By Dennis Agbo
A resurgence of Ohu-caste system, an ancient social discrimination stigma that makes one less inferior, has once more thrown into turmoil the Ishi-Ozalla community in Nkanu west local government area of Enugu State.
The abolition of ‘Ohu’ practice in the entire Ozalla federated town was celebrated on September 1, 2018 with prominent Nkanu indigenes such as Senator Jim Nwobodo, Prof Bath Nnaji, Mr. Frank Nweke jnr and Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma in attendance.
But last week, the Edeaniagu kindred, a part of Ishi-Ozalla autonomous community marched in protest to both the Enugu State Government House and the state House of Assembly, alleging ostracization from the community.
The President General of Ishi-Ozalla Town union, Chief Obinna Nveneh, however said that the allegation was not true; stating that issues started with self-crowning as king by one of the members of the Edeanigu kindred, Don Sylvester Nweke, which he said was repugnant to community as due process was not followed.
The Edeaniagu people however insisted that they have been excluded, excommunicated, banished and out rightly ostracized from their community.
One of their leaders, Mrs. Munachi Okoye said that some leaders of Ishi-Ozalla have sworn not to allow peace reign in the community, despite Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s intervention on the matter.
She said: “The latest that made us see the governor was the ostracization of a group of people in my community. We have not had a king in the community for nine years and anybody that comes out to indicate interest in the kingship will be blackmailed, frustrated and use government apparatus, police, EFCC, thugs to intimidate the person.
“Recently, the community decided that they will have the kingship and the community has a son called Don Sylvester who has been doing philanthropic jobs for the community and unanimously people chose him to be king and his family members decided to give him a chieftaincy title in their compound to acknowledge him as their own candidate that will go out and contest with other people during the election and that was turned into a different story. They set him up and said he had crowned himself a King of Ishi-Ozalla, whatever Don Sylvester did was done inside their family house but it was twisted and that started causing ripples in the community.
“Thereafter, a cartel in the community held a meeting and instructed people to go and ostracise the entire village, including people that are not part of the village. Some people that are in Amaechi were dragged into Edeaniagu, people in Ndiagbor village were dragged into Edeaniagu and the pronouncement was made in the village square that they have ostracized the Edeaniagus; nobody should buy from them, nobody should sell to them, they will not have anything to do with them, that everybody should be on their own, that they are now outcasts and shouldn’t have anything to do with anybody.
“As if that was not enough, they started the execution. Some people went for traditional marriage and they were beaten up and sent out of the traditional marriage, saying that they do not associate with them. Our children that go to school are being mocked, called names that nobody should hear of, our young ladies that are to get married, people will come for their hands in marriage and they will say a lot of bad stories about them. They have refused peace to reign. We had to cry to the government house,” Okoye lamented.
The President-General of the community, Obinna Nveneh however said that he had instructed that nobody should discriminate against anybody in the community, warning that anybody found guilty of discrimination will be punished by the community.
With the weighty allegation gaining attention, the community was pressed to issue a statement, stating that Ishi-Ozalla remains committed to the abolition of segregation in Ozalla, noting that the community in a progressive and peace-loving, together with the other four autonomous communities in Ozalla town, on Saturday, September 1 2018, accomplished the widely applauded and historic project for the Abolition of Segregation in Ozalla, PASO, which ended all forms of social discrimination in the entire community.
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The community said that laudable as the initiative was, the greater Ozalla community recognized that segregation practices had been in existence for centuries, and therefore established a standing committee known as the Ozalla Unity Committee, OUC, which its principal responsibility was to nurture the abolition initiative and manage issues that may arise on matter related thereto on an ongoing basis.
“What was achieved by Ozalla on September 1, 2018 was historic and to date has not been successfully replicated in any other community across Nkanuland and Enugu State in general. All persons of goodwill within and outside Ozalla should see that achievement as a legacy worthy of preservation and should desist from actions or utterances which may undermine that historic initiative.
“Most importantly, our people have lived together in peace and harmony through the ages and we must therefore resist any and all attempts to undermine the harmony and peaceful coexistence between and amongst the entire people of Ozalla,” Nveneh stated.
SEV however learnt that the main issue in Ishi-Ozalla was the race for replacement of the community’s late traditional ruler, over nine years ago. The election has been suspended by the state government to allow for resolution of the issues militating against the election which notice for the election was given in 2019.
It was in the chase for the stool that led to Don Sylvester’s alleged self coronation that was scorned by a cross-section of the community and threw the community back to the allegation of social discrimination system previously abolished in the community in 2018.
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