A storm of fury is ripping through the South-East over what many see as a brazen attempt by the Nigerian Senate to humiliate Igbo traditional institutions and institutionalise ethnic supremacy.
The outrage follows a controversial bill seeking to place the Sultan of Sokoto and the Ooni of Ife above all other monarchs in Nigeria — including the revered Ezes of the South-East — in a formal national leadership structure.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Simon Bako Lalong (Plateau South), passed its second reading in March and is currently before the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service.
While it pretends to “formalise” the nation’s traditional leadership framework, its most toxic clause would assign permanent leadership roles to the Sultan and Ooni — a move now triggering fierce resistance.
The South-East Youth Council for Progressive Development (SEYCPD), led by Barr. Uche Okoro in a statement made available to INNONEWS, denounced the move as “unacceptable, unjust, and a dangerous attempt to institutionalise ethnic hierarchy in the country’s traditional leadership structure.”
The group slammed the clause as “ethnocentric and a direct affront to the principles of equity, fairness, and the federal character enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution.”
“It is a brazen attempt to relegate the Igbo traditional institution to second-class status in its own country,” the group declared.
It accused the Senate of deliberately undermining inclusiveness and threatening Nigeria’s already fragile national unity. They warned that no part of the South-East will accept a law that diminishes the dignity and influence of its monarchs.
The SEYCPD stressed that Nigeria’s traditional leadership is anchored on cultural diversity, and any plot to elevate certain monarchs above others is an assault on the history and identity of entire ethnic nationalities.
“This bill is an insult to the revered Ezes of the South-East, the Obas of the South-West who are not the Ooni, the Emirs who are not the Sultan, and the respected traditional rulers of the South-South and Middle Belt,” the group fumed.
They further described the plan as a recipe for discord that will fracture the traditional institution and entrench permanent ethnic power blocs, urging the Senate Committee to expunge the offending provision immediately.
“For the South-East, the message is clear — the bill must be thrown out. We will resist this attempt to downgrade our heritage and our leaders. No region holds a monopoly over tradition, and no monarch should be placed above others in a multi-ethnic federation like Nigeria.”the SEYCPD warned.
