From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
It was pomp and ceremony recently when the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe, conferred chieftaincy titles on Chief Nathaniel Uzomah and his wife, Lolo Ebere Uzomah, as the Asiwaju Ndigbo of Ado-Ekiti and the Yeye Asiwaju Ndigbo of Ado-Ekiti, respectively.
Asiwaju means someone who is first among many, a leader.
The event, which took place at the Ewi’s palace in Ado-Ekiti, capital of Ekiti State, had in attendance the Ewi’s queen, Eyesorun Bosede Adejugbe, Igbo sons and daughters from far and near, Igbo chiefs from the Southeast and other states, holders of Asiwaju Ndigbo title from other states, leaders of Ohaneze Ndigbo from other states, Ewi place chiefs, Iyaloja, Babalaje, market women and men from Ado-Ekiti and other parts of the state, among others.
The conferment was in recognition of Uzomah’s outstanding contributions to the society and humanity.
Uzomah, a successful business man and philanthropist from Anambra State, was the first person to establish an eatery in Ekiti State, and he is the chief executive officer of some companies.
Oba Adejugbe expressed satisfaction in the choice of Chief Uzomah, and prayed for him to do well in his new assignment. He said: “The people who are your neighbours where you built your house confirmed the type of person you are.
“We want to say and believe that you are not a wrong choice judging by the array of representation from the Ndigbo that are here. They said you are one of them and from the way you dressed I know you are one of them. We trust your appointment was not a mistake, we didn’t make any mistake at all.
“Father, we thank God for your choice, we pray that you will live up to expectation. You will not disappoint us, you will not disappoint your people. If somebody can leave his business far away in Abuja, Ogun State, Lagos State and other neighbouring states and come to Ado-Ekiti because of you, then you must be a nice person.
“And finally, we have been asking for rain, we have been praying for rain and it welcomed you here this morning. It is a good omen, evidence of good things to come. So, I congratulate you, I congratulate your wife, I congratulate all the members of your family. I pray God will be with you, direct you, provide for you, because it is a challenging assignment. Ado people will call on you, your Ndigbo people will call on you, they will want people to come to articulate their position in the palace. So, we pray that God will be with you, give you the strength and the wisdom to carry out the assignment. Congratulations!”
In his acceptance speech, Uzomah said: “Your majesty, I am overwhelmed with joy that I am short of words but yet let me just try to say few things. I came to the land of Ado-Ekiti with nothing but today, I am being celebrated.
“It is a rare honour and it is not only me, your majesty. You can see the host of Igbos whom the land of Ado-Ekiti has made great. We are proud to say it anywhere, loud and clear, that the land of Ado-Ekiti is a land of milk and honey. No wonder, we have come not only to harvest but also to plant and also to water as well as to distribute.
“After the indigenes, the next is Igbo, that is a proven fact, and that is because the land of Ado-Ekiti is a blessed land. If not, people will only just come and go but right from Baba Okoli, the first Asiwaju Ndigbo of Ado-Ekiti, it was through him that all these people you see came to Ado-Ekiti, because if he had not prospered, people wouldn’t have come. It was the prosperity the land of Ado-Ekiti offered to Baba Okoli that attracted all of us here and we are very glad.
“Your Majesty, this honour that you have done to me and my wife today is not to me but to Igbos in general and that is why you are seeing the mammoth crowd here despite the fact that there was rainfall. The rain, as has been announced by His Royal Majesty, is a blessing. Immediately we entered the palace, the showers of blessings began and we knew that our journey is a blessed and we are indeed very glad.
“I want to make a bold promise to your Majesty that this honour that you have given to me and Ndigbo will be well utilized for the benefit of not only the Igbo but also to our host. I will try my best to be a rallying point. I will try my best to make sure that Igbos are one under one umbrella.
“I make bold to say here that His Royal Majesty will not regret this honour that you have done us today. To whom much is given, much is expected.
“We have tried, we will try more. We have people like Chief Gilbert Igweka in our midst here. He is a respected man in the whole country and what he is today is from this land of Ado-Ekiti. I will not want to bother you more because we have 1001 others like Chief Gilbert Igweka. But I am promising your Majesty that the next Idiroko festival that is coming in August this year, we are coming. We shall show appreciation and you will know that we, Igbo people, are happy for this honour that you have done to us. Thank you, your Majesty. May you live long your Majesty. Thank you all and God bless.”
Appreciating the title and speaking on its importance, Lolo Ebere Uzomah, the Yeye Asiwaju Ndigbo of Ado-Ekiti, said: “I feel very happy. I really thank God for giving me and my husband this wonderful honour to represent Igbo people.
“The importance of this title is to bring all Igbo together for the peace and progress of Igbo people in Ado-Ekiti.”
Speaking on behalf of Governor Fayemi, his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, said: “I greet all the Ndigbo in Ekiti State. I say to Chief Uzomah and his Lolo, congratulations, to sir. This is an honour very well deserved. I acknowledge the Special Adviser to the governor on Igbo Affairs, Chief Nnamdi Iwuchukwu. I acknowledge all the title chiefs, who are present. I acknowledge all other chiefs who are present. I acknowledge all the women in my delegation, Ekiti women in government. I acknowledge all my sisters who are here, the women in Ohaneze Ndigbo, Ekiti State, who gave made me Nne Gburugburu title. I greet all the Igbo men who are here and I greet all the Igbo youths who are here.
“It gives me great pleasure to be here today to celebrate with you. We would have come to the palace but I had another engagement. It is an honour very well deserved, you have been a very good representative of your people in Ekiti State and our prayer for you is that your people will continue to prosper in this state of ours. You will continue to see this land as a home away from home and there will never ever be a day when any of you will regret having come to Ekiti State to make this state a home.
“On behalf of my husband, he sends you his very warm regards. He is out of the state right now on political matters that we have in the country. On behalf of my husband, we say a very big thank you to you all for all the supports and cooperations we have received from the Igbo community.
“There are a lot of lessons we have learnt from you. Your deep value when it comes to entrepreneurship, the premium you place on hardwork and dedication and sacrifice and the way you make every way you go change for good, change for better, I pray that this relationship will continue.
“Please, continue to support us. God will continue to be with you and all your brethren home and abroad. Thank you very much.'”
The Chairman, Planning Committee of Asiwaju Ndigbo of Ado-Ekiti, Mr Christopher Anazor, who spoke on the qualities that earned Uzomah the title, said: ” The new Asiwaju has been a good leader in Ado-Ekiti and in Ekiti State in general. He has led the whole Igbo in the Southwest, he was the President General of Ndigbo in Ekiti State for eight years and he did very well. He has been a very good leader and worthy person to lead Igbo people. That is why the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe, deemed him fit to be the leader of Igbos, and that was why he conferred him with the chieftaincy title of Asiwaju Ndigbo of Ado-Ekiti today being the 21st day of May, 2022. I know he is going to do well and unite the Igbos in Ado-Ekiti and I know he is going to bring good relationship between the Igbo people and their host community.”
Expressing confidence that the new Asiwaju will do well, Chief Thompson Ohia from Lagos State said: “I have known Chief Nathaniel Uzomah for some years back as president of Ohaneze Ndigbo of Ekiti State. I know him as former president of Ohaneze Ndigbo in the entire Southwest and I know him as a responsible gentle man from Anambra State living in Ado-Ekiti.
“I am here to celebrate with him today, to support him as he is being crowned the Asiwaju Ndigbo of Ado-Ekiti by the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti. I am confident that he will do well in his new capacity.”
On his part, Chief Obafemi Ojo said: “Chief Uzomah is very lively and amiable. He makes friends so easily. He is a free giver. He was formerly the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo in Ekiti State and President General Ohaneze Ndigbo of the Southwest. So, with this one, we are not surprised because he is very friendly, he is amiable, he is hardworking, his businesses are here in Ado-Ekiti and by the grace of God we had to support him. He deserves it and we thank God that God has given it to him through our Royal Majesty, the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti and Eyesorun.”
According to Ojo, the title means that “Uzomah is first among equals; among the Igbo people, he is leading. He is the person leading all other Igbos. Asiwaju in Yoruba is somebody who is first.”
Chief George O. Iheonu, a holder of Asiwaju title from Osun State, said: “Chief Uzomah has been given an honour well deserved. He was the President of Ohaneze Ndigbo in Ekiti State. He was also the President of Ohaneze Ndigbo in the Southwest and I was his secretary then. Uzomah is a philanthropist. He is a kind-hearted and understanding fellow. The honour that is being bestowed on him by the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti is Asiwaju, in Igbo interpretation, it means Onyendu Ndigbo in Ado-Ekiti. I am the Asiwaju Ndigbo in Aiyedire in Osun State. Here you see the members of Eri dynasty. Eri is the ancestral home of the entire Igbo people and Uzomah has a chieftaincy title in that kingdom. In view of that, we have to come and performed some certain rites which we will test once he comes in here. There is no big deal about it; it is just a traditional rite but many a time people do mistake it, thinking that it is a fetish practice. The Yoruba people have done theirs at the palace, we, the Eri people, will also do ours here.”
The Asiwaju Ndigbo of Akure, Sir T.C Umenweke Ezeorji, said: “I will advise him, as his elder on the field of Asiwaju. A leader must lead without fear or favour, will carry everybody along, will always exercise patience for his subjects. Of course, the Ewi installed him as Asiwaju, he will always abide by the Ewi and his cabinet and the Yoruba customs because when you get to Rome, you do as the Romans do. I have spent 50 years in Akure land and I have not got any stain.”
Chief Gilbert Igweka congratulated the Asiwaju, saying: “Chief Uzomah is a brother from Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The title is one well deserved and he will do well.”
Chief Michael Uba, Onyendu Ndigbo Ogun State, said: “I am the Jagunmolu of Latawa land and the Bobasuwa of Sonyindo land both in Ogun State.
“We welcome Onyendu Uzomah to our fold. We the council of Ndi-Ndu in diaspora welcome him. We are here to celebrate with him and appreciate God for his life. He will be a rallying point, people will be meeting him, consulting him for advice. He is like a father to all the entire Igbo in Ado-Ekiti. As a father, there are some places you will not see him again because he is now a figure, he is now an epitome to watch, he is a forerunner of Ndigbo in Ado-Ekiti and I know that he will not disappoint his people.”
After the conferment at the Ewi’s palace, holders of Asiwaju Ndigbo title from other states offered traditional prayers according to Igbo tradition with kolanuts presented at the venue of the reception and performed other rites with respect to the title.