Abia monarch battles subjects over secession bid

From Okey Sampson, Umuahia

Natural resources are endowments from God, which with few modifications, are for the well being of the people. While bettering the lots of the people, they are also expected to engender peace and harmonious coexistence. However, in the case of Ndiakata, a community in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State, a natural endowment is trying to tear the community apart.

Ndiakata community is made of three component villages – Ndiakata, Etiti Ndiakata and Owoelu. These three component villages have been living together peacefully and using the natural resources, including palm plantations and the sand from their river collectively without any acrimony and for the development of the area. 

However, in 2020, as the global community was contending with the COVID-19 pandemic, some people in Ndiakata community were beating the drums of war over who controls the palm plantations and the river bank in the area.

Genesis

On August 8, 2020, some leaders of Umuokoro, a village in Ndiakata community, wrote to the chairman of the town council, warning that people from other adjoining villages of the community would no longer be allowed to harvest palm trees from their own palm plantations.

The letter stated: “We the people of Umuokoro in one voice do hereby declare and affirm: that our palm plantation at Ngalapu and other resources therein which cost us lives, money and lots of other resources to redeem from Umudibia village, is a private property of Umuokoro.

“Since we sustained unhealed injuries in the course of our struggle to redeem the lost palm plantation and other resources therein, we cannot be that foolish and timid to give out palm plantation located at Ngalapu.”

Umuokoro people, while giving reasons for their decision, stated in the letter that some time ago, Ndiakata community ceded their (Umuokoro) land with the palm plantation at Ngalapu to Umudibia village.

They claimed it was at great loss of human and material resources that they reclaimed the land through legal process without any assistance from Ndiakata community.

Umuokoro people warned that anybody or group that might be thinking they would give out their land, palm plantation or other resources therein to them, were making an attempt “to wet the grass with Mercury.”

More problems

While the traditional ruler of Ndiakata community, Eze C.P Nwachukwu and his cabinet were battling to resolve the issue created by the position of some leaders of Umuokoro village, another village from the community, Umuaja-Umuezelu, came up with a fresh and more complicated problem.

On October 7 this year, their counsel, Emeh Abengowe in a letter to the Ndiakata traditional ruler, wrote that as a result of constant marginalization and alleged infringement of his clients’ fundamental human rights, that the people of Umuezelu would no longer allow Ndiakata community to control palm plantations and any waterside belonging to them.

Investigation by Saturday Sun revealed that the problem with the Umuezelu village emanated from the control of the river bank in the area. It was gathered that some youths of the area, led by their leader, Christian Nwankpa leased out parts of the river bank in the village to a businessman for sand dredging allegedly without due consultation.

Secession bid

Umuokoro and Umuezelu villages (both from the Ndiakata bloc of the community) have announced their secession from Ndiakata community. First to announce her separation was Umuokoro village.

In their August 10, 2020 letter, the village said: “But we have come to realise that Ndiakata at large is bent on treating us as slaves or outcasts. We would not wait to be pushed to the wall before responding.

“Based on all these, the people of Umuokoro have in one voice resolved this day (August 10, 2020), to peacefully secede from Ndiakata community; to stand as an independent village and to manage all resources within our territory without any form of interference from any neighbouring village.”

Umuezelu village on their own, in the letter of October 7, 2022, addressed to their traditional ruler, stated inter alia: “As a result of constant marginalisation and infringement of our fundamental human rights, we the members of Umuaja-Umuezelu village, formerly known as Umuaja-Umuezelu village, Ndiakata community, have resolved to disassociate ourselves from your autonomous community.

“You are by this letter, directed to stop ruling us as our traditional ruler as we are now independent of ourselves as a village and will be ruled by our village head.”

Attempt at peace

Pascal Nwaogwugwu, a native of Ndiakata community told the reporter that before now, there had been attempts at making peace in the community. Hear him: “Concerning this Umuokoro factor of refunding the money they spent during their land dispute with Umudibia, there was a time our children in Lagos spearheaded the refund of the money to them. 

“The problem started in 1992. I think they were asking for N120,000 or N130,000 then. Ever since we have known this village, we’ve always acted as one. It troubled our sons in Lagos and they said no, Umuokoro taking back their property and using it alone, is never our practice here. That way, let’s find a way to give their money back to them so that they reintegrate their property into the community. But that was without success. 

“Ever since the Eze came in, he has made frantic efforts to resolve this issue. At a time we went to them with the sum of N130,000, a goat and big drink. We went there, they dribbled us, asking us instead, ‘Is that palm plantation the cause of the problem in the village?’ They have kept the palm tree for more than 30 years and recouped the money in question, so to say.”

Count us out of secession

Some of the leaders from both communities purported to have signed the letters of secession have denied involvement, saying their names were added in the letters without their consent and pleaded to be counted out of the whole debacle.

Among such persons is Chief E.E Dimkpa, a community leader. He said: “I am from Umuezelu. My entire family are not in support of their secession plan. They went about writing names including those who are not at home and the people are complaining about the writing of their names. I’m not part of them and my entire family is not part of them.”

He said as far as he and members of his family were concerned, they are still part and parcel of Ndiakata community under the traditional ruler, Eze C.P Nwachukwu.

A prominent son of Umuokoro village, Ijeoma Nwaogwugwu told Saturday Sun he has made a disclaimer on behalf of himself and family that they are not part of the said letter and have nothing to do with it.

“I have spoken with the traditional ruler as well about it and told him my family is not part of the said letter. I have also spoken with some other people in the village, telling them my stand concerning that particular letter. They wrote my name and forged my signature and included me and members of my family in that letter,” he said.

Those against the secession bid of both village, doubted the possibility, when in actual fact, they are said not to have the numerical strength to become autonomous communities.

Youth leader’s reaction

The youth leader of Umuezelu village, Nwankpa who was accused of leasing out part of the river bank without consultation, denied the allegation, insisting he was not the only person that leased out the river bank. He said it was done by the entire kindred of Umuezelu.

“We consulted our traditional ruler over this; other villages leased out their own river bank and nobody raised eyebrow. I don’t know why ours is different,” the youth leader said.

Traditional ruler’s position

In the midst of the brouhaha, the traditional ruler of the community, Eze Nwachukwu has made his position known. In a letter to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Eastern Ngwa Police Station, Obingwa Local Government Area, the traditional ruler noted that the latest problem in the community was as a result of leasing out the river bank without consulting him or members of the town council.

“There is tension in the community now, which may cause the breakdown of law and order. I therefore urge that the businessman should be stopped from bringing in any dredging machine to the Ndiakata River for the purposes of sand dredging,” he noted.

On those announcing their secession, the traditional ruler urged the DPO to investigate the names on the list. “As many names on the list have called me to disassociate themselves from such, that they were not consulted before their names were written,” he stated.

Eze Nwachukwu insisted that he remained the traditional ruler of the whole of Ndiakata community.