AN ADDRESS PRESENTED BY SIR DON UBANI; KSC, JP, OKWUBUNKA OF ASA, AS CHAIRMAN ON THE OCCASION OF SECOND MEMORIAL LECTURE IN HONOUR OF LATE ARCHIBOY DUKE AGBAIGBA (PIONEER PRESIDENT OF OHA UKWA/NGWA CONGRESS INC.) TODAY SUNDAY(ORIE) 17TH SEPTEMBER, 2017 AT THE GREAT ENYIMBA CITY OF ABA.

Protocol:

It is my humble desire that this Memorial Lecture commences with a prayerful wish for our dear late brother, friend and compatriot; Archiboy Duke Agbaigba, who passed away on 15th September, 2013, by every body standing up just for one minute..... May his soul continue to rest in peace. Amen!

Permit me to express immense appreciation to the President and Executive Members of Oba Ukwa/Ngwa Congress for being broadminded in their thoughts.

In a typical society where the norm is to quickly, enviously and seamlessly confine the labours of our heroes' past into the dusty repositories of time, it is heart-warming to see a crop of leaders who, out of their own volition, not only conceived but put into pragmatic perspective the commitment, struggles, pains and courage of a fallen Hero. I salute you my brothers. If no body is proud of you, Sir Don Ubani; Okwubunka of Asa, wishes to be an exception.

The theme of this lecture; Unity In The Sustenance Of Progress In Ukwa/Ngwa, by every consideration and calculation, is quite apt. The thinking process that led to its choice is not only commendable but respectable.

There is no segment of the human society in which there is no politics.

Starting from the kitchen, the nuclear family, the extended family, the village, the church, the school, professional organizations up to Various levels of government, politics abound though in different dimensions, colours, descriptions and definitions. Man is inseparable from politics.

A Cultural Organization such as Oha Ukwa/Ngwa or Asa Development Union may put in unquantifiable energy, trying to present itself as an unbiased or impartial body in the dynamics of its macro society but all in all, it must be propelled and driven by the natural sensibilities inherent in the society.

The Subject of our gathering and discussion today; Archiboy Duke Agbaigba, was a practical example of my theory of Natural Sensibilities in the society.

Any society that is devoid of equity is bereft of justice. Such a society shall not only know no peace but would have locked it's doors against progress and development.

At this juncture, I would consider it necessary to briefly introduce myself.

I am Sir Don Ubani; Okwubunka of Asa. I am a Knight of Saint Christopher of Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion. I am also a Justice of the Peace of Abia State Judiciary.

Sir Don Ubani is a teacher, writer, farmer, civil society activist and politician.

I am the son of late Chief Emmanuel W Ubani of Okeato-Isiamajiukwu village in Umuiku-Isi-Asa Autonomous Community in Ukwa-West Local Govt Area of our dear State of Abia.

My father could not have had me as a legitimate son without legally or traditionally marrying my mother.

In order to achieve this, he, accompanied by his relatives, went to the family of late Kanu Ezuo, a Native Court Clerk and interpreter of Umugo extraction in Ugwunagbo and married a rarely beautiful Mary Wugo Josephine. Late Chief(Mrs) Mary J W Ubani, nee Kanu, gave birth to Yours Sincerely.

By the above introduction, I have been able to establish, in an unambiguous term, the Ukwa/Ngwa Nexus in my person.

Though I am Asa, the first dialect I came into contact with is Ngwa. Of course, it is an incontrovertible fact that the Ngwa woman is conservative. She stubbornly goes to her place of marriage with her Ngwa dialect. I, therefore, heard and spoke Ngwa first before hearing and speaking my Asa dialect.

May I also state that if a situation arises where every child in my family, including me, should relocate to his or her maternal home, while I would be moving to Umugo in Ugwunagbo, my six children would be moving up North to Ntigha in Isialangwa-North.

If my father were to be alive and confronted with the same situation, he would quietly move to Umuochor-Umuakpara in Osisioma-Ngwa Local Government Area.

In a similar circumstance, my late grand father; Ubani, would relocate to Umuagbai in Osisioma.

What point have I laboured or wasted your time to make here? Just to make it abundantly clear that I do not claim Ukwa/Ngwa but that I am Ukwa/Ngwa personified, typified, exemplified and characterized.

In many of my discussions, I have always told any person(s) that had cared to listen that when it comes to question of population in Igbo land, the Ngwa rank next only to the Wawa that cuts across the whole of Enugu State.

Population plays a key role in addressing certain democratic questions.

In Abia State, the Ngwa constitute the largest and most populous Sub-ethnic group.

A demographic combination of Ngwa and Ukwa leaves no one in doubt that Ukwa/Ngwa is the group to beat in any political contest in the State.

I may ask for your indulgence to take a short trip down historical lane. The present nine local government areas that make up Ukwa/Ngwa were the composition of Old Aba Division during the British colonial administration.

The remaining eight are categorized as Old Bende Division.

In 1958, the Old Aba Division was divided into four Federal Single Member Constituencies. They were;
(1) Aba-South, consisting of Asa and Ndoki District Council Areas and was represented by O C Ememe, (2) Aba-Central, consisting of Southern and Eastern Ngwa District Council Areas and was represented by M W Ubani, (3) Aba-Urban, made up of Urban District Council and represented by Felix Okoronkwo and (4) Aba-North, comprising Northern Ngwa District which was represented by Jaja Wachuku.

The above four representatives were elected on the platform of the defunct National Council of Nigeria Citizens, NCNC.

By delving into the above political history, my intention is simply to bring to the fore that every indigene of Ukwa/Ngwa has a stake in Aba.

Many years ago when Ariaria-Umuiku road, which is my road, was motorable, it took me about seven minutes to get to Ariaria/Express road junction from my father's compound.

Painfully and most regrettably, for me to get to my community of Umuiku-Isi-Asa from this lecture venue, I have to avoid Ariaria-Umuiku road, Uratta-Obokwe road and drive up to Ngwainyiekwe, Ogwe, Ugwati and Obokwe.

Again, between Obokwe and Umuiku, it would be more reasonable and convenient to park my vehicle at Obokwe and contract the services of a commercial motor-cyclist to finally get to Umuiku. That portion of road has turned to an unnavigatable lake.

Suffice it to observe that since 1958 till date, the population of the people of Old Aba Division has, inexplicably and doubtfully , been stagnated.

Otherwise, what explanation would justify that a people the British Colonial Government of Her Imperial Majesty; Queen Elizabeth II, rightly considered populated enough to have four Federal Constituencies fifty-nine years ago are still restricted to the four?

Overtly or covertly, the impression, as obnoxious, injurious and infuriating as it was, had been created that people from Ukwa/Ngwa could only follow and be used as servants. They were, by the calculation of those who had held that thought, not cut out to rule or govern.

The impunity by which this degrading demeanour was characterized had grown in leaps and bounds as at 2002.

It had gotten to a point where it had become inevitable that the bluff of those who held that archaic belief had to be called.

It was this humiliating, unacceptable and intolerable scenario, like a similar one that had raised Dedan Kimati of the Mau-Mau Movement in Kenya, that forced Archiboy Duke Agbaigba to appear on the stage.

I must also acknowledge the fact that though many sons of Ukwa/Ngwa had fought gallantly against this terrible design of suppression even while we were in Imo State, such personalities as Chief Lambert Nmecha, Dr Gershon Amuta, Engr Alaribe, Dr Max Nduaguibe and Chief Chuku Wachuku, the man that gave the struggle a unique momentum was Enyi Abaribe, now serving his third tenure in the Senate.

As God of equity would have it today, an Ukwa/Ngwa son; Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, Ph.d is the Governor of Abia State.

This feat was achieved only after Old Bende had ruled for sixteen consecutive years.

We must appreciate God for coming to our rescue. At the same time, we must take gratifying notice of the contributions of the immediate past Governor of the State, Chief Theodor Orji who must have taken a critical look at the likely social-political consequences of swimming against the tide of equity.

It is unfortunate that Archiboy Duke Agbaigba could not live to witness the realization of the struggle he was neck-deep into.

In one of my discussions with him before his demise, he had confessed or would I say confided in me, that the bullet wound he had sustained in the course of the struggle along Arongwa Junction was still giving him sleepless nights.

Let me hope the beneficiaries of his risky escapades have not abandoned his family.

I know there were many other compatriots that had put their lives at great danger just to save Ukwa/Ngwa from that unprecedented humiliation.

Back to the theme of this memorial lecture, it goes beyond mere discussion that there is enormous strength in Unity.

The Unity I mean here is the Unity of Purpose, Action and, ofcourse, Time.

I have had cause to say it for the umpteenth time and I am repeating it here that if the people of Ukwa/Ngwa are not United amongst themselves, they would never reach their destination.

In a large Community of people where only very few individuals are exceedingly comfortable while more than ninety percent are wallowing in extreme penury and misery, that Community can not describe itself as having exited from its recession as it appears the Nigerian Government is labouring to make Nigerians believe .

To the glory of God, an Ukwa/Ngwa son is now the Governor of Abia State.

Away from our usual tilt towards sycophancy, there are fundamental questions we must not fail to ask ourselves, even if they would be rhetorical.

The question that comes first is, have our people, under our present leadership, been United
to such an extent that our numerical strength can find expression in unity when it should matter most?

Secondly, have our people in government in the last two years been able to give an unambiguous definition to governance as it relates to and affects the people of the zone from where the Governor comes?

Thirdly, has our leadership installed the much-needed confidence in and guaranteed liberation to our people as against the snare of divide and rule, in short, are we really in charge?

Fourthly, are all the component segments of the Zone, including my people of Asa, given a sense of belonging as to convince them that the struggle was, indeed, necessary and useful as to fight again?

Fifthly, are our people in government accessible to us as to enhance meaningful and useful exchange of ideas or have they built barriers as not to be reached?

Election is known to be a very expensive project. No single individual can fund it all alone. It requires collectivism. The sixth question


therefore, is do our people in government ever realize the necessity for economic empowerment of our people across board? and the seventh, last but not the least question is, with less than a year to go into electioneering, do we have a clear psycho-political blue print for 2019, I mean are we running in 2019?

Mr President, My Distinguished erudite Professors, Ladies & Gentlemen, I have no doubt in my mind that with the above seven posers, this Memorial Lecture In Honour of Archiboy Duke Agbaigba is as good as having been declared open.

Okwubunka of Asa
Umuiku-Isi-Asa Aut Community
Ukwa-West LGA
17th September, 2017.

PS: This address was delivered on my behalf by Sir Charles I Onyema, Ph. d as I was unavoidably away from the State at the time.

Okwubunka of Asa.