@onlytruth, nwanne let me correct you. who told you that ofor of nri is the oldest? E makwa ife na emere na obodo gi bu ANAMBRA? haven't u heard about a community called AGULERI in Anambra east L.G.A Before any person is coronated as EZe in nri, he must come to AGULERI to coll ect the ofor. the present ruler EZE ONYESOH came to aguleri in 1988 and received the ofor from HRM EZE A.E CHUKWUEMEKA-ERI (AKA JI OFOR IGBO) ENUGWU AGULERI. You better be informed!

where are the pretenders: Andy Uba and co? They are Igbos and know the full implications of what all the Anambra traditional rulers has just done for the good of everybody. This is not in any way fetish but upholding the Igbo tradition and using it to advance our betterment. Thank you Your Majesty Achebe [Obi of Onitsha] and all those that came up with these. We are all watching.

Ijele-igbo:

@onlytruth, nwanne let me correct you. who told you that ofor of nri is the oldest? E makwa ife na emere na obodo gi bu ANAMBRA? haven't u heard about a community called AGULERI in Anambra east L.G.A Before any person is coronated as EZe in nri, he must come to AGULERI to coll ect the ofor. the present ruler EZE ONYESOH came to aguleri in 1988 and received the ofor from HRM EZE A.E CHUKWUEMEKA-ERI (AKA JI OFOR IGBO) ENUGWU AGULERI. You better be informed!

Its obvoius that you are ignorant of the Igbo culture. . . .Ofor Nri is the oldest and remains the oldest. I dont even know how Aguleri came into this picture. Infact, the Ofor Nri had only been exchanging hands between Igwe Nri and the late Igwe Osita Agwuna of Enugwu -Ukwu, a Zikist who ruled for fifty years before his death in 2007.

gone are the days of active traditional oaths but if this will prove different, the igbos will surely be on the advantage.
the outcome of the election will be overshadowed by the outcome of this oath because i know and i am well convienced that there will be noise in the land(nigeria).
anambra people, this is a very good opportunity to showcase what u have traditionally because cnn will surely cover the uncountable deaths that will definitely result from the actions of the electorial participants.
our gov(imo state gov) and our inec chief will represent imo state in what is going to happen as a result of the oath.
i will be here to congratulate anambra people if this action works effectively.
in the good old days, juju had no respect for the rich hence our criminal professors must be reminded that the level of ur education does not matter whenever the jujus are let loose.
we are watching.

Ijele-igbo:

@onlytruth, nwanne let me correct you. who told you that ofor of nri is the oldest? E makwa ife na emere na obodo gi bu ANAMBRA? haven't u heard about a community called AGULERI in Anambra east L.G.A Before any person is coronated as EZe in nri, he must come to AGULERI to coll ect the ofor. the present ruler EZE ONYESOH came to aguleri in 1988 and received the ofor from HRM EZE A.E CHUKWUEMEKA-ERI (AKA JI OFOR IGBO) ENUGWU AGULERI. You better be informed!

Thanks for the information but it really doesn't matter, it is the same old ofo of Igboland. Most of those types of ofo are incorruptible. Mind you they are not deities. They are just our moral and retributive institutions. They extract guarantee from the willing participants that they would abide by the terms of the agreement.
It doesn't affect those who never participated in the covenant, which is why some candidates (PDP, Andy Uba et al) stayed away. They know the implication of partaking. Mind you this is only for the elections. It doesn't cover after elections events. It only guarantees that the participants don't rig elections. Period. If they do, they bring down curses upon their families and lineages.

Why send deputies to the oath taking and why were some candidates not represented.
just another futuile exercise.

What exactly substantiates the claim that the Ofo Nri is the oldest in ala Igbo?

ChinenyeN:

What exactly substantiates the claim that the Ofo Nri is the oldest in ala Igbo?

Go and read your Igbo history books, especially the history of Agu-ukwu Nri in Anambra state. . . Also pay a visit to your traditinal ruler whenever you visit Nigeria, he may explain better.

I absolutely and wholeheartedly support this development.

I hope and pray the practice of imposing PROBITY on public officials through TRADITIONAL means will continue and spread in Nigeria, and across the entire African continent.

The fall of Africa began with the imposition of christianity and islam, and the jettisoning of African religion by the majority.

Religions which claimed, unlike the African faiths, that one could redress grievous wrongs simply by asking for ''forgivenesss'', from ''the Lord'' or from ''Allah''.

This was a licence to commit virtually any atrocity, including stealing $3 billion of the peoples' money to deposit in banks overseas.

But a man could not, under African religion, steal that kind of money and yet return to his deity and shrine, for fear it would strike him dead upon arrival! 

Metal-Gong, I've already read "Igbo history", and I have more questions than answers. Also, my people live no where near Anambra, so my traditional rulers aren't familiar with Nri culture, except for whatever they have read, and whatever else would have been told to them.

They know enough about it to not mess with its pronouncements.

Knowledge of Nri in my area didn't come until colonial/imperial period. Even still Nri has never had, and still doesn't have any jurisdiction in my area, so their pronouncements don't really mean much to us, if anything at all.

ChinenyeN:

Metal-Gong, I've already read "Igbo history", and I have more questions than answers. Also, my people live no where near Anambra, so my traditional rulers aren't familiar with Nri culture, except for whatever they have read, and whatever else would have been told to them.

Dear ChinenyeN

I understand your questions but the answers is enough for a whole new thread! The most important point to make is that there are still old and uncorrupted traditional institutions in Igboland, be they at Nri, Aguleri, Umuleri and other parts of Igbo land.
The point of this thread is that politicians should be made to swear by these old ofo institutions to be of good conduct. Let's stay on the topic and not derail.

Meanwhile enjoy this movie below. It is only a movie but it captures some of the beliefs of our people. These are old beliefs and they have worked for hundreds of years.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLZ_cYEUCGY


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84LWz5sgNqg



To understand this movie more you need to watch the first series first:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLZ_cYEUCGY


Enjoy!

Dear ChinenyeN

I understand your questions but the answers is enough for a whole new thread! The most important point to make is that there are still old and uncorrupted traditional institutions in Igboland, be they at Nri, Aguleri, Umuleri and other parts of Igbo land.
The point of this thread is that politicians should be made to swear by these old ofo institutions to be of good conduct. Let's stay on the topic and not derail.

Meanwhile enjoy this movie below. It is only a movie but it captures some of the beliefs of our people. These are old beliefs and they have worked for hundreds of years.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLZ_cYEUCGY


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84LWz5sgNqg



To understand this movie more you need to watch the first series first:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLZ_cYEUCGY

@ONLYTRUTH?
the candidates fraudulently got their tickets and we all know that eg, soludo. now does this oath cover their primary elections activities? on the other hand, u and i know the impossibilities of having a free and fair election in nigeria especially with the level of interest pdp has shown in anambra state.
what will happen if at the end of the day, the rigging continues and no deaths recorded on the issues?
like i said, if this oath works, anambra or even nigeria will be turned into a burial ground as i have at least 10 names of big criminals whose past, present and future depend on rigging hence they will die.

chidichris:

@ONLYTRUTH?
the candidates fraudulently got their tickets and we all know that eg, soludo. now does this oath cover their primary elections activities? on the other hand, u and i know the impossibilities of having a free and fair election in nigeria especially with the level of interest pdp has shown in anambra state.
what will happen if at the end of the day, the rigging continues and no deaths recorded on the issues?
like i said, if this oath works, anambra or even nigeria will be turned into a burial ground as i have at least 10 names of big criminals whose past, present and future depend on rigging hence they will die.

@chidichris

If I understand what has happened properly, the Anambra traditional leaders came together and decided that they must have a peaceful, free and fair election in Anambra state. They then invited the oldest known traditional institutions with the ofo to administer a covenant on the contestants to the effect that any of them who participates in the covenant must not rig elections. It does not cover their actions prior or after the elections. This is specific and targeted. So, let us not try to derail and discredit the thing just because we may not agree with it.

If at the end of the day, participants violate the terms they swore to, they will incur the consequences, simple. This is not the first time entire families have been wiped out in Igboland by covenants like these. I remember vividly when a neighboring town did something like this. A whole lot of people died, but at the end, calm and peace returned to the town.

Time has come for us to instill fear in the minds of those who steal our votes and pillage our collective patrimony. So, I say let the chips fall where they may! Some known thieves are already staying away from the covenant. At least people would know before casting their votes.

Now that the thieves stayed away from the covenant, some id.io'ts won't come here to tell me that Igbos voted the same thieves and that all Nigerians are the same. If any of the non-participants win this election, my people are not responsible. They were simply imposed. If they start stealing tomorrow, we won't be shocked! A man with clean hands have nothing to hide. The ofo never kills a man with clean hands!

@metal gong, replying you in the same manner is stupid but I'll be stupid this time because you are way above stupid, a BLOODY FOOL, and an idiotic piece of shit.
Onlytruth took the time to explain even though i still disagree.

In Nigeria we are so endowed in the now now type of stuff; business investment - looking for profit 1 or 2 yrs; Senators and public servants - all steal now because tomorrow is not promised to them; Teachers, police, bankers, etc collect bribes and rewrite stories because tomorrow doesn't count. etc.

We are saying use an oath devoted to anambra people but will condemn islamist north for trying to impose sharia, I ask you - what is the difference? What are the limits? Are you trying to tell me in a future Nigeria a yoruba or hausa/fulani or even a anambra/nigerian born by foreign parents will not one day run for elections in the state? What if their beliefs run contrary to ur own beliefs so do they get killed for that or rejected for that. Na wa for the Nigerian mentality wih all the acclaimed litracy levels but still lacks common sense.
I can see a situation that people wear traditional dress to school but with requirements governing his/her ability to be active like saying u cannot come with an agbada. Nigerians should get in a habit of assessing situations and having a visionary output that degrades no one due to our national structure. Even if all the sides were a country, you still need to have slacks but honest and fair slacks.
People can still buy those oath givers and takers alike; So we have to infiltrate cheating by making people afraid they could be infiltrated with more than 75% success rate. Traditional rulers and oaths don't work like that or else we would have been a world power full stop. Make we begin see two lane road as two lane road or else you go dey call track route in an off road(not for cars) a two lane road because two people fit pass the same time.
The east does not need go extremist when the motto biafra was all about fighting oppression. I can't shout but i must say, we need to play fair here, and thank God the race in Nigeria is even more defined so the fairness if spread will accomodate those whose races are different when they start coming en mass because the good will win evil in Nigeria, i don't have my watch here because the ignorance is closing in big time so am busy fighting.

naijaway:

@metal gong, replying you in the same manner is silly but I'll be silly this time because you are way above silly, a BLOODY FOOL, and an idiotic piece of poo. 
Onlytruth took the time to explain even though i still disagree.

  In Nigeria we are so endowed in the now now type of stuff; business investment - looking for profit 1 or 2 yrs; Senators and public servants - all steal now because tomorrow is not promised to them; Teachers, police, bankers, etc collect bribes and rewrite stories because tomorrow doesn't count. etc.
 
  We are saying use an oath devoted to anambra people but will condemn islamist north for trying to impose sharia, I ask you - what is the difference? What are the limits? Are you trying to tell me in a future Nigeria a yoruba or hausa/fulani or even a anambra/nigerian born by foreign parents will not one day run for elections in the state? What if their beliefs run contrary to your own beliefs so do they get killed for that or rejected for that.  Na wa for the Nigerian mentality wih all the acclaimed litracy levels but still lacks common sense.
   I can see a situation that people wear traditional dress to school but with requirements governing his/her ability to be active like saying u cannot come with an agbada. Nigerians should get in a habit of assessing situations and having a visionary output that degrades no one due to our national structure. Even if all the sides were a country, you still need to have slacks but honest and fair slacks.
   People can still buy those oath givers and takers alike; So we have to infiltrate cheating by making people afraid they could be infiltrated with more than 75% success rate. Traditional rulers and oaths don't work like that or else we would have been a world power full stop. Make we begin see two lane road as two lane road or else you go dey call track route in an off road(not for cars) a two lane road because two people fit pass the same time.
  The east does not need go extremist when the motto biafra was all about fighting oppression. I can't shout but i must say, we need to play fair here, and thank God the race in Nigeria is even more defined so the fairness if spread will accomodate those whose races are different when they start coming en mass because the good will win evil in Nigeria, i don't have my watch here because the ignorance is closing in big time so am busy fighting.

I don't know you neither do I know your ethnic group,but one thing one can easily deduce from your incoherent ranting is your abysmal ignorance of Igbo tradition and culture.
If you are an Igbo man, you must be among those referred to as 'Ndi ala bu otu.'

Metal gong, am a proud Nigerian Lagos born igbo; Abia state to be exact (God's own state and as we all know only one country has the same motto and only one state has the same motto) . Ndi ala abu gi otu mana ndi ala were ike me ka ndi si ala ozo agabakwala oso.
Setting unity standards and trends is the new game ma nicca.

metal-gong:

I don't know you neither do I know your ethnic group,but one thing one can easily deduce from your incoherent ranting is your abysmal ignorance of Igbo tradition and culture.
If you are an Igbo man, you must be among those referred to as 'Ndi ala bu otu.'

lmao!

Anyway back to the topic
@naijaway

You talk as if these traditional institutions cannot be modernized and still retain their potency. I don't know your level of education, but all I can say is that I have noticed that the most educated Igbo today understand and appreciate some of our cultural institutions. Dr Dozie Ikedife the former Ohanaeze President and many others like him from my town are practicing traditionalists. These people were educated in the years when education was of high standards in Nigeria and some of them even studied overseas.

Let me tell you, if some of these known powerful traditional institutions were owned by white people, they would have built huge edifices for them and institutionalized them in leadership and development. How do you think they choose their leaders? Most of their leaders belong to societies. What do you think that means?
People should please get themselves thoroughly educated first before commenting on topics like this.

Whites retain any culture that works and toss those that don't, and there is no way of knowing what works except through tests. Let us find out if these things work first. If they don't, then we should know. I say let us even swear in any office taker by these ofos. If they work, no thief will near our purse again. If not, we toss them.  I know they have worked in the past (which is why certain people are staying away from this one).
Even if you were born in foreign land, all you need to escape its wrath is to abide by the covenant, shikena!
If not, you and your family will pay. It is better that we have honest men who are poor managers, than competent men who are thieves!
I repeat, ofo never kills anyone with clean hands.

this is good.

I know for example that Dr Dozie Ikedife is the most honest Ohanaeze President we've ever had. The man simply cannot lie, even till today (one year after leaving office). His integrity is beyond those of his peers and contemporaries. The traditional ikenga which he practices leaves no room for lies and takes no prisoners . If he wants to live a short live, all he needs do is tell lies. There are few people like that in Igboland today because majority of them acquire knighthood from the church only to turn the state into a serfdom.

I am a practicing Christian and I know that these things (Ikenga et al) are part of God's government and they are the enforcers of justice and retribution. That topic is huge and is for another section and day.
Bottomline is that if I have a choice between a dubious knight of the catholic church, and a Dr Dozie Ikedife a practicing traditionalist, I would choose Ikedife 10 times!

I say let us even swear in any office taker by these ofos.


Onlytruth - i gbadu ur name by the way.  This is the whole point of my not buying into this idea. Firstly, we don't know if it works; Secondly, since not knowing if it works but yet you advocate that it should be used for any office taker. Thirdly, must it be only that ofo used, others have their own form of ofos(some new and some old) normally new stuffs are modified but here we say the oldest one is the best one which might be true but with a big BUT because others can argue with you on that choice.

The overlaying priciple here is, the land is not how it used to be. Changes have come small and big. Integration is bound to happen. I look for examples in integrated societies and Nigeria even though majority are one race, it has several ethnicities or tribes. For Nigeria to move forward, sacrifices has to be made to accomodate others. Igbos more than anyother tribe in Nigeria is integrated to various parts of the nation which should be rightfully so for all Nigerians. They say don't throw stones if you live in a glass house.

 Traditional rulers is the one I really don't like because why then do we have Local government chairman? why does it have to be without elections? People given titles for good works they did is good but not supposed to rule over others. I don't know where my bloodline of 2150 will decide to live more concerning is his choice of residence in Nigeria, but I hope he/she does not live in fear and have to fight because of different values in a place he thought had similar values because he thought it was Nigeria. To me every Nigerian is an eze, chief, oba, emir, etc There should be a day not independence day where the nation shuts down for traditional day meanwhile we should still have our traditional foods and clothes at any time.
 Ofo can be saved by keeping it in good shape and documenting its history. It is a heritage site that even if integration comes too much, it can still be a heritage site.  Instead of ofo, why not use secret police, secret wire tapings, etc all with accountability by the head. Make people scared to talk bribe and killings because u don't know if am an agent. That to me would work better if applied for the next three elections. And also this can be used as a nation wide approach.
  Times are changing and we need to change for the better with or against it, and ofo might work but for national sake, lets use other ways and traditional rulers should sieze to exist as that. Everyone is. Statesmen/women are what we need like soyinka, ojukwu, etc and anyother good person in the intrest of their community and nation and don't have to be paid by the government.  
 You cannot condemn sharia and support ofo for any office holder next thing you know it is used everywhere and state law for something that we don't know works like that. If it works, let's save it for war times against aggressors.

naijaway:

  Instead of ofo, why not use secret police, secret wire tapings, etc all with accountability by the head. Make people scared to talk bribe and killings because u don't know if am an agent. That to me would work better if applied for the next three elections. And also this can be used as a nation wide approach.
   Times are changing and we need to change for the better with or against it, and ofo might work but for national sake, lets use other ways [/b]and traditional rulers should sieze to exist as that. Everyone is. Statesmen/women are what we need like soyinka, ojukwu, etc and anyother good person in the intrest of their community and nation and don't have to be paid by the government. 
  [b]You cannot condemn sharia and support ofo for any office holder next thing you know it is used everywhere and state law for something that we don't know works like that. If it works, let's save it for war times against aggressors.

@naijaway

I think you are taking the whole thing too personal. Like I said before, it doesn't matter whether you were born outside igboland or not, once you participate in this covenant, it is binding. It might seem extreme to you but we are in extreme and desperate times!
You are right that the world is changing but you are wrong that is it fundamentally different from what it has always been. The more things change the more they remain the same, which is why we still have wars and prostitution (practices are early as man!). Your cosmopolitan perspective on this topic is a little naive (I'm sorry). I know for instance that most of the south west politicians belong to Ogboni fraternity (even bishops!). So for you to tell me that in the interest of Nigerian unity we must jettison our culture and tradition to accommodate other people is pure day dreaming.
Igboland is desolate today because we abandoned some of the most beautiful cultural practices to embrace things we don't even understand fully.
To compare this to Sharia is disingenuous because Sharia imposes on everybody willy nilly(using the Hisba).

There are no police or human enforcers of the ofo, it enforces itself!
Truly educated Igbos will resist any integration that destroys our culture and imposes alien ones with disastrous consequences.
The most unfortunate thing is that people like you don't even care to look closely at the culture you were born into -Lagos/Yoruba- to draw valuable lessons. You sit there in Lagos and dream of a day when there would no longer be tribes in Nigeria. I laugh in Igbo.

You advocate only a human policed system but you forget that humans are weak,wicked and intrinsically corrupt. Who told you that wiretaps have only been used for good?

This oath has nothing to do with traditional rulers. It is being administered by traditional priests.
It has been known to work in the past (which is why some people fear it). I only alluded that it should be made to prove itself against skeptics like you. I never said I doubted its potency.

Two things I know about the ofo are:

(1) It never kills or harm an innocent man, in fact if you invoke the ofo on an innocent man you may even die for it!

(2) More innocent Nigerians die from Police and other security personnel human flaws and faults than from the ofo or other similar traditional institutions.

I'm not advocating to replace these human police institutions with the ofo -they each serve a different purpose.
So, let us modernize the ofo and pass our leaders through them before they take office. Whenever the human police fail to do their jobs as they are wont to do, the ofo will more than deliver.Simple.

Onlytruth, Let us agree to disagree here because I don't believe in making one's believe above others. I can also call you naive based on what I think can be done right.
The igbos don't need to act as others do in terms of integration. Nigeria will not break up and even if she did, there will still be others there. Ofo is not God, and if ofo is that powerful, why do we need police? Lagos as long as Nigeria is concerned cannot be denied to the igbos. If u set a fair and working standard, others will follow. If those ofos worked good, then how did we loose to the oyibos during slave trade? many other questions can be asked. And I ask this because you say ofo can be modified, which makes me wonder why it hasn't been versatile. I am a christian but not a born again if you may so is not like am hating but am going to call a bluff a bluff. Its just belief, during an escalation of any scale, it can be burned down or taken ( I mean Ofo or ogun or whatever).
I don't mind it as a deterent but other people it is arguable in the sense that other ofos and technologies might be better than it.

naijaway:

Onlytruth,      Let us agree to disagree here because I don't believe in making one's believe above others. I can also call you naive based on what I think can be done right. 
   The igbos don't need to act as others do in terms of integration. Nigeria will not break up and even if she did, there will still be others there. Ofo is not God, and if ofo is that powerful, why do we need police?    Lagos as long as Nigeria is concerned cannot be denied to the igbos. If u set a fair and working standard, others will follow. If those ofos worked good, then how did we loose to the oyibos during slave trade? many other questions can be asked.  And I ask this because you say ofo can be modified, which makes me wonder why it hasn't been versatile.  I am a christian but not a born again if you may so is not like am hating but am going to call a bluff a bluff. Its just belief, during an escalation of any scale, it can be burned down or taken ( I mean Ofo or ogun or whatever). 
   I don't mind it as a deterent but other people it is arguable in the sense that other ofos and technologies might be better than it.
   

Like I said earlier, you are being selfish for allowing your personal fears obstruct your sense of logic. Who said anything about Nigeria breaking up here 
So, it is your type that would rather sell off your culture because you were born in Lagos (precisely why I am not a fast advocate of inter tribal marriages).

Who swore the Oyibos by the ofo in the slavery days? Are you for real?
Don't worry about Anambra state or Igboland, just worry about Lagos. No one will make your Governor Fashola swear by the ofo. So, calm down. This is purely for Anambra state and those who willing partake in the ofo covenant.

I said earlier that the police and ofo play different roles in society. I never called for one to replace the other. I advocated for the ofo to form part of our electing and swearing in of leaders in IGBOLAND, not elsewhere.

Who told you that real ofos can be burned? Do you even know anything about Igboland?

Anyway, I've had enough of this. Just know that this doesn't really concern you. I am not an Ogboni member and would never dream of being a governor in Oyo, Ogun , Osun states or even Lagos state. Just don't discredit or mess with a selection process chosen by people who are far more educated and knowledgeable than you in far away Igboland.

How did i miss this thread?