Onyeisi Ndigbo Oto Awori LCDA,Dr. Peter Omenife, Task Igbo Speaking Community Jonathan Nnaji, on Embracing Integrity Above Incitive Conducts for Personal Gains. See Video Below.

By Daniel Ohamadike

The Onye-Isi-Ndigbo of Oto Awori LCDA in Lagos State, Dr. Peter Omenife Olikenyi, has expressed deep concern over what he described as a series of confusion-driven actions allegedly orchestrated by the self-styled Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman of the Igbo-Speaking Community, Jonathan Nnaji.

Onye-Isi Olikenyi, widely respected across the Igbo community for his restraint, maturity and commitment to cultural values, faulted Nnaji for what he called habitual attempts to destabilize the Igbo community for personal, monetary and political vain-benefits.

“Nnaji is parading himself as BOT Chairman without legitimacy”.

According to Olikenyi, Nnaji has, for years, moved from the position of Treasurer and unilaterally crowned himself BoT Chairman, exploiting the vacuum created by the death of the last authentic Chairman, Late Chief Uche Chukwuka, over 15 years ago.

He said Nnaji’s one-man BoT structure, lacking quorum and legitimacy, has become a tool for breeding unnecessary conflict within the Igbo-Speaking Community in Lagos.

He remains a Treasurer who, without any recognized process, began parading himself as BoT Chairman.

He should show Ndigbo where and how he transformed himself. We cannot allow one man to drag our heritage through the mud, Olikenyi lamented.

Alleged extortion, illegality and undue demands. Olikenyi revealed that his refusal to participate in what he described as Nnaji’s questionable and un-Igbo-like demands became the source of hostility directed against him and the good people of Oto-Awori LCDA Lagos.

He disclosed that Nnaji allegedly sent an online journalist to demand items such as a goat, tubers of yam, live chickens, a cow, and ₦250,000 as conditions for “re-registering” or “recognizing” his already legitimate position as Onye-Isi-Ndigbo of Oto Awori LCDA – conditions he firmly rejected.

“I cannot indulge in anything that contradicts integrity. Leadership is not bought with goats, chickens or secret payments,” he said, maintaining his calm but firm disposition.

He further alleged that Nnaji has been collecting election form fees using his personal bank account, issuing worthless certificates, and demanding items from unsuspecting title seekers, actions he described as an abuse of Igbo cultural institutions.

Olikenyi recounted that Nnaji was present at his 2004 coronation as Eze Ndigbo of Oto Awori and even collected ₦50,000 on behalf of the Igbo-Speaking Community BoT at the time, confirming that Olikenyi’s title was widely recognized.

He expressed disappointment that despite once acknowledging and celebrating his leadership, Nnaji later turned around to install parallel, unauthorized titles in a bid to create disunity.

Olikenyi cited an instance where Nnaji allegedly lured and misled his former Onowu, Chief Timothy Eberechukwu Nwanoro, issuing what he described as a “tissue-paper certificate” to create a counterfeit title structure.

“If late Eze Hyacinth Ohazulike and Ohanaeze have no right to enthrone an Eze in the diaspora, on what authority does Nnaji derive his own arbitrary installations?” he asked.

Olikenyi recalled the symbolic visit of a revered Igbo cultural authority, Eze Udo Ezumezu Nri, during which traditional prayers and libations were offered against the rising wave of cultural distortions in Lagos State.

He said such interventions highlight the seriousness of preserving Igbo culture from opportunistic actors.

Olikenyi appealed to Igbo elders, cultural custodians and legal experts to intervene and halt the unchecked self-coronation and crisis-breeding tactics allegedly used by Nnaji.

He insisted that Nnaji, being from Enugu State, cannot automatically succeed another BoT Chairman from the same state, stressing that leadership positions in the community are rotational and inclusive of all Igbo-speaking states.

“Let Ndigbo know the truth. Igbo Speaking Community has no functional BoT today. Out of the original 14 members, nine are deceased, two are aged and inactive, and only two remain.

No legitimate quorum exists for Nnaji to single-handedly impose himself,” he said.

“Igbo Speaking Community is not a personal business center.”

Olikenyi concluded that the survival of Igbo heritage in Lagos demands vigilance against individuals who commercialize cultural institutions.

“The community cannot be turned into a private enterprise. Our culture is sacred. We must reject those causing confusion just to appear relevant,” he emphasized.

Recall that following a recent reorder of Igbo Kingship titles in diaspora, the use of Eze title has been revoked and replaced with Onye-Isi-Ndigbo for Igbo kings outside Igbo Land.