Do You Want To Know
OpenLife Nigeria reports that in what seems a bewildering development in the emergence of about three President Generals for Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide, Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene, President, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos, has offered insights into the challenges and cautioned stakeholders on sincerity and commitments
Sir, you are a major stakeholder in Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the President, Ohanaeze Lagos chapter. What could be the problem that made the socio-cultural organization produce three President Generals in one day to succeed Nze Fidelis Ozichukwu Chukwu who took over from late Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu?
The most worrisome thing about some Ndigbo is that when they are on live interview either TV or radio including their replies on social media about Ohanaeze Ndigbo, majority of them will end up abusing whoever they feel they are not in his group.
They don’t know the problems of Ohanaeze and how Ohanaeze was formed and the purpose of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
I can’t understand how a tanker driver will be arguing with a medical doctor on health issues in a live programme. That is some of Ndigbo for you in Ohanaeze affairs.
I am always not afraid to say the truth. I will always say the truth about Ohanaeze because I am not one of those who are hoping on what to get from the governor and some businessmen and share in transit in the name of working for Ndigbo because I have a business that I am doing.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos had no secretariat when I took over. But I gave them a secretariat with my money at number 19, James Robertson, Surulere.
That is the headquarters of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos and I am still there as the President. I have empowered lots of widows in Ohanaeze with my money. Those who are afraid are those who feel that they can only succeed through Ohanaeze.
Of all the years I have been leading Ohanaeze Lagos, no businessman or governor will say I have come to him to ask for money for any programme. Those who support me, do so because of my transparency and accountability and the good job that I am doing.
God has given me all I want in this world. I don’t depend on man. I have hope in God who provides my destiny helpers. So, I always stand by the truth.
However, I want to use this opportunity to congratulate Ndigbo all over the world by giving Rivers State the opportunity to lead Ndigbo as President General of Ohanaeze worldwide.
For those Rivers indigenes who speak Igbo language, have Igbo names but have been denying themselves of their Igbo identity because of Nigerian politics, should now understand that they are Ndigbo. No two ways about it. That is my most sincere joy as President Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos State.
At the moment, the challenge is on elders and stakeholders in Rivers State to call their children and settle them instead of three of them parading themselves as President Generals.
If you ask me, I will say that whoever the governors are supporting should lead the way. This is because Ohanaeze Ndigbo has no allocation and whoever the governors are supporting will always carry the day.
There is no point beating around the bush. Senator John Mbata is the one.
Besides these, there are two major problems that are killing Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
Number one is that those who supposed to retire from Ohanaeze Ndigbo office are still moving around, manufacturing stories to confuse the great governors we have in the south east and extorting money from them especially by telling the governors that they are working for Ndigbo.
And then, because the governors are very busy, they have no time to listen to those who will give them the right information.
Even if they have the time, these people will gang up with blackmail to block the people with good intention to serve.
They will go as far as telling a governor that someone who is living in Ghana is not supporting his re-election.
That will tell you how these old men have reduced themselves to nothing. Almost the same people right from the time of Chief Nnia Nwodo are still there perambulating as Ohanaeze leaders.
The second one is that they have formed a different group inside Ohanaeze with which they can go extra mile to block anyone who will work for Ndigbo.
Sadly, of all the money they have collected from governors of south east, telling them they are working for Ndigbo, is there any project they have executed or is there someone they have helped in the name of Ohanaeze Ndigbo?
Even they are part of Nanmdi Kanu’s travails. Which effort can they prove to Ndigbo that they have made as Ohanaeze body for the release of Nnamdi Kanu?
Some of them will even go as far as telling those government officials who can help to release Nnamdi Kanu that they were warning him when he started the struggle and he was not listening to anyone. They will say he wants Biafra so that he will become the first President.
Even as it stands now, Nnamdi Kanu is one of the strategies they are using to extort money from people.
They play the same game on the head of south east governors who are supporting Ohanaeze.
Some of the interesting things they tell a busy governor is that he will be President or Vice president after his tenure or a Minister.
They will assure those governors, especially those in their first term that there will be no contest during their re election because they are Ohanaeze.
They cook all these lies because of bigger envelope which they normally share in transit.
Funny enough, someone from Imo state will promise a governor in another south east state of his own vote during his re-election.
It is laughable.
My biggest surprise is that 90 percent of these men cooking these lies are above 60 and 70 years.
None of them is less than 50 years.
Can you imagine a situation when one person is the one conducting Ohanaeze elections for years including state chapters like Lagos and negotiating how much will be on the table as bribe before the official form!
And there are always controversies in the elections.
Where is the former secretary general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide, Joe Nwogu?
I respect him.
When he found that Ohanaeze was deviating from the culture and tradition of Ndigbo, he made a statement: “You cannot bribe me. I am not a beggar. I have what I am doing.”
He told those old men from Nnia Nwodo regime to go ahead and be doing whatever they like.
He said nature will prove them wrong one day in Ohanaeze and that nothing is permanent. As you can see, what Joe Nwogu said has started happening.
Ndigbo should learn from Afenifere. We should learn from Arewa. Politicians have tried to bribe Chief Ayo Adebanjo but he refused any offer including his second in command, Supol Shonibare including Yinka Odumakin, the late secretary of Afenifere. Ndigbo, we should learn.
Ndigbo, we must be ashamed of what some of us are doing to kill Igbo nation. No tribe succeeds without respect for culture and tradition of their land. What effort is Ohanaeze Ndigbo making to free Nnamdi Kanu?
If Nnamdi Kanu is released during the time of election, these old men will come out and say he was released because of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
If Nnamdi Kanu is released between now, {January 13, 2025} and January ending {January 31, 2025} then Ndigbo will understand that Ohanaeze has its contribution for the release.
But if Nnamdi Kanu is released by politicians because of 2027 election, then, that is when they will understand everything I am saying about Ohanaeze and that I am talking as a member of the inner caucus of Ohanaeze and as president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos till 2026.
Leadership is by birth. You need few things to be a great leader.
First is the love you have for your people by telling them the truth. Then there is natural wisdom and native intelligence.
Leadership is not about combined profile of when you were a senior prefect or former headmaster or the school you and your children attended overseas including all the countries you have travelled and had transits just to intimidate those in Ohanaeze town hall meeting.
If it is about profile, Professor Yemi Osinbajo would have taken over Nigeria as President before Tinubu.
You are a Professor from Harvard University will not make you the Prime Minister of Japan.
You cannot be a Prime Minister there without speaking Japanese language and understanding their culture and tradition.
You cannot lead any Arab country because you are a Professor without learning their language and culture.
Ohanaeze leadership is about knowing the tradition and culture and the situation of Ndigbo in Nigeria today and work diplomatically without any fight to achieve our aims and objectives.
That is what is called leadership.
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