By Brown Chimezie
Chairman of Cubana Group of Companies, Obinna Iyiegbu, popularly known as Obi Cubana, has called on natives of Oba across the world to rally round their new monarch, Igwe Augustine Chinedu Emelobe, Eze Okpoko II, to move the community forward.
He spoke after a visit to the newly crowned Igwe in the spirit of the New Year.
Obi Cubana, who was accompanied by his politician brother Ikenna Iyiegbu (Tochukwu Adimora) and Uche Mmaduekwe, joined the teeming number of people, groups, clubs and organisations who have continued to throng the Okuzu home of the new Igwe to pay homage.
He was elected as the new Igwe in December 2024 and crowned by the elders of Oba towards the end of last year.
Obi Cubana pleaded with every aggrieved party to sheathe their swords and forgive every wrongdoing for the sake of the overall development of Oba Kingdom.
“We have gathered in the name of God and selected an Igwe. God has approved of him and we stand behind him. If anyone is aggrieved, he should forgive. Oba has to move forward, Oba must move forward, anyone feeling aggrieved should forgive, let’s move on. Oba is greater than these pockets of fights that have been ongoing, and Oba needs to develop.
“By this time next year, Oba will be a rallying point and others will come here to admire our community, our people, our traditions and culture, our food, our carnivals, our Ifejioku, our hotels. Oba is going to be great again,” he enthused.
Earlier, the business mogul had told the monarch that he came to show unbridled and unflinching support so that Oba may take its place and pride in the affairs of Anambra communities.
“But by the special grace of God, every son and daughter of Oba is proud of this land. Our brothers and sisters chose you to bring back some certain values of our land. This is a land that one shows pride in.
“I was in Ozubulu and there were some things young people like us were instituting in the community, and I said to myself, this should be Oba. We should be tied to certain kinds of developments. There were roads, lock-up shops and competition for development. Our neighbouring towns are competing to outdo one another in developments; we can’t let ourselves be held down. Let the young people of good parenting be part of what you are doing. Let whatever is tied to you be good in terms of truthfulness, let them be people who speak and whose opinions are respected, and let them be role models.
“We need to measure up with some of these towns. When I went to one town’s convention in Houston, no one was trying to show off their doctorate and level in life but donned their traditional regalia. It’s only in our place that it seems only old men are ichies and chiefs.
“Let the young ones get these titles and let them get it based on character, and let the world know the terms that were used to attain it. I trust you in terms of capacity to bring the kind of development worthy of emulation to our people. If you could do it in the oil sector, then you can do it for us.
“Oba has everything that can be galvanised to make it the envy of every other town in not just Anambra, but in all of Igboland. We have the manpower, we have the raw materials, men who think positively. The important thing is that, in the selection of these things, character is number one, before any other thing.”
He told the monarch that although the town was an object of mockery in the past, the story has changed with his election. “People used to mock Oba, that we don’t have an Igwe but the other day, it came up at a meeting where I met the governor and I told them that the situation has changed, that today, we have an Igwe. For the past six years, Oba has had no representation in terms of Igwe, and when other monarchs are invited to Awka, we are ashamed because Oba has no representation. It’s a thing of joy that it has changed.”
The monarch thanked the visitors for their support and pledged to give the community the best in terms of quality service.