Eze

In Igbo tradition and culture, the Eze is normally an absolute monarch advised by a council of chiefs or elders whom he appoints based on their good standing within the community.

In many ways, it is a comment on a cultural disregard for authority and nationhood as seen in the build-up and aftermath of the Biafran Civil War.

The Igbo people had and still have ruling bodies of royal and political leaders in which an individual can be recognized by the entire society as primus inter pares, i.e., first among equals.

Ezes were recognized in Arochukwu, Awka, Nri-Igbo, Owere, Northern Nsukka and Ngwa: the most populous Igbo sub-group.

According to some scholars who argue against what is known as the Afigbo and Omenka Thesis on Origin, Igbo kings of these places trace the historical roots of their investiture immediately to the Oba of Benin.

After Nigeria gained its constitutional independence from Britain on Saturday 1 October 1960, many of those warrant chiefs tried to maintain their power by seeking to recast their political roles.