Obiozor's Funeral: Where Were Igbo Governors?

By Comfort Obi

State Governors of Igbo extraction should hide their faces in shame. Except the host Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, none of them honoured Professor George Obiozor with his presence at his funeral.

Obiozor went home uncelebrated by the Governors. They did not honour the Leader of their Tribe’s apex socio-cultural body at his funeral.

I don’t know if any of the Governors called Uzodinma to explain his absence, and why not, even a representative was sent. If they did, the Igbo are entitled to know. If not, they should be ashamed of themselves and the high office they occupy.

Obiozor who passed on 26th December, 2022, was the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide. Ohanaeze is the equivalent of the Afenifere, the Ijaw Nation, the Arewa Consultative Forum, and the Middle Belt Forum. The Presidents/Chairmen of these associations are revered by their Governors. They represent their people at certain occasions, even at the State House, Abuja. Same role Obiozor played on behalf of the Igbo.

But this February 10, 2023, when Obiozor’s remains were buried in his Awo-Omama Community Imo State, the Governors of Igboland were absent. They were not there to hail him. Or galvanize the youths to sing and dance to the Igbo popular “Nzogbu-nzogbu”, to see Obiozor off like a great Igbo son he was.

The Governors cannot plead security reasons. They cannot say they were running away from gunmen who are, for now, dictating the lifestyle of the Igbo.

These Governors have more than enough security coverage, including both Military and Police armored vehicles. They accompany them on their trips within and outside their States. And, if they so desired, each of them could have even flown into Imo State on a helicopter. That’s nothing to them. They use private jets all the time to Abuja and their various trips to other States.

Nigerian Governors hardly use commercial flights. Commercial flights are beneath them. Once they are voted into office, using commercial flights become an aberration. They charter private jets. I always wonder why. Some people say they no longer want to fly with the common people so as not to “mix” with them. I’m told it is to avoid “harassment” by favour-seekers. You know, some people, with no business to travel, could just decide to board a flight to see a Governor. I understand a number of people do that in Abuja. Just go to Hilton and sit down, you will see the VIP’s you have been struggling to see. Sorry, I digressed.

In the case of Obiozor’s funeral, the Imo State Government, Prof’s family and the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo made the trip to the funeral easy for VIP’s including the Governors.

Except for the ritual of putting the body into the grave, every other activity was held in Owerri MunicipaI, the safest place in the State. I gather it was because of the security issues in the South-east, and in the case of Imo State, especially, Prof’s Orlu Zone.

More than any other Zone, Orlu has borne the brunt of the havoc by gunmen. It is their base. It is where they kill, behead and set houses and properties on fire. Which is quite a shame because Orlu has in its kitty, two former Governors of the State – Achike Udenwa and Rochas Okorocha, the incumbent Governor, Uzodinma, and the immediate past and present Chairman of the Imo Council of Traditional Rulers. Yet, the situation has became so bad that Obiozor’s funeral service and reception were held in Owerri town instead of his native Awo-Omama.

His funeral service was held at the Assumpta Catholic Cathedral, Owerri, not at his regular Church at home. And his expansive compound was denied the honour of hosting the reception thereafter. Rockview Hotel, Owerri, was the venue.

Yet, as safe and comfortable as the arrangements were, Igbo Governors refused to accord Obiozor a last honour.

Engr. Dave Umahi, Ebonyi State, should have led the guard of honor, given his position as the Chairman of the South-east Governors Forum. Okezie Ikpeazu, Abia, who flies everywhere, flaunting Asoebi, had no use for Obiozor’s funeral. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Enugu, whose State Capital is host to Ohanaeze Headquarters was too busy with his signature face cap to bother. Professor Charles Soludo, Anambra, didn’t think it was necessary to honour the Ohanaeze Leader who, like him, was an academic and international scholar. Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta, whose strong claim to the Vice Presidential slot of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is that he is Igbo, completely forgot that. Nyesom Wike, Rivers State, is not one of them. He had, for long, publicly denied he is Igbo, yet he fluently, and often sings Igbo songs when he wants to “yab” the PDP and its Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

Sure, a galaxy of solid Igbo men and women were there to honour Professor Obiozor, but the absence of these Governors was, as they say, conspicuous. They are the leaders of the people. They are the representatives of the people. Yet, they failed to give the late President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo a last honour. They ignored him. Their absence was the subject of discussion at the funeral. What’s wrong with the Igbo?

They left Uzodinma to carry the can. But Ohanaeze Nd’Igbo, is not Ohanaeze Nd’Imo. Obiozor’s funeral should have been a collective responsibility of Igbo States. It is not known if they contributed money for his funeral. Perhaps. But money is not everything. That final honour with their presence should have been the ultimate. It could have sent a strong message to Nigeria, to Igbo youths, of the oneness of the Igbo.

When Igbo Leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu died, then Nigeria’s First Lady, Mrs Patience Goodluck-Jonathan, insisted on going to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to join in receiving his body the day it was shipped back to Nigeria. As the casket was brought out, she spoke to Ojukwu in Igbo Language. It was very humbling. She didn’t need to go. But that last honour to Ojukwu was important to her.

On the day of his funeral, she and her husband, President Goodluck Jonathan, against objections from here and there, insisted on going to Nnewi to honour Ojukwu. That last honour to him was important for them, even when it cost the Jonathans goodwill in some quaters.

So, where is the Igbo common front that is mouthed all the time? Where is the Igbo unity that the Igbo love to preach? By their absence, what examples were the Governors showing to Igbo youths? By not honoring Obiozor in death, how did they expect other neighboring State Governors to honour him? No wonder the Governors of Edo, Akwa Ibom, Cross River State, Rivers, Benue and Bayelsa States showed no interest. They knew South-east Governors couldn’t be bothered.

This will not happen in any other Zone. Not in the North. Not in the South-south, and not in the South-west. Can anybody imagine any South-west Governor not attending the funeral of an Afenifere Chairman or elder. The least would be to send representatives from any of them who dared to be absent.

If it was Obiozor’s conterpart in any Zone that died, our Governors would have been there. They would have cried more than the bereaved. They would be in the forefront.

By their absence at Professor Obiozor’s funeral, the Igbo Governors missed the opportunity to show the face of a united Igbo. They missed the opportunity to present Ohanaeze as a respected apex socio-cultural body of the Igbo. They missed the opportunity to uplift the Igbo race. They missed the opportunity to present a united, common Igbo front to Nigeria. As the saying goes, “if you don’t say you are, nobody will say you are.”

At Professor Obiozor’s funeral, what Igbo Governors did was to show Nigerians how divided, how disunited the Igbo race is. All they did was to rubbish Ohanaeze before Nigeria, and show how unimportant they think the body is. Very unfortunate.