Restrict Yourself To Your Office, Stop Illegal Sand Dredging Activities, Imo Community Warns Monarch

Kenechukwu Ofomah

It appears that despite several efforts made to get the Imo State Government to wade into the crisis rocking Adakam Amumara Autonomous Community, Ezinihitte Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State, nothing has been done to address the alleged oppression of some sections of the community by the traditional ruler.

TNC had earlier this year reported a protest by the people over what they called the hijacking of the entire sand dredging activities in Amumaraokahia village by the monarch, Eze Ositadinma Nwokocha and conversion of same to his private business for his personal benefit and those of his few allies.

They had called for government intervention to bring an end to the alleged highhandedness of the traditional ruler of the community.

However, our correspondent’s recent investigations reveal that the suffering of the people has continued unabated as no form of help has come for the community.

In a petition on Tuesday after their meeting, the people under the aegis of Concerned Citizens of Adakam Amumara Autonomous Community, lamented that since Eze Nwokocha gave the nod for the invasion of their rivers for illegal sand dredging in Amumaraokahia, Okpanku and Umuokpo, their environment has been exposed to danger and the roads badly damaged without repairs or maintenance, while most of them are now not usable.

According to them, dredging has destroyed the livelihoods of our rural dwellers and deepened their hardships and the crisis caused by Eze Nwokocha’s self-serving interest in dredging business has disrupted peace, unity and love and has put development in Adakam on a standstill.

The petition was signed by Oscar Uzodinma Albert, President General, Umuokpo, Nkemjika Erondu, Chairman, Umuokpo Village Council, Chinoyerem Osuagwu, Youth Chairman, Umuokpo as well as Mr. Fabian Eluwa, Pastor C. O. C. Elkana and Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma for Amumaraokahia village.

Others include Ibeawuchi Augustus Nwankwo, Emeka Njoku, and Emeka Charles Okeosisi, for Okpanku village.

It read; “Eze Nwokocha does not want to allow things done right to benefit the community. He has frustrated efforts to reach agreements with the investors, emboldened them to treat the villages with contempt and receives weekly returns from them and depriving the host villages and the community. He is not accountable for the huge revenues from dredging .

“Eze Nwokocha has turned himself into a lord over the community and usurped the community’s authority to illegally fire Professor N. C. Nwankwo from his elected position as President General (PG) of Adakam Autonomous Community Town Union (AACTU). We reject this tyranny and stand firmly with our PG in his legal challenge of Eze Nwokocha’s illegal and unacceptable action.

“In 2021, truckloads of armed security operatives invaded Adakam community, beat up our youths at Amumaraokahia and Umuokpo rivers, arrested and took some of them away. Till date, Eze Nwokocha has not explained who called in the armed security or why this act of desecration was perpetrated upon our people.

“Eze Nwokocha resorts to threats and intimidation when villagers complain about the bad state of their roads. He issued a memo calling Amumaraokahia people “hoodlums” for closing their village road to stop the operations of tipper drivers until attention is paid to their cries for the repair of the damaged road. He has attempted to frame his “enemies” up with false criminal allegations with a view to using security agencies to apprehend and put them out of circulation.

“Eze Nwokocha does not heed the counsel of our eminent community members at home and in the Diaspora. He relies on the support of members of his family or village and a few allies from other villages who kowtow to his mismanagement of community resources.”

The petitioners who lamented the negative consequences of the monarch’s actions, said many eminent sons and daughters of Adakam who had been very enthusiastic in contributing their talents and resources toward the development of the community have been forced to halt or withdraw their support, in protest.

They also said ongoing community development projects have been halted, while the Annual Adakam Day celebration which started last year under the leadership of Prof. Nwankwo will certainly not hold this year owing to the crisis.

As a result, they said Eze Nwokocha has lost the loyalty of majority of Adakam people as traditional ruler and there are moves towards autonomy from Adakam by the aggrieved villages.

The concerned Adakam citizens, who emphasized that peace and unity are essential for development, recommended that Eze Nwokocha demonstrates sincere commitment to peace, unity and progress of Adakam; restrict himself to his role as a traditional ruler, and desist from interfering in the smooth running of the affairs of the Adakam Development Union which is the remit of the President General.

They demanded that the monarch immediately reverses his illegal decision purporting to have removed Prof. Cyril Nwankwo as the President General of Adakam, and should stop exercising powers he doesn’t have.

“Eze Nwokocha should honour his words and henceforth, desist from interference in dredging affairs in Adakam; ensure that the investors sign the Community Development Agreement and that revenues from dredging are henceforth, transparently and accountably managed and used for the development and general good of the host communities and Adakam,” they requested.

The petitioners stressed the need for their monarch to change the way he is ruling the community in terms of security of his people, protection of village roads and infrastructure, management of community resources, respect for the rule of law, etc.

They threatened that if things do not change soon, the aggrieved villages will have no other option than to initiate certain measures that will lead to removing him as their traditional ruler or seeking autonomy from Adakam autonomy community.

With regards to the receipts and distribution of revenue from the dredging business in the community, one of the concerned members, Okechukwu Nwanguma alleged that the traditional ruler appointed his cronies to be members of the dredging committee, noting that the agitation started because the committee were not reporting to the villages from where they were drawn.

“The traditional ruler unilaterally set up the committee and handpicked his cronies from the three villages- Amumaraokahia, Adakam and Umuokpo and they were the one relating directly with the investors.

“Many of the investors are persons appointed by the Eze and working as fronts to him. So, the agitation started because this committee that the Eze set up were not accounting to the community and the villages were not receiving anything.

“At some point, with the insistence of the villages, the community under the leadership of the President General in liaison with the traditional ruler, set up a committee which drew members from all the villages. This committee came up with a ‘Community Development Agreement’ which is what is required under the law regulating mining activities in Nigeria.

“When this agreement was done, it was presented to the President General who in turn also consulted with the traditional ruler and a meeting was called where the investors were presented the agreement.

“The investors received the agreement and asked to be given time to study it and return. They went away and came back later and said they were not comfortable with some of the sections of the agreement.

“The committee were asked to go back and review in line with the objections made by the investors and they did that.

“The PG liaised with the traditional ruler and the investors were called again and for some reasons we do not know, the investors refused to sign.

“We were still wondering what was happening when we heard that the traditional ruler invited these same dredgers on his own and told them that pending when the disagreements will be resolved, that they should be making weekly returns to him.

“So, what we know is that till date, these dredgers have been making returns to the Eze on a weekly basis and none of the villages have received anything,” he said.

Meanwhile, efforts to get the traditional ruler to respond to the allegations proved abortive as he neither took his calls nor replied to the message sent to him.

Our correspondent was however able to reach the Palace Secretary to the monarch, Benneth Nwanmuo, who denied the allegations, saying the traditional had since January distanced himself from the sand dredging business.

He denied that the president general of the town was single-handedly removed by the monarch, alleging that he was removed by a meeting of cabinet members and other stakeholders, over his failure to formalize the dredging agreement with the dredgers.

Subscribe to our newsletter for latest news and updates. You can disable anytime.