OPINION: IZHII NNODO, Where Elders Watch Goats Parturiate In Tethers

By Ikenna Nwogbaga

My Awkuzu, Anambra State-born friend who qualifies as one of the leading lights in European academic circles would always say that, "If Ikenga fails to perform its duties, it would be broken into pieces and used as firewood by women". I am Izhii by birth and inclination. More preferably, I am of old stock Izhii and by this I mean that generation of open-minded, frank, courageous and selfless Izhii people whose elders are so diligent and responsible that they do not watch things go wrong. The saying that "Elders do not sit at home and watch the goat parturiate in its tethers" was derived from the character of elders of that old stock Izhii to which I belong.

It is sad that all that has changed in the present generation of Izhii Nnodo Ekumenyi. The elders of Izhii which includes those advanced in wisdom through age and those occupying leadership positions now "watch goats parturiate in their tethers"! For decades now, most of our youths have constituted themselves into what is known in Ebonyi parlance as "Power of Attorney" but often rendered as "Power of Anthony"  to sell and 're-sale' the same plots of land to different buyers and to prey on lawfully acquired properties of non-Izhii people in Abakaliki Capital Territory with the elders either cheering at them or watching them without care. Whenever the parties to these scams brought their matters before any Izhii elder or group of Izhii elders, these elders/leaders usually asked the party with impeccable title to "re-buy" the property with valuable consideration. The result of this is that many non-indigenous property-owners in Abakaliki have paid for their respective properties more than once in the hands of these marauding Izhii Nnodo youths and before the watch of Izhii Nnodo elders and leaders. For about three years now, the duo of Barr. Sunday Ununu and Surveyor Nwawoke took this anomaly a notch higher by usurping the rights and powers of Ebonyi State Government under the Land Use Act and revoking rights of non-indigenous property-owners over their properties and divesting same and extorting monies from the property-owners. Ununu and Nwawoke's escapades were usually preceded by well-hyped radio announcements and social media publications, so elders and leaders of Izhii Nnodo were aware of their escapades but once again watched the proverbial goat parturiate in tethers. It was the courageous announcement from the Special Assistant to the Governor of Ebonyi State on Lands last week that ordered a stop to and initiated an inquest into the criminal activities of Ununu, Nwawoke and their cohorts. The Izhii/Ikwo debacle was also mismanaged as a landlord-tenant issue, with Izhii Nnodo youths issuing notice to quit from Abakaliki Capital Territory to Ikwo people while Izhii Nnodo elders and leaders either watched or gave tacit support. It took painstaking interventions of stakeholders of Ezza Ezekuna and Ebonyi State Government to resolve the impasse after innumerable indelible damage had been done on the corporate integrity of my Izhii Nnodo people.

The last three general elections especially those of 2015 and 2019 were turned into full-blown wars in Izhii Nnodo land by leaders of Izhii Nnodo. The death tolls were high, incidents of arson were many and scary. A large section of Obegu Eji village was forced into exile with their habitats destroyed and the lands on which their habitation previously stood sold to people who destroyed and turned their habitats into farmlands. Yet, three of the dramatis personae who triggered that debacle masquerade as leaders who want to be governor of Ebonyi State in 2023 without thinking of reinstating and rehabilitating the exiles! Need I mention the perennial kindred dichotomy which is vehemently denied but religiously enforced among Izhii Nnodo people? What of the Ebonyi version of "The Bull in a China Shop" - Onyekachi Nwebonyi - who, like a loose canon, is on rampage destroying people's homes, means of livelihood and chattels under the full glare of mute Izhii Nnodo elders and leaders? The glory of Izhii Nnodo Ekumenyi has departed from this generation; it resides squarely in the good old days and can only be appreciated in reminiscences through lores!

 

The present crop of Izhii Nnodo elders and leaders have watched the proverbial goat parturiate in tethers for long! Like Ikenga, the present generation of elders/leaders of Izhii Nnodo Ekumenyi have become incurably derelict on their duties, hence women and young people like Nwoba Chika Nwoba have good reasons to break and use them like firewood. To discerning minds, it does not matter if Nwoba Chika Nwonba's exhortation of Izhii Nnodo clan affects the chances of the so-called Izhii Agenda 2023. What Nwoba Chika Nwoba has done is similar to what I have tried to do severally and was given brandings like "non-Izhii", "unpatriotic", and "paid agent" by aides of Engr. Mbam, Arc. Nkwegu, Hon. Nwifuru and my other Izhii brethren. The differences between my approach and Nwonba's were diction and purpose. I believe and I cannot pretend that it is not better for Izhii Nnodo to solve her internal problems and mend her ways with the rest of Ebonyi State before going into the quest for the governorship seat of Ebonyi State which should be seen as "Ebonyi Agenda 2023" and not the rather exclusive "Izhii Agenda 2023". Izhii Nnodo elders/leaders should wake up to their moral duties and  do first things, first. Otherwise, they should enjoy the status of a broken Ikenga in the fireplaces under the pots of women.