Lawyer Faults “Igbo king” Coronation, Titles Outside Igboland, Says Practice Endangers Ndigbo

 

ABUJA — Human-rights lawyer Ikechukwu Obasi has urged Igbo communities in diaspora to drop the growing trend of installing “Igbo kings” in non-Igbo cities, warning that the practice exposes Ndigbo to avoidable tensions.

In a post on his official X handle signed “Ikechukwu Obasi Esq.,” he argued that the title is not rooted in Igbo tradition but is a remnant of the British “Warrant Chief” system, adding that many Ezes still function as political warrant chiefs. He described “Black unity” as a myth and said crowning “Igbo kings” on “another man’s land” endangers Igbo residents in those areas.

Obasi has reacted to crisis in Eastern Cape, South Africa late March over the coronation of a certain Solomon Ogbonna Eziko styled as Igbo King. A move which has stirred up protests amongst some traditional lenders and residents who claimed that the coronation violated South Africa’s Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act. A new report has recently surfaced of how the said Igbo King in South Africa and his family now live in fear, panic and anxiety over there.

Recall that a similar event had occurred in Ghana and has elicited the same reaction. It therefore calls for value reorientation amongst Ndigbo in diaspora. As opined by the Lawyer, Obasi, Kingship in Igboland is a remnant of the British Warrant Chief system, and not historically rooted in ancient Igbo tradition.

He further dismissed the popular “Black unity” as a myth that merely operates under real ethnic and territorial sensitivities, insisting that crowning an “Igbo king” on “another man’s land” needlessly results in disamity for Igbo residents in host communities. Such coronations, he suggested, can inflame local politics, invite hostility, and endanger ordinary Igbo traders and families who must live with the fallout.

The Rights Lawyer called for an end to the practice, framing it as both culturally inauthentic and politically risky for Igbo diaspora communities.

Obasi’s post has reignited long-running arguments over diaspora leadership titles, the authenticity of contemporary kingship institutions, and the limits of cultural expression in multi-ethnic Nigerian cities. While supporters of the titles frame them as community organizing tools, critics like Obasi say the practice invites avoidable conflict and should be discontinued.