By Patrick Ochei
The Omu Anioma and Nneoha (Mother To All and Mother Without Borders), HRM Obi Martha Dunkwu has said that she is not educated enough to describe the person of Asagba of Asaba, Obi Prof. Chike Edozien.
She made this assertion when Journalists accosted her for an interview during the celebration of the New Yam Festival (Iwaji) of the monarch on Sunday 19th September, 2021.
Omu who eulogized the sterling personality of the foremost academic guru turned Traditional Ruler, affirmed that Asagba is in a class of his own even at his glorious old age of 97.
Dunkwu succinctly described Asagba as a comprehensive human being, proper and coordinated Traditional Ruler who has continued to bring justice and unity to his people even in an era of increasing insecurity within the State Capital and beyond.
Omu Dunkwu used the medium to once again call on the Federal Government to give more constitutional role to the Traditional Rulers, insisting that in the past it was the monarchs that handled cases of crimes and security in their domains as final arbiters.
She clarified that Omu which is unique and indigenous to Anioma people, has her functions as the leader of women, leader of female youths, custodian of market and spiritual guide to the community and Traditional Ruler.
She further enunciated that there is no comparison between the Traditional Ruler and Omu, as the Traditional Ruler remains the first and superior, while the Omu is Mother complementing the efforts of the Traditional Ruler in keeping the community together in peace and harmony.
When asked what she intends to achieve with the Omu Annual Otite Festival whose maiden edition recently held, she stated it was a new innovation of bringing the Omus in Anioma together, to have a traditional activity collectively tied to them.
According to her, “We came together for the first time, to celebrate our uniqueness and to foster the spirit of unity of speaking in one voice. The Omu Annual Otite Festival is a modest way of fusing the good of the old and the good of the new for a better and well appreciated culture handed down by our forebears. We are simply bringing renaissance into the Ancient Institution of Omu.
“We wish to make it a global affair to retell our story by ourselves. Of course having registered a Centre for Omuship in Anioma and Women Development Initiative, it behoves on us to rigorously and consciously promote, propagate and market our uniqueness to the world in order to achieve that global relevance and reckoning”, Omu Dunkwu explained.
