Edward Akaeze Ofulue Obi of Ubulu-Uku

By JOSFYN UBA

Obi Edward Akaeze Ofulue, of Ubulu-Uku Kingdom is 50 years old. He ascended the throne of his forefathers in 2006 when he was 44.

He spent most of his life abroad, got married to a foreigner and he is a staunch member of the Deeper Life Bible Ministries. Not only was he terrified that the kingship of a big kingdom had fallen on his shoulders, as a born-again Christian, he told his people that he would not participate in anything that is not in conformity with his faith.

Recently in Ubulu-Uku, Aniocha South LGA in Delta state, Ofulue, revealed that he is not against the tradition, rather, he has come to reform the town. Contrary to the popular belief that a traditional ruler is strictly tied to the tradition, and any other thing would be clash of interest, Obi Ofulue is coasting home conveniently.

He talked about some people’s initial resistance to his reformation strategy, his position and his aspiration for the Ubulu-Uku kingdom using the word of God as a tool. He also spoke on other contending issues

Here are excerpts:

Is your throne hereditary?

Yes, in Ubulu-Uku, we practice the principle of kingship where the father hands over to the son.

Since I came in, many reforms have taken place in the land. In terms of the way we do things traditionally, so many reforms have taken place traditionally. And in terms of basic social amenities and infrastructure, we are recording progress. So far, things are working in the land.

Before you came to the throne, what were you doing?

I was in Britain. I worked in various establishments, and eventually started my own business. I was into importation  and exportation, too. I was exporting electronics. Professionally, I am a lawyer. I read law. I was planning to go back for my Masters degree when my father passed away.

How old was your father when he passed away?

My father was born in March, 1924, and so he was about 86 years old when he died.

What was it like when you were called upon to take up the Kingship of Ubulu-Uku Kingdom?

Well, it was very shocking, I must say. I am married to a foreigner, so the first thing I did was to call my wife, to tell her everything in details, about what was coming up. The following day, because I am a practising Christian, we went together to see our pastor, but we have a man we call the G.O., the General Overseer who is in charge  of our church in the whole of Western Europe, so, we went to see him. When we got to the office, I told him everything. I wanted to find out whether my coming home to become a traditional ruler and the issue of playing my traditional roles would conflict with my Christian belief; I told him everything. At the end of the day, he advised me to go and take up my new responsibilities and that my coming back would be to the glory of God. He said that my return will bring light to my people, and that God was going to use me as an instrument. So what he did was to write a letter for me, because I am a member of the Deeper Life Bible Ministries, that I should go to our headquarters and give it to our pastor, but unfortunately, when I got to Lagos, the Pastor was in Italy, but I met the second-in-command, so I gave him the letter.

Were you privy to the content of the letter?

Yes, of course, the content of the letter was that they should help me to settle down in Nigeria. The second-in-command also wrote a letter for me to give to the man in charge of Asaba District. So, when I came in, I invited my church people again, but the first thing that struck me was the level of development; you know when I came and I saw the state of our basic infrastructure, I was a bit apprehensive. That was when I  realized the magnitude of the job ahead.

Were you terrified by the fact that at your age you were going to start heading a big kingdom?

Yes, I was. It is not easy to rule people because human beings are the most difficult to handle.

So what gave you the courage?

The courage came from a pastor friend of mine. He came and started talking to me so I told him my fears and challenges, and he told me that God is going to take charge of everything: the affairs of the land. I came back after meeting with him to understand the big picture. I said: “God, I hand over this land to you.”

Give me a sense of what it has been like for you since the day you set your foot back on this land.

It was challenging, I remember, but I was already on ground too: I had a secretary that was liaising with the Obi in-council. My uncle worked closely with my dad, so he had a lot of information to pass on to me. He spoke to me, in fact, he was the first person that spoke to me. He told me so many things and I was discouraged, but I told him off

Why did you do that?

I needed to let him understand the angle I am coming from. Firstly, I am a Christian, and I am not taking tradition. I made it known to him that those aspects that are not in line and in conformity with the will of God,  I am not going to do them. Then later, they called a meeting of the immediate family members and I also told them in the presence of my chiefs.

What gave you the courage to tell them so?

I had the confidence because I didn’t come to fight anybody. I felt the best way for us to move forward as a people and as a town was to kneel down, pray and seek the face of God, in everything.  It is not an imposition, though, but I made clear my position and I told them that I would not participate in anything that is not in line with the word of God.

So since you are not in line with the traditional rites, who takes care of all those?

The traditional calendar is very clear on those aspects. There is someone who takes charge.

Now that you don’t do those things, you don’t practice them, are they going to be thrown out of tradition?

Let me explain what you have asked. For instance, there is one we do here, we call it Igbamechi, it lasts about three or four days. My subjects will come with yam, palm wine, kolanuts and, even money, whatever pleases them to bring, and the chief priest puts a table right there (points at a corner of the palace) and sits behind it while I sit next to him. When I was born, my grandfather called his chiefs and people together and had a lavish celebration for three days to herald the birth of another king. When the people come, he would use the white chalk to bless them and pray for them, but they don’t call the name of Jesus Christ; they call other names. So when I came, I called them and told them that I was not against that tradition, but that we are going to change it. Instead of using the white chalk and praying in the names of deceased people, we will be using the word –the Bible. I will be praying while he sits around there, that’s the chief priest. I didn’t take his position. But when people come, they would call me and I would pray for them using the Bible and anointing oil. So I am not against tradition, instead, let us do away with the ones we find wanting.

When your father was alive, were you ever opportune to interact with him?

Yes, why not?

What were the things he handed over to you? Did he prepare you for this position?

Yeah

Did he ever tell you that “when I am no more, you will be here”?

Yeah, he told me so.

When he told you all these, were you at any time heady? Were you in conflict with these traditional beliefs?

Yeah. Okay, let me start with the traditional name given to me. My middle name is Akaeze, (Right Hand). I was told when I was born, my grandfather celebrated it and called his chiefs and his people together. According to history, the celebration lasted for three days. The lavish ceremony was to culturally announce and herald the birth of another king.  So when I was growing up, for instance, whenever they wanted to confer chieftaincy titles, they would allot some money to the Obi, the first daughter of the Obi, and the first son of the Obi (that is myself). Also, when a cow is killed, they would reserve the heart for me and reserve the tail for my sister. So, from my childhood, I have always known that I was the heir apparent to the throne.

You were not in conflict with your father at any point?

No, I wasn’t. I have never been against the tradition. Again, there used to be a group of people that used to come here, they are known as the Onicha Ukpe people. Traditionally and historically, they guard the palace. That is why no sitting Obi can ever marry from there because of the relationship that they have with the palace. They are mainly native doctors, they come here, prepare charms, and do so many other things. And I saw all these things. I was part of it. But now, I am a Christian.

When did you become a born again Christian?

It was when I traveled out of the country. Before then, I was participating in all the traditional rites and I loved them. But when I became a Christian, I read the Bible and saw that all these things were in conflict with the will of God, the Bible became a standard. So when I was over there, I always talked with my dad and I told him that they had to do away with certain things in the tradition and that reforms should be made. For example, the aspect of going to bow before a tree, or a pot or going to shrines to recite incantations, are all against the word of God.

Do you have a church or a chapel? Did you encourage the Pastor to build a church here or you go to Onitsha or Asaba for your service?

Yes, let me tell you what I did. When I came in, I told you that I saw the magnitude of the problem, so the first thing I did was to inaugurate a prayer team. Here in Ubulu-Uku, we have so many pastors, indigenous pastors, so I called a meeting with them, and told them my vision, and that the only way to actualize that vision was to start praying for the land. So, they took it upon themselves, already they had some Christian networks in place before I came in, so it was very easy for me to use them. They agreed to pray for the land, and decided that every last Wednesday of the month, they would converge on the palace, and that was how we started. And to be honest, immediately we started, we started seeing the manifestations, the answers. Okay, let me give you an example, the first thing that happened to this land, because you know Nigeria already, if you don’t have political connections, you cannot move. You know it is difficult. We didn’t have it, but the first thing God did for us was to give us that connection. As I am talking to you now, the person representing Aniocha South in Delta State House of Assembly is my daughter.  That was how the basic infrastructure like hospitals came and roads are being tarred.  Also, our prominent young people in the diaspora didn’t like to return home in the past.

Why is it so?

They usually don’t because they were always afraid, so what I did was to visit Abuja, because we have a lot of them there. I got invited to their UDC meeting and I spoke to them about the need to come home. So we had an interactive session where everyone aired their views, and I found that majority of them were talking about the activities of witches and wizards, and so I had to open the Bible to show them the part that said that when light comes, darkness would flee. And before you know it, they started coming home. And if you go round the town now, you will see the evidence. Our young people are building now and some others have even come to establish businesses. Some people have farms, employing people. Also, academically, we are doing very well.

Will you not be seen as completely destroying tradition?

No. Not at all, I am not in any way, against tradition. I am not destroying or throwing them away, instead, they are only being reformed to conform to the Christian ways of life.

How much of tradition are you passing on to your children?

We have a lot of traditional heritage. As I said before, I am not against tradition. And the Bible is not against tradition. If you would remember, Jesus Christ participated in the Jewish tradition.

Okay, what is tradition?

It is a way of life of the people: our mode of dressing, what we eat, our cultural dances, and so on. So, we have a lot to pass over to them. If you enter here now, we have embodiments, they can tell you about the history of the land. The artifacts speak about our history.

So, can you enlighten me about your history?

That is what I am telling you. Okay, do you remember the FESTAC 77? That symbol of FESTAC 77 came from this palace in Ubulu-Uku. The symbol that was used, the mask, came from this Palace.

But I understand that it is a Bini cultural sculpture. Is it from Benin or from here?

That one in Benin, the FESTAC symbol is in a museum in London, so Nigeria requested for it but the British government refused, they said that we would not be able to preserve it very well if they bring it here. And that was how they refused the request. Now, in this palace, we have a replica of it. It is only in this palace and in Benin that we have that kind of symbol. So our late Obi Ofulue, the Second, took it to Lagos, he presented it, and they used it in place of that Benin one. It was even published in the newspapers.

Was there any controversy about it because I’m just hearing this for the first time, whether the one used was from this palace or from Benin?

No, their own is in London. Up till today, they have not agreed to return it.

Your Royal Highness, as much as you have had contact with your people, what is your aspiration for them? What do you want Ubulu-Uku to be in the next 20 years?

As I told you before, my people have suffered enough, and the main reason for that suffering, first and foremost, is because we failed to realize and acknowledge the supremacy of the God of the Bible. So my vision for Ubulu-Uku is for it to come out of this cage of suffering and embrace the light, which is the gospel. I cannot say anything without making reference to the Bible, because the Bible is the source. Everything is in the Bible, it is the foundation of all truth. So if you want to develop, because we are talking about development here, and we lack it before, so you must bring God into the picture. Because the Bible said that “A city that is not built by God, the builders are building but in vain. People are suffering today, there is so much poverty. The structures we need in order to alleviate poverty is not there. So, my vision is for all of us to know where I am going as their leader and that the only way we can progress, the only way we can succeed and be happy as a town, as a people, as a community, is to first accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and personal saviour. It is the key to everything in life, to basic issues of life.

Again, my aspiration is to bring structure and projects that will help our youths. Many of our youths are there doing nothing, they have no direction. So I am articulating a project that will help to empower our youths. I want our youths to succeed because they are the leaders of tomorrow. We cannot afford to neglect them. I tell our people where ever they are, to start coming back to invest here. Charity begins at home. They should start from our community. They have the money, they have the connection, and they have the contacts. They should bring people, they should bring investors. We have the land, Ubulu-Uku is blessed. In the whole of Aniocha South, we are the biggest town, in terms of land mass. The potentials are here, let them come. The town is for every one of us. It is our Jerusalem. We have to join our hands together to move the land forward.

What other things are lacking that you want the government to do?

One basic thing is a higher institution. We need it because we know it will bring a lot of good things.

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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.

Source: The Sun Newspaper

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