By G9ija
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Chief Salau Suleman is the President-General of Ebira Community of Kogi State, Lagos State Chapter. In this interview with Ifeoma Ononye, he narrated the process of choosing a community head and the ordeal of not having a crowned chief in the community for 13 years. He also explained the line-up of activities for the chief’s first coronation anniversary and how the people intend to handle one of their indigene who has been parading himself as the chief. Excerpts:
How long have you been the president?
I have been the president for over 15 years.
What is the Ebira community all about?
The association comprises of indigenes of Ebira living in Lagos by birth.
It is said that as the president of the community, you are one of the people that choose who will lead the community. What are some of the criteria for choosing a chief?
We follow our constitution strictly because the association is a registered body under the federal government. We also follow the constitution when picking someone that will lead us. The constitution spelled it out that out of the five children of Ebira, i.e. the districts; the Ihima district has to produce the first king. The five districts are Okengwe, Eika, Adavi, Egayin and Ihima. Ihima is the last born of Ebira. When you go back in history, Ihima was the first non-indigenes that came to Lagos. They settled here first before other children of Ebira. That was why we decided that since Ihima’s settled first, they should be the ones to choose the king first before other children of Ebira that are based in Lagos.
Correct me if I am wrong, but the reverse of what you people are doing is what other communities do. They choose king from the first born’s family, why is yours different?
Ihima people were the first to get to Lagos. They were in Lagos for long before others started coming. This is why we are choosing them first to honour them. Ihima people are the majority in Lagos. They have established very well. They have been in Lagos for over 200 years. They came to Lagos in the 18th century.
Was this system of choosing a king from Ihima one of the reasons or controversies that took you to court for over 13 years?
No, the controversy happened between the two Ihima representatives. The late Alhaji Ogrima and Alhaji Siaka Awe. They were the two that were nominated from Ihima district. So when we chose Siaka Awe, Alhaji Ogrima went to court to challenge the nomination and the case has been on for 13 years. It was last year, after the death of Ogrima that they asked Siaka Awe to go and be crowned.
How has it been for the community without a leader for 13 years?
I, as the president of the community took over the leadership. Each of the local government in Lagos has an Ebira indigene as the chief representing the Ebira community there. For example in Ikorodu, Etiosa, Oshodi and so on, they have leaders in each local government but all of them are under the leadership of the president-general and crowned chief (king). So since there was no crowned chief, I took up the mantle of leadership until recently that it was resolved.
How tasking has it been doing the job of a king all this while?
It was not very difficult because I was operating in accordance with the constitution of the Ebira. Before we take any important step, we inform the state government.
How do you feel having to give half of the responsibilities to the new chief that has been coronated?
I feel relieved that we have a chief (King) because the entire burden is no more on me. I used to carry the responsibility of what the king was supposed to do with mine. I am not giving him all the responsibilities. I will still be controlling the community while the king will control the paramount chiefs. We have a council of chiefs. So it is not as if the responsibilities is off my hands totally.
The first anniversary of the chief’s coronation is said to take place in Lagos, tell us about that.
It is the first anniversary and we pray to God to keep us alive till then. We are planning a big party for the celebration. And we will be inviting Lagos State governor, His Excellency Akinwunmi Ambode to be part of it and also the Oba of Lagos.
Is Lagos State government aware that there is Ebira community in Lagos? Do you have a cordial relationship with Lagos State government?
We have a very cordial relationship with Lagos State government. We support the government in power right from the time of Awolowo till date. They are aware of our existence. We are registered. Whenever there are chieftaincy affairs in Lagos, we are included. This is why we are including them in our own celebration. We are also tax payers too. Of all the ethnic groups in Nigeria, Ebira people are the first non-Yoruba to get to Lagos. Even before the Igbos, Hausas and the rest.
Aside the constitution and being from Ihima district, what other criteria do you consider when choosing a chief?
The person must have a school certificate or equivalent to that. The person must be able to speak English and Yoruba because we are in a Yoruba-speaking state. You must learn their language.
Must the person be a rich man?
Not really but he must have a house of his own in Lagos. This is because we don’t want our chief to be worried by the landlord.
There was a time one of the Ebira indigenes started parading himself as the crowned chief in Lagos state, how true is this?
The person parading himself was not elected by the community. He was not among the people that contested. While we were in court, he started claiming that he is in charge. He is Alhaji Momoh Sanni Yakubu. He is from Adavi district. He didn’t start immediately the case went to court. He started claiming to be the chief after the case has lasted 10 years in court. He is not even from the district that the mantle of leadership rests on. He was not screened.
How did you handle the situation?
Well, it is not by violence. We appealed to him to come together and settle. We didn’t want fight and he never agreed.
Since he has not agreed and you are planning a big celebration for Chief Siaka Awe, how are you going to stop him from opposing the new chief?
We are going to make a formal announcement that anyone aside Chief Siaka is not our Chief.
What if he decides to fight?
I don’t think it will result to that. He does not qualify on any grounds; so why fight a futile fight? He cannot claim what he did not contest for. The third is that he is not educated. He does not even have a primary school certificate. We once asked him to head Apapa community but because of his behaviour and going against the constitution, the community dropped him. We reported him to Lagos State government that he is not the one representing Apapa anymore.
What kinds of respect will this your new Chief command?
When he enters a room, we all will stand for him. We will stand until he sits down and asks us to sit, even if you are older than the king. He cannot eat in public.
When and where will the celebration take place?
Source independentnig