The Delta State Government’s recent pronouncement nullifying the suspension of Chief James Asika Onwordi, Ibori‑Ubulu, the so‑called Onishe of Ubulu‑Uku, and canceling the Ubulu Development Council’s online election is nothing short of a reckless intrusion into the sacred traditions of Ubulu‑Uku Kingdom. It is a rushed, one‑sided ruling that reeks of manipulation, political interference and contempt for centuries of cultural authority.
At the heart of this crisis lies a dangerous distortion: the hijacking of the Onishe title. Traditionally, the Onishe Ezemu and the Onishe are two distinct titles, each with its own sacred role in the kingdom’s history. Yet, through craftiness and opportunism, the Onishe Ezemu has blurred this distinction, arrogating powers that do not belong to him. Worse still, he has conspired with the Obi‑in‑Council — a body that has now openly rebelled against the Obi — to exploit government connections and humiliate the throne.
This is not governance; it is a calculated attempt to strip the Obi of his historic authority, to reduce a revered monarch into a mere puppet dangled by scheming bureaucrats and self‑serving opportunists, a ceremonial figurehead stripped of real authority by conniving bureaucrats and opportunists, a powerless trophy displayed by meddling bureaucrats and opportunists, and ultimately a captive of bureaucratic schemers and opportunistic rebels.
The message is unmistakable: the government’s ruling is not just a technical interference but a wholesale humiliation of the throne, reducing sacred kingship into a plaything for opportunists. It paints the picture of a monarch shackled, displayed and manipulated — a devastating betrayal of tradition that no community rooted in ancestral authority can tolerate.
The directive that the Obi of Ubulu‑Uku must return from abroad is equally insulting. A monarch’s presence is not dictated by the whims of politicians. The throne of Ubulu‑Uku is not a government department to be micromanaged by civil servants. To presume otherwise is to desecrate the spiritual foundation of kingship itself.
The cancellation of the UDC election, too, exposes the government’s disdain for community voices. Instead of engaging constructively, they dismissed the process outright, branding it “illegal” and shutting down the people’s attempt at self‑organization. This is not conflict resolution; it is bureaucratic bulldozing designed to silence the people while empowering a faction that has already rebelled against the Obi.
The government’s reliance on statutes and technicalities — Section 28 of the Traditional Rulers Council and Chiefs Law, the 2021 Community Development Associations Law — is a smokescreen. Laws are meant to protect tradition, not weaponize it against the very custodians of culture. To invoke them selectively, while ignoring the Obi’s authority, is hypocrisy of the highest order.
Ubulu‑Uku has never in its long history been subjected to such brazen interference. The gods and ancestors of the land do not take kindly to outsiders trampling on sacred ground. Those who manipulate government connections to embarrass the throne should beware: tradition has a way of outlasting regimes, and the spirits of the ancestors will demand redress.
The Onishe Ezemu and his collaborators in the Obi‑in‑Council must understand that their rebellion is not merely against the Obi but against the very fabric of Ubulu‑Uku’s sacred order. By twisting titles and conspiring with external forces, they have placed themselves in direct opposition to the gods of the land. Such treachery carries consequences far beyond the reach of government decrees. The ancestors will not be mocked and those who desecrate tradition will find themselves haunted by the very spirits they sought to undermine.
Let it be clear: the Obi‑in‑Council, now reduced to a tool of manipulation, has forfeited its moral standing. By betraying the throne, they have betrayed the people. Their actions are not the work of custodians of tradition but of opportunists drunk on borrowed power. They may bask in the temporary glow of government backing, but history will record them as usurpers who tried to dismantle a kingdom’s soul. And history, like the gods, is merciless to traitors.
This ruling is not peace‑building. It is a dangerous precedent, a backdoor assault on the dignity of Ubulu‑Uku, and a shameful humiliation of the Obi. If unchecked, it will embolden opportunists to further erode the authority of traditional institutions across Delta State.
The people of Ubulu‑Uku must stand firm. The Obi’s authority is not a gift from government; it is a sacred trust handed down through generations. No hurried decree, no manipulated council, and no hijacked title can erase that truth.
_Oskar Nwaudah, PhD, is a public affairs analyst_