Rivers
Diaspora Group Wants Respect For Ogoni Traditional Rulers
A United States of America-based socio-cultural organisation, Gbaaloo Nyo-Khana, which is an umbrella body of Ogoni, in Rivers State, Nigeria, has called on the people of Ogoni Kingdom to accord traditional rulers their deserved respect.
A statement jointly signed by the group’s President, Comrade LeBari Nzidee, the Secretary-General, Comrade Samuel Nwibana, and the Public Relations Officer, Barineka Akponi, condemned several utterances and derogatory statements by some youths against traditional rulers in Ogoni land, who they described as “natural custodians of Ogoni cultural heritage”.
The organization said such statements and behaviour doesn’t accord the high respect due traditional rulers in Ogoni land and called for a change of attitude towards traditional rulers who have the traditional blessings of the land.
According to the statement, the association condemns in its totality, recent unwholesome statements against a frontline traditional ruler in Nyo Khana Kingdom, saying it does not demonstrate a show of respect for traditional institutions in the area.
The statement said, “in as much as the organization will not support the ills or misbehavior of any traditional ruler, there’s the need for their subjects to address any act of misconduct with serious caution.
“If traditional rulers in other parts of the country are treated with dignity, such treatment should be accorded Ogoni traditional rulers and leaders at home and in the diaspora by the Ogoni people.
The group also accused some Ogoni indigenes in diaspora who are believed they be sponsoring the charade to get political recognitions because of their selfish interest to contest for elective positions in 2027.
Describing their intentions as “wild elephant dreams”, the group promised to expose such people.
The statement read in part: “some disgruntled ogonis in the diaspora are disrespecting our traditional rulers to score cheap political recognitions.
“We have come to realize that their intentions are borne out of the fact that they have an intention to contest 2027 elections, using falsehood, unscrupulous allegations to instigate fake news, through which they seek popularity in Ogoni”.
The group reaffirmed its commitment to “stand against any action that is not healthy in Ogoni land, especially when it has to do with not according traditional rulers their due respect and honour, specifically in Nyo-Khana Kingdom, and Ogoni at large”.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos