The SOLAD of Aboh Mbaise LGA, Mrs. Ogechi Njoku-Ehirim, appears hell bent on desecrating the sacred Iriji ceremony of Mbaise, by breaking with virtually all traditions surrounding the upcoming event. Paramount among the concerns is the fact that the SOLAD wants to relocate the ceremony from its traditional venue in Aboh Mbaise to a site located in Ezinihite Mbaise.
According to sources in Aboh Mbaise, the SOLAD’S insistence on holding a splinter ceremony on a land in Ihitte/Oboama means the ceremony would have held in Ezinihite last year and also in Ezinihite this year. “It is a fundamental violation of our tradition of holding the ceremony on the land of the LGA that is hosting it. Aboh Mbaise is hosting this year. It would be highly inappropriate to host it again on Ezinihitte land,” Uchechi Njoku from Aboh Mbaise said.
Why would an Mbaise woman born in Aboh Mbaise and married in Ikeduru want to host Iriji Mbaise hosted by Aboh Mbaise, in Ezinihite? The SOLAD states that she is building something at the Ezinihite site and wants to draw the governor to the site. In other words, the SOLAD is driven only by her personal political needs; the tradition of Aboh Mbaise people can go to hell.
However, a building contractor, Mr. Ositadinma Emeka, who has seen the construction says it looks like a pavilion. “When you construct a structure like that, it is best to let it sit and stabilize before use. Even if they can complete it by August 15th, it is dangerous to put people on a newly constructed structure that has not stabilized. It is even more dangerous to have the governor and other important dignitaries on such a newly constructed structure,” Emeka opined.
For Police Inspector Emmanuel Eke who led a team of officers to investigate various sites in Aboh Mbaise, along with the Imo State Commissioner for Homeland Security and Vigilante Affairs, the major concern is the ability to protect dignitaries and other attendants at any given venue. “There is not a single protective structure in the mini-stadium at Ihitte/Oboama. It is a vast open bush land with no security character in it. There are foundation pits dug for the construction of something, which in of itself poses safety concerns,” the officer said.
Dr. Ugorji, who is an American trained security expert, and who is the Commissioner in Uzodimma’s cabinet from Aboh Mbaise LGA said that the SOLAD has not informed him, let alone consult him on what she is doing, including security.
There is also a political worry for some APC stakeholders in Aboh Mbaise over the SOLAD’s apparent disregard for cultural norms and traditions of Aboh Mbaise. Political operatives are concerned about the alliances that the SOLAD seems to be courting with anti-Uzodimma forces in and outside Mbaise. An invitation card the SOLAD had designed and printed had Governor Otti of the Labour Party as the Special Guest. Major coordinators of the SOLAD’s splinter event are either PDP heavy weights or Labour Party operatives. Dr. Kachi Nwoga, who is identified on the invitation card as the coordinator, is a gubernatorial candidate of the ADP party against governor Uzodimma. The Chairman of the Occasion is Mr. Stanley Amuchie, who is at the Elections Tribunal with his brother, challenging the Re-election of Hon. Eddie Obinna of the APC in Aboh Mbaise LGA to the Imo State House of Assembly. “The SOLAD is politically naive. We don’t want a repeat of what happened to Rochas Okorocha at Iriji Mbaise to happen to Governor Uzodimma,” a source said.
