http://www.tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/news/item/24037-igbodo-crisis-obi-osadume-finally-bows-to-tradition-takes-new-wife-from-his-community.html

The drama surrounding the traditional ruler of Igbodo in Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State, Obi Nkeobikwu Osadume, has finally been laid to rest.

The monarch has bowed to the wish of his people by taking a new wife in line with the primordial custom and tradition of the Igbodo people.

He was said to have officially presented the queen to the people last week.

This development was against his initial stance not to take a second wife being a born again Christian and a staunch member of Living Faith Church, a.k.a Winners Chapel.

The monarch did the presentation of the new queen at a colourful ceremony, held at the ancestral palace of Igbodo Kingdom.

He thanked God for the peaceful resolution of all the issues surrounding his marriage.

The monarch assured the people that he would continue to uphold the custom and tradition of the kingdom and appealed to his people to work towards the development of the community.

He also thanked the state government for intervening in the matter.

The royal father expressed happiness over the unity of purpose that exists among the Obi-in-Council and the Igbodo Development Union (IDU), urging his people not to compromise the peace and unity of the people.

The traditional Prime Minister of Igbodo Kingdom, Dr Ifeanyi Unomah, said the turbulent period was over and thanked the traditional ruler for listening to the wise counsels of those who intervened on the matter.

Dr Unomah said that the choice of a queen from the community was in line with the custom of Igbodo Kingdom.

The president general of IDU worldwide, Chief Peterson Ozili-Chiemeke, said Igbodo was an agrarian community yearning for development.

According to him, the controversies over the marriage of the Obi to non-Igbodo lady was a distraction, adding that the matter had been resolved amicably.

Chief Ozili-Chiemeke paid glowing tribute to the state Deputy Governor, Prof. Amos Otuamah; the Obi of Owa Kingdom, Emmanuel Efeizamor the second; Obi of Umunede Kingdom, Agadagidi Ezenwani the first and the transition committee chairman of Ika North East Local Government Area, Princess Ijenwa Okunoke, for their personal intervention and interest towards the peaceful resolution of the matter.

A member of the Obi-in-Council, Chief Gilbert Nwaije, maintained that now that the marriage issue was over, attention would be on the development of the community.

The ceremony featured the decoration of the queen with beads by the Obi who also led his wife to her seat in the palace as the queen of the community.

Several notable sons and daughters of Igbodo community who witnessed the ceremony also paid homage to the king and the wife.

It will be recalled that Obi Osadume, a Law graduate from Madonna University, after ascending the throne of his forefathers, took a wife from outside his kingdom against the tradition of his community which stipulates that a serving monarch can only raise a heir apparent from a woman married from the Igbodo kingdom.

The kingdom of Igbodo was thrown into turmoil late last year as the king, who stood against the request that he should divorce his ‘strange’ wife based on his Christian religious faith.

His wife was chased out of the palace by the people and his palace deserted, living him to live a life of seclusion.

He was said to have rented an apartment in Asaba where he kept the woman, while he paid nocturnal visit to her, said to be against the tradition of royal fathers.

Emotion rose high in the kingdom as the monarch was abandoned to his fate, given the options of abdicating the throne of his ancestors while he stuck to his foreign wife or take a second wife who would bear him a heir apparent as demanded by the tradition of the people.

The height of the imbroglio came when the monarch secretly invited his in-laws from Ebonyi State to help him secretly bury his late mother against the tradition of the people.

LOL at SS/SE

Traditional madness

The Obi should have abdicated if he had true love for that woman, by the way, how come the Obi went to Madonna University, that place is a glorified secondary school.

Why did'nt their tradition stipulate that their Obi must conclude all his studies in their community? Why did'nt he get a degree in his community since he can't marry from a foreign land?

dayokanu: LOL at SS/SE

mumu let me tell you am from enugu.king of my village will not marry outsdy our village.so some villages have there own rules.idat

Some people really need to emancipate themselves.

dayokanu: LOL at SS/SE

This has nothing to do with SS. Forget the foolish state carvings by illiterate aboki military rulers. Look at their names. They are all Igbos.

Why marrying an Igbo woman in the first place knowing that it was against the traditions and customs of the Igbodo people? Does the customs apply to all other Igbodo men without royalty? What now happens to the woman and her kids, that is if she has any? Someone from Ika should be able to tell us more about their tradition.

A member of the Obi-in-Council, Chief Gilbert Nwaije, maintained that now that the marriage issue was over, attention would be on the development of the community.

So she was the major cause of underdevelopment there....

Well,its their tradition but I blame the Obi for all these. I feel very sorrry for the Ebonyi woman and pity the so called queen. There will never be peace in that palace because indoors,the Obi will treat the queen with utmost resentment. Women are something,too.

monarchs can't marry from outside of their jurisdiction all over nigeria. Stop being childish.

This man disappointed himself,his church and his God just b'cos of earthly throne.He also betrayed the love of the Igbo wife.
But why going against the tradition of the kingdom in the first place?

ThankGod Edeh: Traditional madness

Indeed!
The Igbo wife suddenly turned to a strange woman
Why marrying her in the first place knowing fully well it is against their tradition/

Ikengawo: monarchs can't marry from outside of their jurisdiction all over nigeria. Stop being childish.

Was that what they taught you in your ibo secondary school on Nigeria history and tradition? Olodo ni boy yii shaa ( this boy is a poor student of history).

Alfa Seltzer:

This has nothing to do with SS. Forget the foolish state carvings by illiterate aboki military rulers. Look at their names. They are all Igbos.

most people of Ika especially Umunede,Agbor,Igbodo,Ekwuoma and some I can't remember their names have never claimed to be Igbos despite them bearing Igbo names and having almost the same traditions with Igbo people. They hate being called Igbos just like the Ikwerres. They also marry themselves mostly and hardly marry Igbos or other ethnic group. My maternal uncle married an Agbor lady and today the marriage is no more as both parties have parted ways. My uncle is happily married to an Nnewi lady.

All those names in the articles are Igbo names....why are Igbos always discriminating....even among themselves..

The name of the town Igbodo even sound more Ibo than Ebonyi or Enugu.

Ibos and discrimination sha!

the Asagba of Asaba is married to a Yoruba woman

berem: People of Ika especially Umunede,Agbor,Igbodo,Ekwuoma and some I can't remember their names have never claimed to be Igbos despite them bearing Igbo names and having almost the same traditions with Igbo people. They hate being called Igbos just like the Ikwerres. They also marry themselves mostly and hardly marry Igbos or other ethnic group. My maternal uncle married an Agbor lady and today the marriage is no more as both parties have parted ways. My uncle is happily married to an Nnewi lady.

Na wao!
If they are not Igbo, what are they?

Is it by force for ibos to attach to other people ni? Can someone explain why? Must your housefly follow the corpse into the grave? Well, if they don't want you, why can't you just listen??

berem: People of Ika especially Umunede,Agbor,Igbodo,Ekwuoma and some I can't remember their names have never claimed to be Igbos despite them bearing Igbo names and having almost the same traditions with Igbo people. They hate being called Igbos just like the Ikwerres. They also marry themselves mostly and hardly marry Igbos or other ethnic group. My maternal uncle married an Agbor lady and today the marriage is no more as both parties have parted ways. My uncle is happily married to an Nnewi lady.

madam, pls with all due respect don't say what you don't know. How many people from Ika said they are not Igbos? Pls next time stick only to what you know and don't generalise

Lilimax: Na wao!
If they are not Igbo, what are they?

They are IKA or whatever they call their tribe

Is it by force to attach yourself to them ni?

What is Rotimi Amaechi? Ibo or Yoruba

Its like asking if Yakubu Aiyegbeni is not Yoruba what is he? Is he not allowed to be Edo or Esan jejely?

Lilimax: Na wao!
If they are not Igbo, what are they?

Is it BY FORCE? This is why you people will suffer much more in the second *** if it happens!

Unlike before, the community was without its
usual boisterous setting. People did not bump
into one another as it had been. Apart from the
presence of a few fruit traders and palm wine
tappers who spoke in low tones or occasional
excited comments of policemen and other
security officers, everywhere was quiet. Even a
stranger to the community would readily notice
the unusual development from the cluster of
people and their mechanical movements.
This was the atmosphere on April 19, 2013 at the
busy Igbodo Market in Ika North East Local
Government Area of Delta State. The unusual
quietude was even as indigenes of Igbodo have
built a Divisional Police Headquarters for the state
police command in response to the call by the
Inspector General of Police for citizens to assist
the police formations across the country to
perform their duties effectively and efficiently.
By its geographic nature, Igbodo Community,
located on the Benin-Onitsha expressway, is a
hub for farm products especially fruits. Trading in
the community is further bolstered due to its links
with six communities including Idumuje, Onicha-
Ugbo, Obior, Ekwuoma, Mbiri and Ekpon. This
may have also exposed the area to security
challenges.
Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr.
Ikechukwu Aduba who laid the foundation of the
building project on February 22, 2013, also
inaugurated it on April 19. He recalled last year’s
clash with men of the underworld which left
about four officers of the command dead. Aduba
said robbery operation by the vicious men started
in Igbodo and spilled across
to Ibusa where the law enforcement agents
engaged the hoodlums.
Explaining how the project was executed,
President General of Igbodo Development Union,
Peter Ozili said Igbodo like-minds and stakeholder,
home and abroad put up the building which was
duly supervised by officers from the Works
Department of the state police command.
“We collectively agreed to embark on the project
on the premise that when there is security in a
community, peace will reign supreme;
developments will spring up; and the well-being
of the people would be improved. We have just
set a ball rolling. It is, therefore, our collective
duty not to allow the ball to stop gathering
momentum. Now is never late. So, let us lead
from the front and carry out the development of
Igbodo together in the spirit of shared destiny,
vision and identity.
But the remark by Ozili, it has been argued, may
not be unconnected to the present crisis in the
community bothering on who the monarch
should take as his wife. And behind the logjam is
an Ebonyi first lady in the palace.

Ikengawo: monarchs can't marry from outside of their jurisdiction all over nigeria. Stop being childish.

Stop being Childish, there are some villages in my LG where their monarchs must marry another tribe or someone from another village. The wife outside outside the Oba's home town will be the mother of the next king of the village.

It's done on a father-to-son basis

Kingmakers are presently said to be at the cross
roads following the monarch’s alleged insistence
on marrying outside the community, a practice,
they claimed, is against the tradition of the
people and their passion for preserving their
cultural practices.
According to investigations by Daily Independent,
Igbodo tradition does not allow the king to marry
his first wife expected to be the mother of his heir
outside the community. The implication is that if
the king marries an “outsider” a foreigner might
end up on the throne or create succession
problem in future.
The development has generated ripples and bad
blood for about two years now in the community.
Palace activities have been boycotted by his
subjects since the crisis started with several
internal attempts at resolving it not yielding
fruits. It is looking more complicated by the day
following the rigid positions of both parties on the
issue.
The crisis got to its peak recently when the
embattled monarch was said to have attempted
to sneak his heartthrob into the palace. He was
resisted by the people who mobilized to chase her
out in spite of the security cover allegedly hired to
provide protection.
But the monarch, His Royal Majesty, Obi
Ikechukwu Osedume I would not take this as he
stuck to his Ebonyi state-born heartthrob who
had already given him a female child. The couple
met during the Obi’s sojourn to the East for
University education. As a Christian, Obi Osedume
who studied Law at Madonna University was said
to have insisted on marrying the Ebonyi woman.
According to history, Obi Osedume’s father, Obi
Sunday Iyeke I died about three years ago while
he (Osedume) was still considered as a minor by
the elders of the community. There were plans to
create regency to fill the void until he came of
age. It was said that there were some subtle
moves by certain groups at the time to hijack the
regency arrangement with the aim of short
changing the heir.
But the kingmakers got wind of the plans and
quickly mobilized for the enthronement of Obi
Osedume I without installing a wife as is usually
the practice. The explanation offered for the
action was that the Obi was still in school and at
the appropriate time, they would get him a wife.
Dr. Joseph Unomah, The Iyase (Prime Minister) of
Igbodo Kingdom, who doubles as the
community’s spokesman defended the action of
the community, stressing that it was meant to
sustain their tradition and to avoid creating
succession problems in future.
According to him, the people are very passionate
about their customs and traditions, noting that
allowing the Obi to marry an outsider would have
grave implications for the community as this
could lead to the obliteration of the cherished
traditional practices of the people. Obi, he said,
however insisted that he had a dream and God
told him that that was the woman he must
marry.
“We told him that even if the Ebonyi woman gave
him a male child, he cannot succeed him thereby
creating succession problem for himself, the
child, the royal family and the entire community
in the future.
“We are not saying he should not marry an alien.
The Obi has been asked to marry somebody from
our kingdom who would bring forth an heir to the
throne. After that, he is free to marry as many
women as he wants to marry from outside
including this woman that is presently causing
the crisis.
“We had explained the tradition to him that he
cannot marry outside the kingdom. But he
insisted that he was not going to marry two
women. We explained to him that the reason why
we are objecting to his marrying his first wife from
outside is that our custom forbids it in the first
place.

dayokanu:

They are IKA or whatever they call their tribe

Is it by force to attach yourself to them ni?

What is Rotimi Amaechi? Ibo or Yoruba

Its like asking if Yakubu Aiyegbeni is not Yoruba what is he? Is he not allowed to be Edo or Esan jejely?

They can choose to bear whatever they like?. It's their choice .