The Ezinihite Mbaise Council of Traditional Rulers, Mbaise, Imo State has denied claims by a suspected car thief, Ifeanyi Nwigwe that he was given a chieftaincy title by the community.

Saturday Sun, in its previous edition, published a story under the headline, Royal Robber: Imo chief nabbed for robbery months after coronation in which Nwigwe, who claimed to be a titled chief, was arrested by operatives of the Special Anti- Robbery Squad of the Lagos State Police Command. He alleged that he was crowned the Aku enwe ebe 1 of Ezinihite Mbaise, in Imo State.

In a statement signed by HRH Ositadinma Nwokocha, who is the Chairman, Ezinihitte Council of Traditional Rulers, Nwigwe’s claim was described as that of a drowning man clutching on a straw.

“We, the traditional rulers in Mbaise have denied conferring any title on any Ifeanyi Nwigwe who claimed that he was conferred with the title of Aku Enwe Ebe of Ezinihite Mbaise, Imo State”, the monarch stated, adding that the suspect’s claim “portrays Mbaise people in bad light and traditional rulers in Ezinihite Mbaise as undiscerning and engaging in chieftaincy mercantilism.”

Part of the statement reads: “As the Chairman of Ezinihite Mbaise Council of Traditional rulers, I can authoritatively tell you that we have records of any traditional title conferred in Ezinihite Mbaise. This is mainly to avoid duplication of titles and keeping tracks of our chiefs. There is no time any Ifeanyi Nwigwe was conferred with such title as Aku Enwe Ebe of Ezinihite Mbaise. For the avoidance of doubt, I wish to make it clear that titles are categorized in Mbaise. If the Eze of any community confers a title, the title bearer will indicate that the title belongs to the specific community. If it is conferred by the council of traditional rulers of one of the three local governments that made up Mbaise clan, then it is specified coming from either Aboh Mbaise, Ahiazu Mbaise or Ezinihite Mbaise, while a title conferred by the whole of Mbaise clan will bear same.”

Though the community did not deny that Nwigwe is their son, it insists that he was never given any chieftaincy title. “My investigations showed that the said Ifeanyi Nwigwe is from Ezegbogu Community of Ezinihite Mbaise and the traditional ruler of that community never gave him a title by whatever name. If he had, he would have been the Aku Enwe Ebe of Ezegbogu, but he claimed to be Aku Enwe Ebe of Ezinihite Mbaise. By implication, he was crowned by the whole of Ezinihitte traditional rulers of which I am the chairman. Of course, if that was so, I would know and, in fact, I would be the one to crown him and I never crowned him,” the statement stated.

Another prominent leader of Ezinihite Mbaise and the Onwa of Mbaise, High Chief Athanasius Egwim corroborated the monarch’s claim. He said: “We have a ceremony called Oji Mbaise where traditional rulers, title holders and people of note who are sons and daughters of the soil from Ezinihite Mbaise come to identify themselves by picking up kolanut. This annual ceremony is hosted once a year by each community in Ezinihite Mbaise every January 1. Eventually, the 2014 edition was hosted by Ezegbogu community, the community of the said Chief Aku Enwe Ebe, was he there? Did he pick a kolanut as a title holder?”

“These clarifications have become imperative in the face of the portrayal of Mbaise traditional rulers and chiefs as people of questionable characters. An ordinary car vandal claiming to be a chief is newsworthy, yet, the mere fact that he is a thief makes his story no matter how alluring questionable. At least he must come from a community; he must have been made a chief by a traditional ruler or body of traditional rulers,” said Egwim.

According to him, it is no crime for anyone to adopt any title for himself or buy chieftaincy regalia for himself, but when such a person begins to lay claim to territorial importance, then questions need to be asked. “Impersonating a chief of Mbaise is criminal enough, but a car vandal laying such claim is derogatory of Mbaise’s reputation. I must tell you that chieftaincy title in Mbaise is never for sale and no amount of money can buy a thief or someone with questionable character chieftaincy title in Mbaise. Truth is that every titleholder in Mbaise went through a vigorous investigations and certifications from the family to the ward, village and community levels before being crowned. These levels of certifications are meant to authenticate, sources of livelihood, character and relationship with the family, ward, village and community. If at any point he is found wanting, then he stands disqualified. It is, therefore, almost impossible for people like Ifeanyi Nwigwe to pass through these checks and balances to get a title in his community let alone the whole of Ezinihite Mbaise,” Egwim explained.