Buhari has already bought the clothes i’d wear on May 29 – HRM Ikonne, Enyi of Aba

In this interview with with punch, one of the oldest traditional rulers in Igbo land, His Royal Majesty, Eze Isaac Ikonne, the Enyi 1 of Aba, Abia State, shares his his relationship with buhari. when asked

Did you have any personal relationship with Buhari before now?
No. Not at all. It was God that told me to have faith in Buhari.

What do you think will be the fate of those traditional rulers who criticised you then for honouring Buhari with the chieftaincy title of “Ogbuagu 1” ( killer of tiger) of Aba?

They are fraudsters masquerading as traditional rulers. They even said I had no powers to speak for the entire Aba, and that I am a stranger in my community. But there is a question I will ask them when the chips are down. I am in court with some of those traditional rulers but I will use them as an example to prove to them that it is I is the custodian of the Offor (tradition) of Osusu land. I have the ahiajioku and the ogu of the land as the elder of the land. This is my 86 years of existence. I am not a kid.

Do you think Buhari should appreciate you for accepting him when almost everybody rejected him?

Yes! He has already bought clothes and sent to me. He said I should wear them and attend his inauguration on May 29 and I will attend. I will not attend with other traditional rulers. I can only go with them on the day they will go for a courtesy visit to Buhari. But during his swearing in, the environment would be so rowdy that they may not be recognised.

During the courtesy visit, what key requests germane to Abia State and Ndigbo in general would you be presenting to your friend, Buhari?

God knows I will remind him of the promises he made in my palace. He said he would rebuild Aba at least to reciprocate my hospitality to him. I trust Buhari. He is a straight forward man. I will ask him not to exclude Ndigbo in his government but accord us whatever that is due to us in the country because Ndigbo is one of the tripods of Nigeria. Though our people didn’t vote massively for him, he should know that politics is different from governance and I have no doubt in me that Buhari will not maltreat Ndigbo.

source:Punch