Traditional rulers in the South East have strongly opposed attempts by individuals to assume the titles of Eze Ndigbo or Obi of Igbo in states outside Igboland, describing the practice as alien to Igbo culture and tradition.
Reacting to the recent action of a self-acclaimed “Obi of Lagos,” Chairman of the Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Emmanuel Okeke, condemned the development as unacceptable and warned that it undermines the sanctity of the traditional institution.
“Eze is our heritage. If anybody wants to be the leader of Ndi Igbo in the diaspora, he can answer Onye Ndu Ndi Igbo. But we have said it several times that we don’t want to hear Eze Ndigbo or Obi of Igbo again. It is not in our tradition,” Okeke stated.
He explained that only persons properly coronated by their communities within Igboland are recognized as Eze, stressing that any coronation outside the region lacks traditional legitimacy.
Similarly, the immediate past Chairman of the Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Ndubuisi Nwabeke, described the trend as illegal and absurd, calling for its outright abolition.
“This thing called Eze Ndigbo in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, or anywhere outside Igboland should not be encouraged. It must be abolished because it portrays disrespect to the Igbo traditional rulership system,” Nwabeke said.
He recalled that the South East Council of Traditional Rulers had long advised Igbo communities in the diaspora to designate their leaders as Onye Ndu Ndigbo (Leader of Igbo People) instead of Eze Ndigbo.
“An Eze should rule over a community that has a map, a constitution, and people of that lineage. No one can be an Eze in another man’s land. Tenants in urban areas cannot claim to have palaces in foreign lands,” he added.
The monarchs therefore urged Igbo residents outside the South East to respect their host communities while safeguarding the integrity of the traditional institution by discarding controversial titles.