Only Courage, Not Cowardice, Can Save AlaIgbo – U.S.-Based Groups Applaud Eze Agubuzu, Urge Igbo Monarchs to Emulate Him

By Admin

Three United States-based advocacy organisations have called on traditional rulers in Nigeria’s Southeast to adopt a more courageous stance on issues affecting the region, stressing that “only courage can save AlaIgbo.”
In a joint statement released on Friday, the American Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID), led by Dr.

Sylvester Onyia; Ambassadors for Self-Determination, headed by Chief Evans Nwankwo; and the Rising Sun Foundation, under the leadership of Dr. Maxwell Dede, commended Eze Lawrence Agubuzu of Enugu for what they described as his “bold and principled position” in his recent message to President Bola Tinubu.
The groups stated: “It should be clearly understood that HRM Eze Lawrence Agubuzu and HRM Eze Chukwuemeka Eri are currently the only monarchs who have openly shown awareness of the profound pain, injustice, and suffering inflicted on our people through the continued illegal detention of Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. While Fulani herder killers are allegedly handled with leniency, Yoruba agitators operate freely, and the Nigerian state appears indifferent to Igbo lives, most Igbo kings and chiefs—including the Obi of Onitsha and Eze Cletus Ilomuanya—have remained silent. Such silence amounts to complicity; that inaction is a betrayal.
“We ask pointedly: What significance do the titles and crowns of these leaders hold if they cannot defend the lives, freedom, and dignity of their people? AlaIgbo cannot survive leadership that places personal comfort above collective justice.
“We therefore urge all Igbo traditional rulers to renounce cowardice and complicity and to speak in one united voice. The time for half-measures, muted responses, and vague declarations is over.
“Stand firmly for Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, or make way for those willing to do so. History will not excuse those who remained silent while injustice was meted out to our people.
“The bravery demonstrated by HRM Eze Agubuzu and HRM Eze Chukwuemeka Eri shows that moral authority—not fear of Abuja—is what protects a people’s dignity. Let all Igbo leaders take note: the era of self-serving silence has ended. AlaIgbo demands justice, leadership, and courage—now,” the groups declared.