As a child he had his eyes on the Owelle of Onitsha and Nigeria’s first Republic President, the Late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe whom he saw as his role model and imitated him as much as possible. Like Azikiwe, he is a veteran journalist, a traditional Ozo title holder and an Igwe aspirant.
Besides, as you look at him today, attired in his traditional regalia of white on white mini Agbada, native beads flowing down from his neck to his chest and a pair of white glasses on his eyes, you cannot but conclude that you are staring at a reincarnate of Zik of Africa, for the resemblance is unmistakable! Chris Eluemunoh was once the Chief Press Secretary to Chief Jim Nwobodo, former Governor of old Anambra State.
He is a former President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Anambra State; former National Deputy Financial Secretary of Ohanaeze and a former President of ASATU (Anambra State Association of Town Unions). The Orient Daily team of SIMON NJOKU, DR. AZUBUIKE NKALA, FRANK NDULUE and LAWRENCE NWIMO encountered this eminent personality in his country home of Nkwelle Ezunaka in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State, recently, culminating in this exclusive interview where he shared his experience on diverse issues and offered advice on others. Excerpts:
Sir, could you speak briefly on your journalism career?
I was among the first members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) whenthe then Federal Government started registering journalists under theNUJ. We were registered and had our registration numbers then. Thethen government ruled that every journalist must be registered, likein other professions. I was a regional editor with Rivers StateNewspaper Corporation. I was based in Enugu then, and was covering theentire Eastern region, including Benue state at the time. That was theposition I held when I was appointed the Chief Press Secretary to JimNwobodo, the then Governor of old Anambra State. That was myprofessional life in journalism before I ventured into other aspects of life.I was, for example, a delegate to the National Conference in 2014 where Irepresented the Southeastern region. I was the President General ofNkwelle Ezunaka for six years, before I became the state president ofOhanaeze Ndigbo, Anambra state chapter. Later, I was moved to theNational level as the National Deputy Financial Secretary. After myfirst tenure, I left the position because I was interested in theIgweship of my people and I felt the need to return home because I’m seekingfor that position. I’m presently part of the Anambra State Elders’Council and also a member of the Board of Trustees, ASATU, in AnambraState. I’m a patron of NUJ Awka and Enugu State as well as a patron ofPolitical Science Students Association of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
Could you tell us the history of Nkwelle Ezunaka vis a vis theIgbo migration pattern in the Southeastern region?
I will tell you the much that I know because it is a very large andwide history. Some people like Governor Nyesom Wike are stilldisputing the fact that people of Ikwerre are Igbo. But I take him as asmall boy who does not know the history of his people especially PortHarcourt where I was born and bred. Ikwerre are immigrants from Ngwa, Abia Stateand Nkwerre in Orlu, Imo State. For Amadi Diobu, Amadi was an Igbo man. Hewas the leader of the Ikwerre community at that time; a very fearfulman. One cannot be as powerful as Amadi Diobu at that time.The Nkwerre of Orlu are migrants of Nkwelle Ezunaka in Anambra State.They went on expedition with one of our leaders then to the people ofAro in Arochukwu which was then worshipped as a god. All the slavetraders and the likes were anchored in Arochukwu at the time. TheArochukwu had a cave-like tunnel that takes one to a river called Itu.It was through the Itu River that slaves were shipped out, and theywould say Aro had taken the person.That was how some of these slaveswere moved out of the Igbo land. So, Nkwelle Ezunaka people went onthat expedition to know what was happening because the Aros never cameto Nkwelle Ezunaka. With all their escapades, they did not cross theEnugu Onitsha Expressway because our people were strong. If you watch,we don’t have any Aro community around Nkwelle. The people that scaredthem away from entering our side were the Nri people. Nri were pigmiesand very fearful. They were feared by the Igbo army that time. Historysays that Nri people migrated from Aguleri. They were the firstemigrants of the Eri family to where they are today. Most families inIgbo land migrated from Aguleri and Eri was part of the family of theJacob of the Bible.Some people ask questions about the origin of the Igbo because theylack proper knowledge of the Igbo history. The Igbo are the typicalJewish family who doubts so much. That was why the Jews never believedin Jesus Christ. Even till tomorrow, Christian families in Israel areabout two or three percent while Jewish families in Israel are overseventy percent. On the reverse, the population of Muslim families inIsrael is greater than Christian families. You can imaginewhere Jesus came from, the whole world is worshiping him, yet hispeople up till today do not believe in him. That is the same spiritthat the Igbo have; unbelieving spirit. We share the same culture withthe Jews like the circumcision and the rest.
What kind of relationship existed between the Nkwelle and Onitsha people before the coming of the White man and why was the settlement of the White man in Onitsha?Nkwelle Ezunaka saw civilization first before most of the Igbo
communities because the White people came through Nkwelle and settledat Onitsha. Where you have missionaries at Onitsha today isoriginally Nkwelle land. Our past leader, Igwe Paul, at that timesettled them there but later allowed them to move into Onitsha tosettle at the GRA which is originally Nkwelle town, nobody candisprove it. It was the Oze people that lived there. It was theIgala people who were known as Mgbelekeke in Onitsha that brought Onitshapeople across the River Niger into where is now called Onitsha. Theychased the Oze people away from that part of Onitsha and in order tomake peace, the missionaries carved out an area for the Onitsha peopleand then asked the Oze indigenes to move across the Nkisi river, whilethe White men settled at the GRA side. The GRA area was formerly knownas Oze Ekwodu, a market place for Nkwelle people but they turned itinto a market for the Royal Niger Company at that time.
Now, how did you become the Chief Press Secretary to the thenGovernor of old Anambra State, Jim Nwobodo, in 1979?
It all started after I was offered a scholarship by the Rivers StateNewspaper Corporation to read journalism. When I finished theprogramme, I went back there to work and after some time, they postedme to Enugu to work as the Regional Editor. I worked there for someyears and in that process, I had contact with the Nwobodos’ family.Jim Nwobodo’s elder brother was the Chairman of Enugu Urban Counciland I was critical of him. I attacked him because he was misbehavingat that time. I never gave him a breathing space. He was a dictator asthe chairman of the council. As a result, I had a problem with theNwobodos’ family. Then, Jim was a Lagos-based businessman. When hereturned, he invited me for a peace talk, asking me why I refused toallow his family to rest. Then, the military government never had iteasy with me. I had countless problems with the military governmentbecause I criticized them a lot in the newspaper. After the peacetalk, I told Jim to go and advise his brother because he was electedby the people to serve and not antagonize people. Jim did what I toldhim and we became friends. Along the line, there was a teacher at CICEnugu, a brilliant science teacher from Nnewi. At that time, hecriticized the government when he said, ‘how come every year, insteadof bringing money to improve the condition of the school, governmentused money to paint schools and later go on to tell the public that ithad given money to the school.’ The teacher criticized the governmentand they suspended him; afterwards, he was removed. So, I fired thegovernment. I attacked the government with everything I had. “KillingJustice” was the title I gave to the story then. That case was alandmark case in the court and for the first time, somebody that wasaccused of sedition was released, discharged and acquitted. For the lawof sedition, it was ‘the more the truth, the more the libel’. It was a lawthey used to nail journalists and instill fear into them at that time.So, they took me to court and charged me with criminal libel. Afterthat trial, the Benue state people took the Chief Magistrate thattime, Ozo Machie, and made him Chief Judge in their State.I was in court when Governor Jim Nwobodo announced me as the ChiefPress Secretary to the Governor. Everybody thought I was alreadyjailed. They were waiting to hear the jail term that will be given tome. At the end, the magistrate discharged and acquitted me on theground that the clause was inimical to the society. That law was evenquoted in the Supreme Court and law schools and was eventuallyabolished. That was the reason journalists have a breathing spacetoday to write. The meaning of the law was the more the truth, themore the libel, because they reasoned that truth can create a problemin the society. The more truth we reported the more problem we had asjournalists. Prominent people like Nnamdi Azikiwe and Obafemi Awolowowent to jail under that law but I happened to be the last person thatwas tried under that law in this country before it was abolished.
As the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Jim Nwobodo, what was thedifference between working as a Bureau Chief and later as a Chief PressSecretary?
You should know what it means to be at the receiving end of problemsfrom the press. Before, I was part of the press and later, I was atthe receiving end of attack from the press. You can imagine thedifference. I was there sitting down and was receiving attacks fromthe press. I was there defending the Governor on whatever he does. So,every morning, I sat down with the Governor, briefed him on thenewspapers and others. If there was any attack, he tells me to replyor to ignore. Again, my relationship with the press was very cordialbecause I knew what they are capable of doing, having come from thefield. Maintaining the relationship was not easy to me, I mustconfess, because I had to learn to tolerate, else I would be introuble. I had no choice than to tolerate the press and work withthem. That was an experience that led me through life up to thismoment because if anyone can handle the press, then such a person canhandle any community or any problem of life.
How is your relationship currently with Chief Nwobodo, yourformer boss?
Laughs! I was at his last birthday party. We celebrated hisbirthday with him. We still enjoy cordial relationship till today.
We learnt about a problem that erupted between you and the former governor over a trip to US, what caused it?
Yes. I needed to travel abroad for health checkup and was permittedto travel. Before then, we were talking about establishing atelevision station. I was the only journalist that was countering theNPN at that time using a mini press center that I personally set up inthe Government House. So, I assembled television equipment withouthaving a television house. NTA did not air our stories then due toparty politics. We covered, recorded and edited, after which I personallytook the recorded tape to some Igbo guys in NTA who were loyal to thegovernment and they used it without NTA coming to cover it.So, at this time, we wanted to establish a television house for thestate government in Enugu. It was a deal they wanted to do without myknowledge but later found out that it would be difficult to do itwithout me. I was still in London on medical trip when they began toplan a trip to UTA, US. UTA was to build the television station on PublicPrivate Partnership basis. The price they gave was very high and thegovernor decided to go there and negotiate with them. I was in Londonwhen they called me from Enugu to inform me about their plans to visitUTA and BBC London for the project. I told the government to bepatient till I return so that we could package the idea together. Onecommissioner at that time secretly had a deal with a guy in UTA. When I later met them in London, they were trying to procure a whole system that comprised only one type ofequipment and I opposed it with a strong memo. I wrote that building aTV house with equipment from a single company is not at the advantageof the government because such a company would hold the government toransom whenever parts of the equipment develop fault. I suggested a systemengineering from multiple companies, which I felt was the best for thegovernment against one unit engineering but the pressure from thecommissioners with secret deals were too much on the governor and Ididn’t know about the secret deals. At the BBC, the government was advisedto adopt the system engineering which I had suggested to them, andthey were disappointed. When they returned to Nigeria, they insistedon that UTA business and when they made a trip to UTA for thatbusiness, they excluded me from the trip on the pretense that I wastired, having flown in from abroad. I told the governor that my doctorhad requested a follow-up check on me and that I needed to fly back toLondon. He immediately granted the request. After the checkup, Itraveled from London to US to rest a bit. Coincidentally, I met thegovernor’s entourage in the hotel where I lodged. As soon as I returnedto the country, I put in my resignation letter and left.
How would you describe your experience as a member of Ohanaeze Ndigbo?
You know, Ohanaeze Ndigbo is like a state created for the Igbo people.The responsibility of Ohanaeze Ndigbo is greater than theresponsibility of any state governor because Ohanaeze Ndigbo iscomprised of seven Igbo states, including Rivers and Delta states.The leadership of Ohanaeze is like one man governing all the sevenstates. We go to places like Ghana and South Africa and beyond tosolve Igbo problems. It was in one of my peace trips to Cameroon thatI knew that the Igbo population in Cameroon is bigger than a state inNigeria. The Igbo in Equatorial Guinea are the third largest in thatcountry and they have no plans to return to Nigeria again but theyknow they have a link here. When they have problem, they inviteOhanaeze Ndigbo to look into their problems. The same thing isapplicable to the Igbo communities scattered within Nigeria. I wasprominent at settling Igbo cases with my legal background.
What is Ohanaeze’s attitude towards Igbo personalities that arrogate the title of Eze Igbo to themselves outside Igbo land?
We have put a stop to that. We put up a guideline that such leadersanswer ‘Onyendu Ndigbo’ (Igbo leader) not Eze Igbo. Such personscannot be answering Eze Igbo abroad while they have Eze in theircommunity. What if they return to their community, will they answersuch name in the presence of their Eze? No Nkwelle man can go abroad andanswer such name if he is not the traditional ruler. That is thediscipline we have in Nkwelle Ezunaka community.
We learnt that there are two factions in Ohanaeze Ndigbo at present.Which faction do you belong to and why?
No. It’s not true. There is only one faction in Ohanaeze Ndigbo. Youknow that Rochas Okorocha in his stubbornness tried to make acaricature of this organization by instigating a separate OhanaezeNdigbo but unfortunately for him, his attempt did nor yieldanything as they were not recognized anywhere. They cannot presentthemselves as Ohanaeze Ndigbo. The main Ohanaeze is recognized by boththe Federal and State Governments. There is only one Ohanaeze Ndigboall over Nigeria. Okorocha wanted to create another Ohanaeze for hispresidential ambition.
What can you say are the challenges of the current leadership ofOhanaeze Ndigbo?
You know, government of the day is becoming more interested in theaffairs of Ohanaeze, unlike before. This is because they are the onesfunding the organization. The people, even when they rally aroundOhanaeze, especially when there is problem, after that, they desert theorganization. So, the funding of Ohanaeze Ndigbo is only done by theState Governors. None of the billionaire Igbo sons financially helpOhanaeze. There is a saying that who pays the piper, dictates thetune. Because the governors fund the organization, they are alwaysinterested in knowing whatever we are doing. Our people have leftOhanaeze in the hands of state governments. Remember, Ohanaeze is nota money-making organization and there is no other way we can raisemoney than through donations and gifts which often come from thegovernors.At the same time, you need to know who Prof Obiozor,the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo is. He is not a man you can push around.He is well read, a man of high pedigree. His integrity isnever in doubt.
The 2023 Presidential election is coming with the drumbeat for Igbopresidency. What is the advice of Ohanaeze with respect to the Igbo aspiration to produce the president?
Let me tell you the truth. Our first position as Ohanaeze is that thecountry should be restructured before any Igbo man can be President.Any Igbo Presidency for this country without Nigeria beingrestructured will be as good as other presidents in the country. Hewill still be controlled at the top. They will dictate for him and hewill not be an Igbo President. But if Nigeria is restructured, we willbe running a Confederal system like America where every State will beindependent. In America, no one is interested in who becomes thepresident of America. Surprisingly, most American citizens don’t knowthe President of America. All they know is maybe their Governorbecause everything they need is under the Governor of their Sate. Theconstitution and resources to rule the people are there, but there arecommon areas that bind them together as a country like military and soon which the President is controlling. They have the community police,state police, and county police. For Federal police to come into anystate in America, it must have the permission of the State Governorexcept in times of crisis, and then the Governor asks for Federalpolice. So, the most important position in America is the Governor ofa State and not President. Funny enough, some Americans don’t knowwhere Washington is. If we restructure this country, Nigeria will belike that and the Presidency will become less attractive.Contributions should be made from States to Federal not from Federalto States. No Governor goes to the Central Government to ask for moneybecause they know their responsibilities.
Since the North has more representatives in the National Assembly than the South, should the South go on with the demand for restructuring, are the Northerners not going to use their higher numerical strength in both chambers of the legislature to override it?
We are not against Igbo presidency. We are agitating for Igbo Presidency and we are also going forrestructuring. We believe that if the country is restructured, an Igbopresident will enjoy his position better than if the country is notrestructured because those people from the North will attempt to control himThe attraction in the Presidency today is because the Presidentcontrols the vast resources of the country but if we devolve this powerdown to governors, the presidency will lose its attractiveness. Why should the vast resources of a country be controlled by one man. Theywill never allow Igbo man to control the resources as they willdictate for him. Even when Obasanjo and Jonathan held the office, they did everything for the North, yet they did not please them. Look atwhat is happening in Nigeria today, it will not abate until Nigeria iseither restructured or an Igbo man becomes the President. Also, if anIgbo man becomes the President of Nigeria, the Hausa/Fulani people stillcontrol majority in the National Assembly and will not allow him tooperate as an independent President. So, we would prefer that thecountry is restructured before the presidential election. We want asituation where if the Igbo man becomes the president, he will enjoyhis office unlike coming into power with the country as it is today.
Talking of restructuring, does it include the Army, going by our experience with the military?
No. Army cannot be restructured because it is a Federal establishment.In terms of appointments in the army, true Federal system will not allow recruitments into the army to be lopsided. For recruitment, every stateshould have equal representation. If Nigeria is running truefederalism, then there should not be a lopsided appointment ofsecurity staff like what is being experienced today. Even theNortherners are becoming embarrassed with the way our president ismaking his appointments. They are beginning to condemn it because the
President’s appointment is clearly one-sided.
Could you comment on the manner of relationship between the Ohanaeze and Nnamdi Kanu?Ohanaeze never supported Nnamdi Kanu. We were against what he wasdoing before. But today, the condition of the country has forcedeverybody to be on Kanu’s side. We now understand that he wasfighting for the benefit of Igbo people. If nobody is shoutingthe way he is doing now, Northern people will run us out. Look at theway they are pushing Fulani into the states. Could you have believedthat Fulani people will ever start killing Igbo in Igbo land? It hasstarted happening. They kidnap our people, rape our daughters and showit on video.
What is your opinion on the Eastern Security Network and Ebubeagu Agu outfits?
You see, when these groups were formed, they were neither carrying gunsnor knives, and they were only talking and fighting for their rightsthrough vocal outburst. But now, the Federal Government forced them toset up a militant group out of IPOB. ESN came only for the Igbointerest. The Yoruba are doing it through their Amotekun which theyhave officially launched. Our governors are daft, thinking that by keepingquiet, they will curry favour from the North. Can they be Holier thanthe Yoruba APC states themselves? The Yoruba are closer to the Hausathan the Igbo but they were the first to break away and set up theirown security outfit backed by their governors, despite all thepressures from the Federal Government. But Southeast governors led byDave Umahi refused to set up our own. He was still relying on FederalPolice. Look at what is happening in Ebonyi State; he has run out ofcontrol. He can no longer control what is happening in his state todaybecause of stubbornness and fear.
We understand that the Southeast governors gave Ohanaeze the responsibility of setting up two bodies that will coordinate the activities of Ebube Agu. Can we have an update on this?
Yes, but after doing that we jettisoned it. We set up a committee,made recommendations on how to set up our own security outfit, butUmahi went to the Executive Council meeting of the Governors Forum andrejected it, deciding that they will work with the Federal Governmentunder the Police Command. He wanted the community police to be managedby the Federal Police. Ebubeagu is now history and that is why theIgbo people are embracing ESN. ESN is the only security outfit thatcan help the Igbo man now.
So, how do you think the ESN and the IPOB can be encouraged to
continue the fight?
They are encouraged by the people’s support. You can see that theEbubeagu thing is not working, where a governor said he is going togive 2,000 slots to Hausa in Ebubeagu Security, what do we call that?Our governors are big shame to us.
What are you giving back to Nkwelle Ezunaka, as a son who has goneout and come back home?When I came back, the first thing I did was to become the Chairman of
my family. I didn’t read law because I want to practise law. I readlaw because I want to give something to my people, having learnt thatthe problem my people were having was ignorance. I believed that Icould return home to help them legally as well as help lawyers who arehandling cases for my people by putting them on the right part ofjustice. Before I came back, I went and got documents from archivesrelating to boundaries between my people and the six communitiessurrounding us. Nkwelle was a very small community with a largeexpanse of land courtesy of our forefathers. We couldn’t manage ourland and before we knew it, we started losing some of them to ourneighboring communities. When I became the President General ofNkwelle Ezunaka, what I did was to recover most of our lands held bythe neighboring communities irrespective of the village that owned it.I chased Ogbunike away from Nkwelle to across the Nkisi River.
In what way has your community shown appreciation for that?
I think those who really appreciate it are trying to make me movefurther than the President General that I used to be and the processis on now. The first appreciation was when I was the chairman of myfamily, they saw what I did and said I should come and replicate it atthe community level as the President General.
What do you think is the solution to the current agitation for Biafra?
I was in the Biafran Army. I fought the war on the side of Biafra. Iwould not like us to have that experience again. We will follow itconstitutionally. But this time around, it will be different from theexperience we had in Biafra war because even the South West that wasagainst us is even the one leading the way now. It is not going to bea war between the Igbo and the rest of Nigeria again. It will be a warbetween the South and the North. Even the North is not completeanymore because the Middle Belt will not be part of them. It is goingto be a different ball game. So, we must take it easy from our side.The West is pushing ahead now which is good so that we now can bebehind. Our Biafran war opponents will never have that kind of supportthey had in the past again.
If there is a national conference today, what makes you think the Igbo will enter into the negotiations from a position of strength?
We don’t have that strength anymore. When Ojukwu was there, he triedto organize the Igbo from the military point of view and the Igbopeople rallied round him. We were able to fight Nigeria and some worldpowers for three years with bare hands. It is not going to be likethat again. If another war breaks out in the country again, there willbe no end to it. What happened in Soviet Union will happen in thiscountry.
Finally, what is your advice to Ndi Anambra as they prepare for thegovernorship election?
We must take things easy. God is on the side of the Igbo man and Godwill continue to be on our side because we are his children. We musttake it easy and think before we cast our votes.
(In a lighter mood), looking at you sir, one can observe some elements of Zik, what is the secret?
Zik inspired me growing up. I read journalism because of Zik. Duringthe war, they were looking for reporters who will join the EasternNigerian Pilot and I was recruited. After the war, I vowed to myself
that I must read journalism to be like Nnamdi Azikiwe.
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