Leadership tussle in Igbo Land
One of the worst catastrophe to befall a rural community is leadership tussle. In the south eastern part of Nigeria most communities are enmeshed with various degree of show of strength and struggle for power. This ill continue to derail the struggling community in progressive tendencies and development.
In most cases two persons may be dragging who to occupy the position of president general ,while in some case, the traditional ruler maybe at ruggerhead with the President general. There are also places where the struggle for the throne stalls progress in the community for years. The government intervention in the traditional rulers transition of power or choice of president general which in most time does not align with the wish of the people is another scenario which ushers in dissatisfaction and disharmony among the people most atime endangering the peaceful coexistence of once a peaceful community.
The evil that comes along with this power tussle includes the turning of vulnerable youths into agitators which invariably emboldened them into militia of foot soldiers for their boss. Most of them end up being career criminals, street urchins and touts. In worst cases some youths even losts their lives in the senseless followership.
These deep pockets and influencing individuals that fuels these conflicts are in most cases well connected,protected and powerful, their families are mostly stationed far away in a peaceful and secured city where the heat in their hometown will not affect them. Out of their ego and selfish ambition they doles out funds in pursuit of their desire at all cost at the detriment of the community.
The judicially, the police are constant mediators of issues of town union and traditional rulers struggle, many communities are currently without leadership due to one court injunction or the order while many has more than one parallel leadership. In some town two persons are laying claim to the throne, there are places where the community crowned one while the government gave another certificate of recognition thereby throwing the town into total disorder and confusion.
Besides the above mentioned scenarios, there are places with traditional ruler and town union president general but they exist along side as adversaries, competitors and enemies.
A good example is a town called Nnobi in Idemili south local government in Anambra state. In their issue it was alleged that the traditional ruler continues to interfere in the administrative job of the president general. The traditional ruler wants to influence and use the instrument of the constitution to stripe the president general of most of his role rolling them back to him the king. With his village kinsmen by his side the king has made it rough for the president general to run his tenure. Attending court to defend one case or the other has been a dominant event in the tenure of the current pg which will erapse by December. A regime change by December has now been a topical discussions among Nnobi indigenes as they shop for possible replacement of the president general.
The condition and fragile peace in Nnobi due to this feud between the igwe and pg has been a clog on the wheel of Nnobi town progress for some time town
I suggest that the government make haste and establish a distinct demarcation between these revered offices so that each of them will not cross boundary.
As the situation remain fluid with no clear direction, Nnobi people are hopeful that the incoming president general will minimise tension and initiate total healing so that peace will return to Nnobi.
