I must first thank he who made it possible for my contributing in this forum by providing for Okpofe, a web town hall, wherein topical issues are bared for the real IMPROVEMENT of Okpofe; our own dear Innocent Amaefule; whom I know not in person, while thanking at the same time, all contributors from inception to date, of this epoch making creativity of an Okpofe son.
NOBI SMALL THING
Okpofe has many illustrioussons. Innocent is one of them. Professor Anthony Ihunna is never in doubt one, with the likes of Air Commodore Luke Ochulor, Chief Christopher Nwachukwu, Dr. Festus Nguma, to mention but a few.
For the fact that the last four I have mentioned, who symbolize excellence in the four cardinal features of anideal Eze Okpofe viz. The academia with vision and versatility, the experience of power with fear of God, the in-dept knowledge of culture and tradition withgreat cultural wisdom and sound sense of judgment with forthrightness, and ofcourse the local (state, town, ndi-opara, umu-okpu, family, kindred and oke-ala) politics, are in this Eze-ship race, shows that it is not a child's play nor a cake walk.
THE HEAD OF THE NAIL:
Given the caliber of persons known and not yet known in this Eze-ship race, I lend my voice therefore to the call for the constitutional amendment to accommodate and give every son of Okpofe, Umu-Erim in particular a level playing ground in this contest and as well avail Okpofe the privilege of choosing one who best integrates these great qualities in his personality.
In this amended constitution, the Eze shall openly be elected by the generality of Okpofe people, not by as elected few through which it can be easily rigged or bought. Let the most popular wear the crown.
Also, there shall be a public debate for the interested candidates to enable us assess them better as we field our questions to them while they reel out their plan for Okpofe.
Okpofe has been apace setter of nobility in the committee of neighboring communities and has been peaceful. Replacing our Eze shall not be allowed to drag us in the mud of never to heed the voice of reason, in this historic moment when history hasgot its golden pen writing.
Let every well meaning son of Okpofe now propose in his heart to fight against any idea, any caucus and anyperson that has chosen the path of never to heed the voice of reason due to selfish affiliation or loyalty to acandidate. The peace, unity and progress of Okpofe are more important
than any selfish affiliation.
Okpofe shall remain a pacesetter even in the highly civilized way we shall package the replacement of our Eze and I have an idea. If my idea shall be endorsed I promise to print free of charge the ballot paper that shall be used for an open secrete peaceful election of our new Eze; wherein afterthe public debate, all taxable Okpofe adults shall file up to vote into a box which content shall be openly counted in the public view of the masses immediately after.
The title of Eze Okpofe is Eze Oha. Which means the first Eze the generality of the people elected or the first democratically crowned Eze. (Eze, oha kwuru-ekwu chie nke mbu na Okpofe); abbreviated (Eze Oha 1 of Okpofe). Today, we are looking forward for an Eze Oha the second of Okpofe; i.e the second to be democratically elected Eze of Okpofe, and he shall be democratically elected.
Our present constitution in(Section 11, Sub section 6 Par. i) restricts this franchise to only 65 persons. The ECS shall constitute and electoral college which shall consist offive representatives from each of the villages, except that Chukwuoma and Umuotirikpo shall each have ten (10) representatives. All representatives shall be nominated on the floor? This is one out of the numerous loopholes in our present constitution that shall not allow us have a free and fair election and arrive at him who the cap most fits irrespective of prejudices. Hence I therefore submit alongside the loud call for the review of the constitution that this is the only way out of a protracted period of no Eze in Okpofe and violence free selection / election of one at last.. I pray personality cults to allow the voice of reason heed this call.
"There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all." Says Peter Drucker, and observation has shown me that some at the helm of affairs in today's Okpofe who have nothing worthwhile to offer this generation are working assiduously on this personality cult, which blindfolds reasoning and makes vulnerable our dear fatherland, Okpofe, instead of labouring for the custody of truth, uprightness and integrity. Now they are at the verge of diverting the course of peace and progress, which has been the imprint and trademark of Okpofe.
Permit me to sound it that personality cult by any Okpofe son is the worst disservice to Okpofe. It is a gruesome unpatriotism and cruelty to the land that gave you nativity as well as a hand in fueling the firewood of local political crisis in your own father land and Okpofe is so closely knitted and quite unfit for any such unrest in this course of ezeship race. Lastly I plead to all: be on your knees and pray to God for the peace of Okpofe, for in its peace you shall have your own peace.
I am sure the good people of this forum will find yours to be an interesting reading just like I did.
Thank you for this wonderful and very informative contribution. Come often.
Please note the following corrections of the alterations which may have been electronically caused.
Paragraph 2 line 1 'illustrioussons' = illustrious sons
Paragraph 3 line 1 anideal = an ideal
Paragraph 3 line 3 withgreat = with great
Paragraph 3 line 3 ofcourse = of course
Paragraph 5 line 1 not by as elected few = not by a selected few
Paragraph 6 line 1 apace setter = a pacesetter
Paragraph 6 line 3 hsagot = has got
Paragraph 6 line 4 anyperson = any person
Paragraph 6 line 5 acandidate = a candidate
Paragraph 8 The portion lifted from the constitution should be in quote “the ECS ... nominated on the floor”
Please note the following corrections of the alterations which may have been electronically caused.
Paragraph 2 line 1 'illustrioussons' = illustrious sons
Paragraph 3 line 1 anideal = an ideal
Paragraph 3 line 3 withgreat = with great
Paragraph 3 line 3 ofcourse = of course
Paragraph 5 line 1 not by as elected few = not by a selected few
Paragraph 6 line 1 apace setter = a pacesetter
Paragraph 6 line 3 hsagot = has got
Paragraph 6 line 4 anyperson = any person
Paragraph 6 line 5 acandidate = a candidate
Paragraph 8 The portion lifted from the constitution should be in quote “the ECS ... nominated on the floor”
May I use this opportunity to thank my brother Matthew for his contribution. I must confess that it baffles me that Okpofe is showing signs of getting it wrong as regards choosing a noble successor to our dear late Eze Anyanka. Some fundamental questions come my mind everytime I reflect on our present predicament. First: If our constitution is the problem, and if this constitution was approved by the entirety of Okpofe people, if it went through the rigours of drafting a guiding, to a certain sense rigid binding set of rules, why the rush to change it at this stage? This constitution was done I think to forstall any problem by choicing the next Eze. Or am I wrong here?
To my mind, if we do not answer this question rationally and convincingly, anyone anyday can challenge even a choice made, based on a changed constition, done at the middle of the road.
So does it really matter if democratically appointed / nominated representatives of each of the villages, in the name of the village, after due consultation with his constituency, carry out a mandate given to him? I think it matters if and only if, the choice of the nominees is fundamentally flawed right from the onset. Otherwise, any suspicion of manipulation is to my humble understanding not enough reason, not telling enough to vitiate a process not yet begun, not yet concluded. As in every democratic setting, there is always room for redress if after any process, there are tangible out of the rule games played, to be complained of, which substantially could be said to have vitiated the entire process.
Said simply, why not allow the process to run its course before finding fault with the guideline, which was approved without reservation, and thus made binding on citizens of Okpofe.
Should really the constitution be so flawed, where were we as this important document was been assembled? Does it mean Okpofe people lacked vision or were the entirety of the people not involved in the drafting process? Did we not attend OIU meetings while the matter was on?
And how does the representation of Okpofe through the branches work? Does it follow the same process or not?
If so, then we cannot, and this is my humble opinion, introduce a totally new set of rules in approaching Okpofe matters just because of this selection / annointment / election of a new Eze for Okpofe.
Should anyone convince us really of the stupidity of a section of this constitution, we must still have to rely on a set of elected representatives of our villages for effecting any change to the constitution. And should the amendment not carry the votum of a majority of these elected/ selected members, be they as OIU home and abroad, be they as constituion review committee, the matter must still have to be carpeted. I think this is the working of a society, where certain norms have been stipulated to become really normative, binding and commanding obedience, even when they might not appeal to all. By the way, would it not be illusory to think, any human conceived set of rules could be perfect? The mistakes might teach us better to correct ourselves.
So dear brothers, these are some of the questions troubling me in allowing myself be convinced that any amendment of our constitution at this stage would bring about a choice of a better Eze. ´My bone of contention can be summarized thus: If we do not trust ourselves, if we do not play beyond local bias, if we do not rise above sentimentalism, if we do not tell ourselves that not only the Eze will carry Okpofe along, even if he is supposed to be a motivator and cordinator, but that every N w a -a f or Okpofe must contribute his part in maintaining peace and furthering progress in our dear Okpofe, then even though we change our constitution hundred times before settling down for a candidate, we might still reap on the long run a bad seed.
Another important point: Should'nt there be a screening of the candidates before the contest? Who then should do this? Should all Okpofe people come to the market square and start screening them publicly? So all these points convince me of the need for us as a people to do a soul searching and put our options on a scale, then make an evaluation using realistic parameters, to verify if our set out goal can be achieved by the means we have chosen. Does the whole trouble worth it afterall, if after the choice of any Eze, whoever he may be, still he cannot rally round himself enough support to carry Okpofe to higher levels? I think the proverbial saying "obodo na eri okpulo anaghi agwo oria", should provoke ´soul searching. Should we in the name of using every means available, commensurate or not, destroy the basis of trust and confidence in our people, we might not expect miracles in the future. But God forbid that our great town would lose its pre-eminent position among the commity of towns. Nonetheless, we cannot allow our foundation be eroded and still live on the illusion it shall be well. To go through the harmattan without much anxiety, it is now we have to gather our wood. I wish our dear community the needed wisdom to remain obodo oma Chineke, without which we cannot be Okpofe mara nma.
My people
First of all l want to commened the initiators of this web site.Kudos to you all.
okpofe mara mma YES, but how truthful is this community anthem?The tussel for Ezeship in okpofe has reduced the pace of development in the town for the past years,what is going on is factions that want to claim the leadership of Okpofe without any stress,Going through the Okpofe constitution,you will discover that the main target was on Ezeship,now the music has started playing.
One thing our people should understand is that the present Ezeship in Igboland is not how much money you have,but the focus on your people, and your aims and objectives.
l must confess that the delay in selecting the next Eze in Okpofe is based on hatred within the villages and people not being sincere.
Okpofe will move forward to its height and the people agree to work together.
Thanks for your numerous contributions towards the selection of the Ezeoha II of Okpofe. Although, the Ezeship has experienced some set backs but we shall not give up hope. The Throne is definitely waiting for the rightful and God's ordained leader to emerge.
I believe the race is not a do or die affair. It is true that the replacement of Ezeoha has caused some quag-mire of sorts to Okpofe people, so many bad and urgly development had started to spring up, people have had so many sleepless nights hence no one is in control. That is reminding us of the need to have Our Eze replaced.
Before that is done, what we needed most now is prayer so that God in his infinit mercy shall raise for us his own choosen King like Solomon as he did for the Isrealites.
We need a wise King, one who will representOkpofe well in in Imo State and beyond not a laughing stock.
The people of Okpofe must be commended and praised for their patience all these while and we must not let any blood to have our Ezeoha II. The dream will be soon be actualized.
Thanks to all the contributors here at Okpofe Town Hall.
Could somebody please bring us up to speed on the Eze selection process?
What is the current status?
Has the matter before the courts been adjudicated or withdrawn altogether?
It will be nice to know where we are in the process.
Okpofe mara mma will come to stay whether people like it or not.However looking at the problems at hand,there are some people who are pumping the problems in the town.Like l rightly said in my last contribution,there are factions of different groups moving around to cause more problems in the town.
During the August meeting, the women's wing tried all they could to find a solution with their visits to some okpofe sons, and their presence in OIU meeting men's wing suppose to move some people,but the politics of who are you etc could not bring any good suggestion.
The bottom line is that there is still court injunction,if they will look around Ezinihitte and get comments from people who respects Okpofe,peace will reign.
However, that aspect of the constitution that is causing the heat should be ameneded to allow people to participate in choosing whom they know will represent us both at home and nigeria in general.
Okpofe move forward.
I quite agreed with you before Okpofe is used to be known as one of the most peaceful Community in Mbaise but today i doubt if we are still that which our Fore Fathers left for us.
Because of the EZE-SHIP SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT THEY CAN MAKE IT UNHABITABLE FOR US.
In Nigeria today what we called an election is where everybody is given a sense of belonging by exercising thier civic responsibility, not by telling somebody to exercise that responsibility for them.
To this effect, i am suporting for the amendment of this constitution to allow everybody to vote.
I therefore, call on all sons and daughters of OKPOFE to allow the sleeping dog to lie, for OKPOFE to move ahead because since this problem started, there have been no new development or is it a deliberate way of drawing OKPOFE back.
I must say that I am quite impressed by the quality of contributions being sent in by well meaning Okpofe indigenes in the course of this discourse.
It is heartening to note that the informed are now interested in matters such as the ezeship.
My honest contribution at this point is to say that I feel terribly disappointed that the canker worm of disunity and acrimony that has bedeviled neighbouring communities is gradually creeping into our hitherto proud community.
I think that it is not a matter of democracy or whatever. The important thing is sincerity on the part of our leaders and the aspirants. Why do they want the crown and to what end.
Service to the community for the general good should be the catch phrase. This is my humble contribution.