How Gov’t Regulations Reduce Chieftaincy Title Awards In Enugu
Regulations of the Enugu State Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs on chieftaincy title awards have been attributed to the reduction of Ofalla festivals in the state.
Ofalla festivals are royal celebrations where traditional rulers award chieftaincy titles to people of their choice. There are, however, claims that some traditional rulers exploit the exercise by charging awardees exorbitant levies, an allegation that THE WHISTLER cannot confirm.
Chief Simon Ezugwu is a member of Igwe’s cabinet in Igboeze North LGA of the state. He said the regulation, which came into effect under the administration of Gov. Peter Mbah, had reduced chieftaincy title awards.
According to him, “The new measure is stringent. They profile such candidates and, at times, disqualify some. That is why traditional rulers are now careful and handicapped to organize ofalla. It is expensive, and funds only accrue to the exercise from title awardees.”
A traditional ruler in Ezeagu LGA, who does not want to be mentioned, said ofalla festivals were sources of revenue to traditional rulers as “title recipients reciprocate the honour with some money”.
Quoting him, “A situation where the recipients are profiled by the ministry to ascertain their genuineness has made the exercise tedious. Some recipients wouldn’t like to go through those processes. This has reduced the rate of Ofalla festivals in the state.”
Brendan Attah is a postgraduate student of public administration at the University of Nigeria. He said most genuine people would receive such awards but would not like to pay a dime.
According to him, “There are men of integrity in Igbo land. They would appreciate such titles but won’t part with anything to avoid making it appear that they brought such titles. Such people are not the candidates of most traditional rulers. And the new policy might not favour some money bags whose sources of wealth are questionable.
“The ministry’s regulation is welcomed, believing that it would not be abused by the same ministry by charging award recipients a token to clear them. Time shall tell.”
The state Commissioner for the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Deacon Okey Ogbodo, had in a memo warned the traditional rulers against abusing title awards, adding that the policy was to sanitise the system and preserve Igbo values.
Deacon Ogbodo had remarked that any person who would be conferred with chieftaincy titles must have positively contributed to the development of society.
In his words, “The preservation of our ennobling cultural practices is a matter that the government is desirous to give proper regulation. The chieftaincy institution is a veritable medium to display our rich cultural values. Therefore, it should be regulated, and projected as a platform for genuine and justifiable recognition of our deserving sons and daughters who have contributed to human empowerment, community development and excelled in their different and chosen walks of life, using their privileged positions to impact positively on society.”
He listed such measures to include that traditional rulers planning to confer honorary chieftaincy titles must submit the names, addresses and detailed curriculum vitae/citations of the beneficiaries for scrutiny by the ministry, adding that it must be done one month before the conferment. He said the measure was to conduct fact checks on such recipients.
The commissioner said after the verification, a written clearance would be issued to the awardees before such recognitions would be done.
Quoting him, “This has become necessary to stem the tide of conferring prestigious chieftaincy titles on undeserving characters whose public image leaves much to be desired. It is the duty of both government and citizens to sanitize our society and institute a legacy of decency and honesty. A situation where traditional rulers confer honorary chieftaincy titles on individuals without ensuring that the government has done a comprehensive screening of the awardees is hereby put to a stop.”
He berated some beneficiaries of such awards that turned out to be “an embarrassment to both the people and government of Enugu State, especially after purchasing these titles in dubious and questionable manner”.
How Gov’t Regulations Reduce Chieftaincy Title Awards In Enugu is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
