For the love of title
Ancient bard, William Shakespeare, once said hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. It is the same with xenophobes when their cultural worldview is infringed by outsiders. That was
Ancient bard, William Shakespeare, once said hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. It is the same with xenophobes when their cultural worldview is infringed by outsiders. That was what happened in South Africa recently when the installation of an ‘Eze Ndi Igbo’ by the Igbo community there triggered a riot.
Violence erupted in KuGompo, Eastern Cape province of South Africa, penultimate week as nationals protesting alleged coronation of an Igbo king went on looting spree and destroyed property held by foreigners. Media reports said the protest was led by members of one of South Africa’s political parties, ActionSA, alongside traditional leaders and local residents claiming that a Nigerian, Solomon Ogbonna Eziko, had been crowned traditional leader of the Igbo community in the province. Such coronation, according to protesters, violated South Africa’s sovereignty, constitutional order and traditional governance system. They also said it ran contrary to recognised traditional leadership structures.
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Video clips showed protesters smashing vehicle windscreens, damaging other property and looting shops operated by foreign nationals, forcing the South African police to intervene in efforts to restore order. “Demonstrators have torched vehicles and buildings allegedly belonging to foreign nationals in protest against the installation of a Nigerian king in the Eastern Cape,” a news outlet reported.
South African media cited a leader of ActionSA saying the party stood firmly with recognised traditional authorities, insisting that due process must be followed in matters of cultural and traditional governance. Even the markedly xenophilia Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) argued that only South Africa’s Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, through a statute-based process involving presidential approval, has the authority to recognise kings or queens.
The Nigerian High Commission in South Africa issued a statement clarifying that no Igbo traditional ruler was crowned, but that the gathering in East London was a mere cultural event meant to celebrate Igbo heritage and not to establish political or territorial authority. The commission acknowledged that cultural practices like festivals, masquerade displays and chieftaincy titles could be misunderstood outside Nigeria; it made clear, however, the event had no political intent and neither challenged South Africa’s sovereignty or traditional institutions.
But what’s it with the kingship title that diaspora Igbos can’t seem to do without? Only mid-last year, there was a “Nigerians must go” protest in Ghana triggered by the installation of Chukwudi Ihenetu as “Eze Ndi Igbo Ghana.” Ghanaian youths and cultural advocates objecting to the installation said the presence of a foreign monarch undermined their country’s sovereignty and traditional chieftaincy institutions. Even within Nigeria, 65-year-old Chibuike Azubike was arrested along with three accomplices in September, last year, for claiming to have taken the title ‘Obi of Lagos’ and announcing a programme to unveil a prototype of a purported N1.5billion Palace of Obi of Lagos State. So, what’s it with the love of title?!
