as contained in the letter of the SSG. For one, he reminded the state government that they did not make him traditional ruler and that the input of government was limited to a formal recognition of the completed actions of his community. At best, he reasoned, all the government could do was to withdraw their certificate of recognition, a document which affected his relationship with the government but which did not in any way impair his acceptance by the people of Obimo. He therefore made sure that even if the government was unhappy with his actions, that his community was always sure that he was always acting in their best interests. He was an Igwe one could be proud of any day: he did not “fall hand” no matter the occasion. He was also not scared of being on the road less travelled. Not for him the common comfort of being one of the crowd – he did strike out in different paths by himself once he was convinced on the validity of his thoughts and the correctness of his actions.
To end the anecdotal case I cited above, Enyiduru dared the wrath of the state government, reminding them that in suspending him before inviting him to state his case before the government, that they had already meted out the only punishment they could, before accusing him or hearing from him. He wrote a copious and unambiguously defiant reply to the suspension letter which he titled ‘My Eyes Have Seen the Glory of the Lord – Why then Should I Fear?’ This unapologetic reply from Enyiduru in defence of his actions and position was thunderous, and the state government backed down and withdrew the letter of suspension.
The above introduction of Enyiduru is apt. Though he now lies in death and has gone the way of mortality, he had his days.
Enyiduru was an enigma, in one sense of that word. You could never really predict him. He was, like the sage Chief the Rt Hon Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, predictably unpredictable. When he left regular employment in a burgeoning industry in Jos to aspire to become a traditional ruler, in those climes something usually associated with much older persons, it was not without controversy. For one thing, his father–in–law was one of the several hopefuls to the throne. How would he explain the contest to his wife, people wondered. How could he be so cheeky, if not disrespectful, to enter a race that his father-in-law showed interest in? Great and difficult moments bring out the wisdom and intelligence of great men. Without batting an eye, Enyiduru posited that whilst his father-in-law undeniably loved the daughter, his (Enyiduru’s) wife, and wanted to make her a princess, he, Enyiduru, loved her even more and wanted her to be a Queen. The rest is, as they say, history. He became the Igwe and traditional ruler of Obimo by popular acclaim, taking on the title of Enyiduru – the beneficial behemoth, a profitable titan, in contradistinction to those who would lead but signify nothing, those who would want to be at the head and helm of affairs but would offer no direction, benefit or profit to the led.
Enyiduru very clearly saw himself as filling a special place in the life of his community, Obimo. His biography is written elsewhere and I do not attempt one here. But certainly he was undeniably conscious of a historically poignant position and influence of his immediate Ukwuinyi family on the larger Obimo community for posterity. I know that he was greatly influenced by the circumstances of the life and times of his father, Chief David Ezenwomada Ugwuoke, OgbuAguNano,who was famed, like the David of antiquity, for protecting the community from the ravages and attacks of terrorising wild animals. His sobriquet, Ogbuagunano, is in recognition of the fame of getting the better of four leopards, no mean feat, with stories of his prowess and skill at the hunt still being told till today, the very stuff of folklore. A grateful community ensured that his photograph with the District Officer of the time hung at the colonial office in commemoration of that feat. Ogbuagunano, in turn, was a great mind, an astute negotiator, a man of prodigious wisdom which he relied on greatly in the face of overwhelming odds regarding relationships of his village, Umuayiko, with the greater community Obimo.
When OgbuAguNano converted to Christianity, his commitment was total. It was at great personal cost. It was this sense of history, courage, resilience and wisdom of his father that in turn prepared and propelled Enyiduru to the paths he was to tread and in the decisions he made in later life. I daresay that a discussion of Enyiduru without a mention of the background fashioned by his father would be incomplete and I plead this as my justification for possibly being verbose.
Enyiduru was many things to many people. But to all who met him, no one was indifferent. He had a sense of presence. He knew the quality of poise, composure and dignity. His gravitas was real. At home and beyond, he loomed large. He made friends with successive Vice Chancellors of the nearby University of Nigeria and with the Pro Chancellors and even Chancellors. He related with local government chairmen, governors, politicians and top government officials who all consulted with him. He knew the high and mighty but was very much at home with the low and humble. Enyiduru was at various times part of the leadership structure of the Enugu State Traditional Rulers Council. At the local government level, he was also one of the vibrant, outspoken traditional rulers. His opinion was never hidden, and he did not shy away from controversial positions.
Enyiduru always said the history of the world was made up of the biographies of great men. He also frequently paraphrased the great Mahatma Ghandi, that all men were born equal, apart from opportunity. And so he gave himself to quests and challenges that many would be slow to take up. With a few colleagues in the Anglican Communion of what is now the Diocese of Nsukka, he joined in the mission for the carving out of the Diocese of Nsukka out of the erstwhile Diocese of Enugu. Much like the birth pangs of the Diocese of Enugu itself in 1969 during the civil war, the delimitation of the scope of influence of existing ecclesiastical leaders was not really a welcome topic or activity. But Enyiduru, together with my late father HRH Igwe Godwin A. Ugwuegede, Chief Igwebueze Ugwuoke, also of blessed memory, Sir Innocent Ayogu, and a few others whose names I do not immediately remember, took it upon themselves to canvass for the creation of the present Diocese of Nsukka. Not without vilification, criticism and sometimes unhidden censure from the Lords Spiritual of Enugu Diocese, they persevered, preaching instead that the spread of the word of God was best helped if the centres for such evangelism were nearer the people they were to bring to the truth of Christ. Their doggedness and determination in their chosen cause, buoyed by their simple but firm conviction in the validity of their vision for a new Diocese that would bring Christ nearer to the people of Nsukka Zone, won at the end of the day and in 1994, the Diocese of Nsukka was carved out of the Diocese of Enugu. In 2007 a grateful Bishop Jonah C. Ilonuba, then Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, now of blessed memory, invited HRH Igwe Spencer C. Ugwuoke to be among the maiden group of Knights of the newly chartered Knights of St. Paul, KSP.
His spiritual fervour was not bounded by his denomination. A devout Anglican, he was also enthusiastic in securing the uplift of the Roman Catholic community in Obimo. His concern was the good it would do to the people of Obimo. It did not matter to him whether they were adherents of the Catholic, Anglican or no faith. He was actively involved in the elevation of the Catholic Church Station at Obimo to the status of a full parish and was at one time the champion and Chief launcher for the raising of funds for the construction of the residence of the parish priest. These activities he pursued with the same enthusiasm as did for his own denomination, knowing that these circumstances of life are not conscious choices made by us but are accidents of fate and birth. His passion to be involved in the well-being of others was real. Unlike many a traditional ruler, he readily welcomed the creation by the Enugu State government of more autonomous communities out of Obimo, his erstwhile domain. Today there are autonomous communities with traditional rulers in Ajuona and Eziani, all formerly under him.
Igwe Spencer Ugwuoke was a fulfilled person. He had the gift of the gab. You lost the contest with him if he spoke. He could sell ice to the Eskimos. Sometimes it is claimed he did just that. He had humour in him and was not beyond giving out jokes as well as he took. He made many friends and had many acquaintances. He was not always in the good books of everyone – no one is, and they who want to are not sincere. Enyiduru reasoned that you were lucky if 70 per cent of your populace thought you were doing good. They would give you support and spur you on. But the other 30 per cent were also important, perhaps even more so. This latter group, according to Enyiduru, was where alternate ideas would come from, wrapped and presented as criticisms, and, properly harnessed, would give the core of progressive thinking to any discerning ruler. He recognized greatness as an instrument for social intervention; he sought the opportunity and he achieved it. He has played his part and without a doubt bestrode Obimo like a colossus, and its history cannot be written without copious mentions of him. Indeed, he was the Enyiduru.
