However, with the abdication of the throne by the first paramount ruler in 1954, a vacuum was created and for the first time we were confronted with succession crisis. The argument then was that the central leadership was an aberration and had no bearing in our traditional setting. In other words, it was a derivative of the colonial system of administration. It is imperative at this juncture to bring to mind the activities of both the then ITU (Igbirra Traditional Union) and NPC (Northern People’s Congress), the former being an antagonist of the acclaimed paramount leadership while the latter stood their ground in favour.
Obviously, there is need for us to know the probable cause of controversy; was it because of the way and manner the first paramount ruler emerged? Was it his person or style of rulership or was the entire controversy based on the innovation of the traditional central leadership?
We need answers to all these questions to re-examine where to pin our problem. The fact that the traditional central leadership then described as an aberration and fought against was not abandoned after the demise of the late Atta Ibrahim Onoruoiza shows it was a welcome development.
I sincerely believe it was in that respect that the vacuum was filled by the then Northern Regional Government with the ascension of the late Alhaji Muhammad Sani Omolori, OFR, of blessed memory in the year 1956 as the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland.
As a social and civilized people, I think we should be worried and begin to make attempt at getting our land back on track, because, the consequences of our inactions with respect to investing positively in our traditional leadership institution and our failure to forge the desired solidarity as a people has kept us where we are today. It is imperative to remark that many nations like ours described similarly as fragmented and republican in nature have, due to challenges of changing times evolved an enduring traditional leadership with absolute sense of allegiance by their people.
In my humble opinion, the time gap between the death of the late Omolori in 1996 and the installation of the present Ohinoyi (HRM, Alhaji Ado Ibrahim) in 1997 created an opportunity for social reconnection of our people. That was the period a virile political leadership was needed to reinvigorate the traditional central leadership and unfortunately we never had one. That would have been a very critical moment in reconciling our differences and seeking a turning point in our lives as a people.
It is not in doubt that our people are constrained by the challenges of the democratic system of government to rely on a formidable political and a traditional leadership structure for the role of driving their aspirations; unfortunately apart from individual personalities who at different times managed to show big appearances, the wholesome structure is just not available.
From 1999 till date, nothing has changed; the character and style of politicking is still largely woven around individual personalities and highly segregated along clannish sentiments. Our political arena is not only characterized by violence but remains tightened: because these individual personalities are afraid of losing their shine to the dynamism of more articulate groups in the polity. So many have been choked out of the system unnecessarily, this explained why we have not been able to nurture a collective agenda and drive our aspirations as a people. It also explained why we are presently experiencing systemic marginalization in the running of the affairs of our State.
Amusingly, our political Elites now pursue political appointments individually in their personal capacity and recognition and remain contented as long as they can feed their immediate families.
If we must remove ourselves from the shackles of poor leadership and lingering crisis, a credible platform is required to initiate a social reconnection process of all the disenchanted prominent Ebira sons and daughters who are beginning to lose hope in the project called Ebiraland. The land still need the character, experience, exposure and the social network of these prominent individuals for the purpose of enriching our polity.
Is it not an irony that these prominent sons and daughters of our land are saddled with one critical responsibility or the other at the national level, yet their land is at the verge of extinction due to perennial unwarranted crisis?
It is my humble submission that when the social reconnection is achieved, the challenges of building an enduring leadership structure that will provide effective rallying point will not be too difficult to realize.
Babamba,a civil servant lives in Abuja
