ICYMI: Full Speech Of Agaramuegede II On His Coronation

HRH Eze Ezekiel Oyika Obo was officially coronated as Agaramugoẹde II of Okpuitumo Agaramugoẹde Ancient Kingdom on December 15, 2023. The new traditional ruler emphasizes a core agenda of peace, unity, and development for Okpuitumo, urging community support. He highlights challenges, calls for government attention to road construction, and expresses gratitude to attendees, including government officials and community leaders.

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PROTOCOL: It is with deep sense of honour that I join the great and illustrious sons and daughters of Okpuitumo, Ikwo, to welcome all of you from different walks of life who are gathered here today in solidarity of this historic event of my coronation as the traditional ruler of Okpuitumo – Agaramugede Autonomous Community, Ikwo LGA of Ebonyi State.

I am profoundly elated by your lively presence. I pray the almighty God to bless all of you who have come to witness this special event despite your tight schedules. I am also eternally grateful to the supreme God – the master planner who made today a possibility. Today marks an indelible landmark in the anals of historic development and progress of Okpuitumo – Agaramugoede Autonomous Community.

This year made it exactly 27 good years since the demise of our immediate past traditional ruler, Late HRH Eze Okeowata okeanyigor in 1996. It has been, no doubt, a period of anarchy, uncertainty, illusion, challenges and retrogression. During this long period of anarchy, our people rather than feel the negative impacts of these, have demonstrated great courage and resilience in being united, peaceful, and development-oriented, though not totally without some setbacks and the recurring crises in some places of the community. In all, we thank God for leading us through to this day.

A scriptural record says that to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the sky. God’s will manifests for something to happen when it is his time. Now is God’s time for us to have our Eze, and it is often said that God’s time is the best. My great people of Okpuitumo Ikwo, with a deep sense of humility and gratitude to God, I accept the honour bestowed on me today with all its daunting challenges and enormous responsibilities. My humble request is for all and sundry to support and cooperate with me. I also need your ernest prayers and all hands on deck for our collective success.

My core agenda shall be hinged on peace, unity, progress, social, cultural, and economic development, while anchoring my hope and every effort on God Almighty. In no distant time, I shall convene a meeting of all leaders of thought, stakeholders, elders, Ndi Nze na Ozo and of course Okpuitumo Ikwo General Assembly to chat and fast-track our agenda for a way forward. There must be absolute peace, unity, progress, and development in all the confederating villages.

We shall stamp out the crisis in Elugwu Ettam first, from there, the peace and security crusade shall be extended to others. Our tradition and culture shall receive a boost and fall in line with other neighbouring communities and Ikwo Noyo in liaison with my colleagues in the other Autonomous communities.

Our youths, even the most vulnerable, shall not be left out in this new track of progress. We shall reach out to our great sons and daughters both at home and abroad in order to fashion out a blueprint for annual scholarship and skill acquisition plan for them. We will not only galvanize them and channel their youthfull strength towards things that will be very beneficial to them, but also turn them to peace-threshing instruments to the benefits of the entire society.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, may I, at this juncture inform you that Okpuitumoland is blessed with enormous mineral resources such as lead oxide, limestone, standard grey granites, arable soil and clay land. What we lack is government presence and the technical know-how to harness these resources for our economic development.

Okpuitumo Ikwo is unfortunately the only community in Ebonyi State that has no presence of asphalted or concrete paved Road, in any of the nine villages, yet we have been very supportive to every administration in power. We, therefore call on this present administration to as a matter of fairness and development come to our aid in this regard and in line with the present administration’s ‘Chatter of Needs’ mantra. Our greatest need in the charter today is good road.

I’m sure we all know that the present Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Moses Ije Odunwa, Rt Hon. Chinedu Ogah, OON – Member, House of Representatives, and Chief Elechi N. Elechi, Hon Commissioner for Investment are all great sons of Okpuitumo Agaramugede. Let us be assured that they will attract good roads and government presence to us in no time. Dear Sons and daughters of Okpuitumo Agaramugoede, l am not infallible as a human being with all frailties. I, therefore need your wise counsel and advice every now and then.

So, do not hesitate to call my attention to any case of wrong behaviour from me.

Finally, I wish to warmly thank God almighty and my people for finding me worthy to serve them in this elevated capacity. My special appreciation goes to the Government of Ebonyi State under the leadership of His Exellency, Rt Hon. Buldr., Francis Ogbonnaya Nwifuru, and his lieutenants for not only recognising me as the choice of the people, but for using his Charter of Needs mantra to improve the lives of Ebonyians. In like manner, I thank the Executive Chairman of Ikwo Local Government Area, Barr. Sunday B. Nwankwo for his unwavering encouragement. I appreciate in a special way all the delegates, the people, especially youths from the nine villages, leaders of thoughts, leadership of Okpuitumo Ikwo General Assembly ably led by the President General Rev. Fr Charles I. Nweke, the Trustees led by Chief Dr. Stephen Uzim, Prof Amos Nworie, Chief U.D Nwenyi, Hon. Justice J. Igboji, my amiable wife, my mentor – Chief Elechi N. Elechi and family, Okpuitumo elites in diaspora, all stakeholders too numerous to mention, leaders/members of various coronation planning sub-committees, and indeed all our guests for your show of love. Thank you, and may God bless you all.