Igala People Of Enugu In Awe Of Gov Ugwuanyi For What He’s Doing To Them

The people of Ojjor community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State, Sunday, at Ojjor, told THE WHISTLER that Gov Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi had demonstrated equity, justice and fairness to them more than past administrations in the state. According to them, they are not marginalised at all.

Chief Okeji Fidelis, a Customary Court judge, said, “The Enugu State government pampers us like a baby. We are purely involved. I wouldn’t know if it is because we speak Igala, as a way of making us belong. Anything we cry to them, the response is immediate. We recently had a flood disaster, and immediately we called on the state emergency authorities, the next day they responded.”

He said in the area of infrastructure, the community had not been left out. In his words, “The road that you followed to this place was constructed by the Enugu State government through the FADAMA III project. The bridge that you crossed also was built by the state government. It is called Obina bridge.

“Governor Ugwuanyi has surpassed every other governor in terms of care for our plights. Ugwuanyi is our own. His emergence as governor is prayer-answered. This year alone, he built two model schools for us: one secondary school and one primary school at Community Primary School, Ojjor, and Community Secondary School, Ojjor.”

Emeka Nebeife collaborated the assertion that Ojjor and, by extension, other Igala-speaking communities in the state, were not being marginalised. He said, “I work in the state civil service. Many of us work in the state, and we enjoy the whole privileges. That we speak Igala is just an advantage to our being Igbo. Migration is a trend, after all Ndigbo still claim they are from Israel. What I beg His Excellency to do also is to build a university of agriculture in Ojjor. We have a large expanse of land that is flat. It is most fertile in this part of the world. Such is however the hallmark of the entire Uzo-Uwani LGA. Our Igala heritage should also be promoted by its inculcation in the state radio programmes.”

The traditional ruler of the community, HRH Igwe Emmanuel Emeka Umunna, said, “Our relationship with the state government is very cordial. In fact, there is no governor in the history of Enugu State that has achieved what Gov Ugwuanyi has done for us. We benefitted from the N5m grant that he gave to every community. He also built a road for us, connecting through Asaba, Iga, Ojjor to River Obina. That has improved our lives because we are agro-based. We don’t need to evacuate our products to far distances to market. Buyers meet us by the bridge because of the good road. We call Gov Ugwuanyi ‘mmiri na ezoru oha’. What remains now is for me to give him that title because he is a wonderful man. He is ekwueme. The absolute thing he has done again is by giving our son, Hon Chukwudi Nnadozie, the opportunity to become the council chairman of Uzo-Uwani LGA. Nnadozie is not like other chairmen who don’t pick calls. He cannot tell one that he is busy, therefore, he can’t attend to emergencies.”

Another resident, Mr Elizabeth Nkwor, appealed to the government to address the perennial floods that affect the community. In her words, “We still beg Gov Ugwuanyi to construct the particular spot on our road that gets adversely submerged during flooding. It is before Obina. We want him to raise the culverts and stone-fill the place to avert the flooding.”

THE WHISTLER reports that Ojjor community, of over 10, 000 natives, is among communities like Ogurugu, Asaba and Iga, that speak Igala in Uzo-Uwani LGA. Ojjor community is demarcated from Kogi State by the Anambra River, also called Imabolo River, and the distance between the community and Kogi is less than one kilometre. Behind them in Kogi are communities of Obale, Odeke, Ayeke, Enweli, Ojuju, and Odolu. They were a part of Anambra before the creation of Enugu State. They are mainly agrarian, with fish-endowed waters.

Although they speak Igala as their native tongue, through learning and ingenuity, the Igbo language has become their second language. Teaching Igbo is also compulsory in all schools in the Igala-speaking communities in Uzo-Uwani LGA.