EZURUEZU, NDI EZEJI AND THE ABOH MBAISE HIGH COURT ORDER ON THE 2026 IRI JI MBAISE
A Son of Eziudo Reflects on Leadership, Unity and the Future of Mbaise
E-ISSN: 2354-4481
By Eze Obilam
As a son of Eziudo in Ezinihitte Mbaise, I write not to take sides, but out of concern for the heritage, dignity and unity of Mbaise.
There are court victories that deserve celebration. Others should provoke sober reflection.
The reported order of the Aboh Mbaise High Court concerning the 2026 Iri Ji Mbaise reportedly allows Ezuruezu Mbaise and Ndi Ezeji Mbaise to hold separate celebrations.
Before the order, Ezuruezu had reportedly chosen Oke-Ovoro Secondary School, while Ndi Ezeji Mbaise had selected Mbaise Secondary School.
So we are confronted with a painful picture:
Two institutions. Two venues. One heritage.
The law may have resolved an immediate dispute, but has Mbaise truly won?
A court can determine legal rights, but it cannot manufacture brotherhood.
“When two brothers fight, a stranger inherits their father’s property.”
HOW DID MBAISE GET HERE?
I watched a video reportedly taken around the court premises after the order, where some persons appeared jubilant.
But what exactly are we celebrating?
Iri Ji Mbaise was handed to this generation as a major cultural inheritance, nurtured over decades and projected beyond Mbaise.
If one party wins a legal argument while Mbaise loses unity, then we may have won the battle and lost the war.
The more important question is how a disagreement between two respected Mbaise institutions reached the point where a court had to define the space for celebrating our New Yam Festival.
WHERE ARE THE VOICES THAT ONCE HELD MBAISE TOGETHER?
This moment reminds us of another generation:
Chief I. D. Nwoga, Amb G. M. K. Anoka, Chief B. N. Amaechi, Justice J. O. Udoagwu, Chief Bon Nwakanma, B. S. C. Nzenwa, Dr. Rowland Anyanwu, Dr. Sylvester Ugoh, Eze R. U. Mbalewe, Eze Desmond Ogugua, Eze Dennis Abii, and others.
These were men whose names carried moral weight.
Had such a disagreement arisen in their heyday, one imagines that elders would have summoned both sides, closed the doors, spoken frankly and insisted:
“You do not destroy what you inherited simply because you disagree over who should sit at the head of the table.”
That is the leadership vacuum Mbaise must confront today.
Who can presently summon leaders from Aboh, Ahiazu and Ezinihitte Mbaise without immediately being viewed through APC, ADC, PDP, LP, APGA, personal ambition or political appointment?
There was a time when attending a meeting summoned by respected Mbaise elders was considered a privilege, not an opportunity to collect transport money.
Their influence came from character, independence and public confidence.
“Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.”
HISTORY SHOWS WHAT UNITY COULD ACHIEVE:
On June 9, 1999, leaders from the three senatorial zones reportedly met at Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu's Glass House in Orji over the zoning of the Imo governorship.
Among the Owerri Zone signatories were prominent Mbaise sons including B. S. C. Nzenwa, S. Ugoh, Rowland Anyanwu, Bright Nwanne, F. U. Ukoha and C. E. Akwiti.
Again, in 1996, when proposals for new local governments reportedly excluded Mbaise, a letter dated October 24, 1996 was signed by Ambassador Gaius Anoka, Justice J. O. Udoagwu, Chief B. N. Amaechi, Eze R. U. Mbalewe and the then chairmen of Ahiazu, Aboh and Ezinihitte Mbaise -U. K. Ohanele, Mike Iheanetu and F. U. Ukoha.
They demanded reconsideration and reportedly proposed Ekwereazu, Oke-Ovoro or Ezinihitte South. Oke-Ovoro was subsequently included.
The lesson is simple:
Mbaise achieved more when its leaders spoke with one voice.
THE 1997 IRI JI EXAMPLE
Perhaps the strongest example comes from Iri Ji itself.
A letter dated July 10, 1997, signed by Chief I. D. Nwoga as President-General of Ezuruezu Mbaise, appointed members of the Publicity Committee for that year's festival and instructed them to:
“liaise with the nominees of Ndi Ezeji Mbaise and Mbaise People's Congress, Lagos.”
That was the spirit:
Ezuruezu. Ndi Ezeji. Mbaise People's Congress. Different organisations. One festival. One Mbaise.
And the motto remains:
UNITY IS STRENGTH.
If cooperation was possible in 1997, why should separation become the legacy of 2026?
TOO MUCH TALENT TO FAIL:
Ndi Ezeji Mbaise has accomplished personalities and intellectuals, including Prof. Uzodinma Nwala, Barr. Anamaelechi Aguwa and Dr. Kachi Nwoga, among others.
Ezuruezu also has distinguished Mbaise sons and daughters across professions.
In football language, both sides have their Messis, Ronaldos, Okochas and Nwankwos.
How then can teams filled with stars fail to score the most important goal -unity?
Talent without teamwork does not win championships.
2026 IS ALREADY IN THE WITNESS BOX:
History has a long memory.
The year 2026 has already entered the witness box as PW1 -Prosecution Witness Number One.
Future generations will ask:
Who tried to reconcile the parties?
Who rejected compromise?
Who put institution above Mbaise?
Who put ego aside?
Who protected the heritage?
Posterity will judge what today's leaders did with what they inherited.
As the saying goes, one should not cut off one's nose to spite one's face.
Mbaise must not destroy in one season what earlier generations spent decades building.
THE WAY FORWARD:
The court order should not become the final chapter.
Ezuruezu Mbaise and Ndi Ezeji Mbaise should establish an urgent Reconciliation and Iri Ji Harmonisation Committee, bringing together traditional rulers, elder statesmen, historians, academics, clergy, women, youths and the diaspora.
The committee should clarify historical roles, traditional responsibilities, organisation, funding and a permanent framework for one dignified Iri Ji Mbaise celebration.
Neither institution needs to lose its identity.
Both only need to surrender enough ego to protect the greater identity called Mbaise.
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
Ultimately, offices will expire, court cases will end and today's leaders will become tomorrow's photographs.
But history will remember what we did.
Therefore, let Ezuruezu and Ndi Ezeji return to the old spirit:
Liaise. Consult. Cooperate. Build together.
Because:
UNITY IS STRENGTH.
Two venues must not become our new tradition.
Two competing celebrations must not become the inheritance we hand to our children.
One Yam. One Heritage. One People. One Mbaise.
May wisdom prevail.
May ego give way to dialogue.
May the labour of our fathers not be wasted.
And may peace, unity and prosperity reign throughout Mbaise Nation.
Enjoy the New Yam.
By Eze Obilam.
A Son of Eziudo, Ezinihitte Mbaise
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