Exclusive! Eze Eberechukwu Oji Reflects on One Year Since Ascension to the Throne, Lessons, Challenges and Vision for Arochukwu Kingdom

One year since ascension to the throne of his forefathers, His Eminence Eze Dr Eberechukwu Oji, Eze Aro the 9th, whose ascension marked a new era for the people of Arochukwu Kingdom reflects on his journey so far, the challenges faced, the spiritual and developmental strides made, and his unwavering belief in the power of unity, tradition, and divine guidance.

With candour and clarity, he speaks on the role of traditional institutions in modern governance, the engagement of youth, and his vision for the future of Arochukwu as a beacon of Igbo identity and excellence.

How do you feel? It’s your first anniversary.

I feel great, beautiful and blessed. I am thankful to the Almighty God who has kept us this past year. We started with a lot of stormy, jumpy waters but today, when we look back, we give glory to God for having kept us alive and giving us peace in the Kingdom.

With the theme of Aro Renaissance, which you flagged off last year, what has been the most rewarding thing in the past year?

It’s difficult to say one thing is most rewarding but the message of Aro Renaissance has caught on. UmuAro now knows that we are in a period of spiritual rebirth, self-realisation, restoration of lost glory, pursuit of excellence, celebration of our present and anticipation and excitement about tomorrow. The Aro Renaissance is that we have a storied history that we are proud of. We can only thank God for where we are today, but we know we can recapture some of the lost momentum of the Kingdom, and that’s what the Renaissance story is: we have to renew and recommit ourselves to the ethos that made Arochukwu who they are.

Being a contemporary King, how do you think the traditional institutions can be infused in the 21st century to promote development and governance?

In terms of traditional institutions and their relevance in the 21st century, my views are public. I’m one of the traditional rulers who are making very strong advocacy for the constitutional recognition of the traditional institutions. We have a bill that’s going through in the National Assembly where we are making the case that the traditional ruler is the first port of call for our people, and not giving them a constitutional role is a big mistake. So we need to give the traditional institutions recognition in Nigeria. That’s the way you integrate the traditional institutions into the 21st century because in the 21st century, governance should exist, governed by the Constitution, and the traditional institutions should be entrenched and exist in that constitution with their roles clearly defined.

Still looking at the traditional institutions, has there been a way to get the interest of the youth so far?

It’s undeniable that the youth are involved in traditional institutions. If there’s a flood in Arochukwu, where do the people run to? The Eze’s palace. If there’s a communal crisis, the people run to their King’s palace so both the youths and the women, everyone gravitates towards the King. The interest of the youths is already captured. I’m leaving here to go to a meeting with the youths, which shows that there’s already a symbiotic relationship between the rulers and the young people.

During your Thanksgiving, you spoke extensively about God’s light and peace in the Kingdom. Have there been any challenges so far in this one year?

The only place that there’s no challenge is in the grave. A man who’s alive has challenges but the most important is your attitude towards the challenge and the confidence and belief in God that you will get through that challenge. Obviously, the Kingdom has seen a lot of challenges but with faith in God, commitment to doing the right thing, hard work, dedication to the throne and the assignment I’ve accepted as Eze Aro, God has helped us to surmount those challenges one after the other be it in security, youth restiveness, youth unemployment, women issues. These challenges have come, but with God, we have been able to handle them comprehensively.

There’s a lot of improvement in Arochukwu Kingdom following the ‘Light Up Aro’ initiative you flagged off last year, so what message do you have for the people of Arochukwu?

I think I’m becoming famous for saying this to UmuAro, Arochukwu Kingdom needs you than you need it. What that means is that as an Aro person, now more than ever, you need to show interest in Arochukwu and what you can do for the Kingdom. A famous American President said, ‘it’s not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your kingdom.’ So this is the time UmuAro needs to get up and get involved in running the Kingdom, administering the Kingdom, following through on the programmes we have and I’ve to give UmuAro credit. We announced so many Committees, and so many UmuAro have agreed to serve in those Committees. The message is getting there that Arochukwu needs UmuAro now more than UmuAro needs it. The message is getting through, and UmuAro are responding by offering to serve in these various capacities.

In your vision, where do you see Arochukwu in the next five to ten years?

We have an illustrious past. We are called Bekee Mbu Ndi Igbo, which means that Arochukwu used to be the leading light of the Igbo people. The cradle of Igbo civilisation. We pioneered strong milestones in the development of Igbo history and progress. After a while, it looked as if we had lost that edge. The Aro Renaissance is determined to recapture that edge and once again be the cradle of Igbo civilisation. So over the next five, ten, twenty years, it is a journey to show the Igbo nation the light and direction we should be going.