Igwe Uyanwa’s Suspension: Obiano Acted In Order

JAMES EZE

On Friday last week, Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State took firm steps to restore order in Ukwulu town in Dunukofia Local Government Area of the state. Tired of all the petitions and complaints flooding his desk against Igwe Peter Uyanwa, the traditional ruler of Ukwulu, Governor Obiano rose to restore order and return public confidence in government and protect the weak and vulnerable from those who see might as right.

Governor Obiano slammed immediate suspension on Igwe Uyanwa for one year to forestall a looming crisis that was threatening to sunder Ukwulu community. The governor invoked Section 10 (B) of the Anambra State Traditional Rulers Law of 1981 to whip Uyanwa into line. The troubled Igwe may however bounce back to reckoning if there are enough favourable reports on him within the period of his suspension. But the chances appear slim for now.

Reports say that since he assumed office as the traditional ruler of Ukwulu, pockets of discontent have trailed Igwe Uyanwa’s coronation from different sections of Ukwulu town. The family of Dr Timothy Tagbo, the deceased Igwe who Uyanwa succeeded, has been raising dust over the manner of Uyanwa’s ascension to the throne. Prince Chinedu Tagbo, son of the former Igwe has consistently insisted that since his father passed away in 2016, some statutory observances that ought to have been performed to pave the way for the coronation of a new Igwe had been ignored. One of such observances is the holding of the final Ofala rites to mark the grand exit of a royal personage. “Until that is done, I regard anyone parading himself as the Igwe of Ukwulu as an impostor,” Prince Tagbo had declared and bemoaned that there had been several threats to life and general restiveness since Uyanwa assumed the traditional stool of Ukwulu.

If indeed there have been threats to life and general restiveness, then Obiano was right to roll in with the hammer. Igwe Uyanwa should have known that there’s no constitutional cover for any traditional ruler who decides to act recklessly in his domain. The 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria did not make any provision for traditional rulers to exercise any political power of any kind in their domains. But Igwe Uyanwa was reported to have punched above his own weight and engaged in actions that were largely considered to be inimical to public interest and overall peace of the state. His advisers failed to remind him that in May 1994 for instance the former Head of State, General Sani Abacha had cheekily relieved the Sarkin Suleja, Awwal Ibrahim of his traditional stool. Two years later, Abacha moved against even a more powerful traditional institution. He deposed the Sultan of Sokoto, Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki and planted Muhammadu Maccido in his place. The sky did not fall because, needless to say, traditional rulers have no real powers of their own. Their powers come from governors who are constitutionally mandated to issue them the certificates that legitimize their positions.

It is therefore easy to see why Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who was a First Class traditional ruler in Nigeria, stood no chance at all against the executive wrath of Governor Gadnuje of Kano State. That is why it is somewhat pathetic that Igwe Peter Uyanwa of Ukwulu who witnessed the whimsical dethroning of Emir Sanusi and his immediate banishment from his kingdom by the governor of Kano state should attempt a regrettable show of arrogance towards the governor of Anambra State.