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Sacked OHANAEZE Ndigbo President, Chief Solomon Aguene , Risks Ostracizim, Banishment , Over Anti -Igbo Court Tenure Extension Judgment
Sacked OHANAEZE Ndigbo President, Chief Solomon Aguene , Risks Ostracizim, Banishment , Over Anti -Igbo Court Tenure Extension Judgment
By Ifeoma Ikem
For his alleged anti-Igbo crimes and untoward activities, especially financial impropriety, abuse of female members, arrogance and unconstitutional procurement of a High Court judgment elongating his expired tenure, Igbo Leaders, Traditional Rulers, sons and daughters resident in Lagos, after hours of deliberation at ‘Ime Obi’ yesterday, vowed to Ostracize and banish the embattled impeached president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State, Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene.
At the meeting held in Ikeja, Lagos, Concerned Igbo residents and notable leaders unanimously condemned Chief Aguene’s penchants at orchestrating crisis amongst Igbos since he was ‘erroneously and regretably’ elected as Ohanaeze Ndigbo president for a single term of four years.
They decried alleged Aguene’s notorious selfish and diabolical desires at Unlawfuly accumulating of public funds, unconstitutional activities like installation of his own over 13 Traditional Rulers ( Ndiezes) and vowed to emancipate Ndigbo in Lagos from his ungodly grips.
Recounting ugly issues of slapping a widow identified as Mrs Evelyn for allegedly not heeding to his amorous overtures,constant problems with his Executives members, local government Chairmen and Ohanaeze deputy women leader, the Igbo gathering agreed that Ohanaeze Ndigbo will initiate an investigation to ensure that the impeached former president faces prosecution.
Speaking in unison , APC Chieftain and Eze Ndigbo in Ikeja, Lagos, Eze Uche Dimgba, Eze Tony Anosike of Onigbongbo, Eze Ndigbo in Ikosi Isheri, Eze Remi Anyamele, Former Ohanaeze Ndigbo president, High Chief Oliver Akubueze , Ohanaeze Ndigbo Secretary General, Chief Everest Ozonweke, all frowned at what they described as sacrilegious,the attempt by Aguene to Create needless crisis and tear the unity of Ndigbo with his unconstitutional Court Tenure elongation judgment, because of his personal, selfish ambition to remain in office and amass all political patronage and windfalls before , during and after 2023 election
“Definitely Ndigbo are unhappy because of the betrayal by Chief Aguene and after the meeting of Igbo Leaders with Ndiezes, we are going to Ostracize and excommunicate him from all Igbo activities and events, infact, the treatment he received last week at Bucknor area of Ejigbo, where he was humiliated in public, without recognition, is an indication of what is coming to him soon,” Eze Dimgba said.
Indeed, the contentious Lagos State High Court Ruling that extended tenure of the embattled president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos State chapter, Chief Aguene, to another four years, appears to have finally torn the fragile peace pervading affairs of the Pan Igbo Social Cultural group into pieces.
This is even as aggrieved Igbo Leaders, sons and daughters during a General Assembly meeting ,last week Thursday, at Calabar hall , Surulere, Lagos, raised a motion before Chief Aguene and unanimously passed a vote of no confidence on the embattled president, leading to his impeachment.
Aguene , who was expected to explain the rationale behind the rumoured Court elongation, had while presiding over the said Ohanaeze meeting, was said to have neglected Ohanaeze Ndigbo Members, refusing to discuss the tenure Extension issues, thus leading to immediate agitation and protest, which culminated into the motion of No Confidence.
It was gathered that Aguene , who had disrespectfully brushed aside the demand by members to explain the rationale behind the tenure elongation , was rudely shocked , looking into the empty space in total disbelief , as the motion for his vote of no confidence was presented, successfully passed and his impeachment announced.
He was said to have been humiliated by the unexpected Sack, abandoned alone in the hall , as aggrieved Members walkout on him .
In an interview with Eze Dimgba, he explained that it is impossible to have an extension for an Ohanaeze President because it runs contrary to the groups constitution.
Eze Dimgba, popularly known as Okpetemba, who also is an APC Chieftain, told our Correspondent that Ohanaeze legal experts led by Former President, Barrister Fabian Onwughala, have been briefed and had set up the process of vacating what he called the ‘Kangaroo’ Tenure Extension Judgment in court.
He said thus : ” There is no way Aguene’s tenure will be extended by even one day because the constitution of Ohanaeze states only one term of four years and his tenure ends on 15th July,2022, however, before his tenure could elapse, he went and procured what I will call a “kangaroo” court Judgment, which he said has extended his tenure for four more years. ” “This is sacrilegious, the question Chief Aguene must answer Ndigbo is this, the four years he had served, was it given to him by a court?, In the so called process leading to this judgment, nobody was put on notice, the court just made him a sole Administrator, all members of his Executive were left out.”
“When members confronted him at the General Assembly meeting held at Calabar Hall, , he couldn’t explain what happened that made court to give him four years.He rather made everyone know that he has the support of the powers that be and nobody can do anything about it ,as he will remain perpetually in Office”.
It was because of his nonchalant attitude at the General Assembly meeting which he summoned, where he bluffed and disrespectfully treated everyone, that ignited the move by over 50 Ndiezes (Traditional Rulers) and the whole members, I mean the whole house , who rose and unanimously impeached him and that impeachment stands. Video evidence is available for anyone to see, he said.”
On the way forward , Eze Dimgba confirmed that Ohanaeze Ndigbo World Wide (National Body) , were already in Lagos from Enugu to supervise the conduct of a fresh Elections next week to allow a new executive to pilot the affairs of Ndigbo. Aspirants in the forth coming election , he said have purchased their forms towards the conduct of a fair and free election. Collaborating Eze Dimgba statement, another Igbo Leader and Eze Ndigbo of Onigbongbo, Eze Tony Anosike, stated that Aguene’s tenure Extension was in bad taste and shrouded in bad intentions, unconstitutional, without any bye law backing it .
According to him , ” the national body one month ago told Aguene that they are not giving him a single day after the expiration of his tenure , you don’t serve people by force, it’s an elected Office, I don’t know why he is parading himself looking for court extension, it is not by force to serve people and it is not a selective office but elected Office, he should abide by Ohanaeze laws. Continued He : “Those singing for him now knows the truth, they are only praising him now because they are collecting money from him , knowing that there are
Ohanaeze money in his custody which he doesn’t want to disburse into Ohanaeze purse . If Aguene is thinking as a reasonable Igbo man, he should know that he can’t stay one day more than his tenure.We elected him when he contested against Chief Tony Nwakaeze ,as a way to bring Ebonyi State indigenes to be attending Ohanaeze meetings and events, we supported him , but now he has turned Ohanaeze into his personal business empire.Can Governor Babajide Sanwo Olu after his tenure ,go to court and bring tenure Extension from court?, “he queried.
As the agitation gathers momentum, yet another Igbo Leader and Eze Ndigbo of Ikosi, Eze Remi Anyamale , in his own reaction, regretted the development and said thus : ” the only name for a bad thing is bad, there is nothing that can make anybody bend the constitution or the Bye laws of Ohanaeze and that thing will be justified.
Tenure elongation does not happen and it is not constitutional. Even if the National Body said they it should prevail, we should be allowed to make our comments for record purposes.
There was a panel constituted which came up with the views that election should be thrown open but the National Body thwarted it . “There is no such thing as tenure Extension and second term and the election must go on.Solomon Aguene’s elongation of tenure is his personal ambition and it is very bad”, Eze Ikosi stated.
Reacting to his impeachment, Chief Aguene asked, ” Can you impeach somebody that has a Consent Judgment ?, How did they impeach me and ran away, when you impeach somebody, the person will step aside, they threw away chairs and the same person stayed there presided over the meeting until the end”,he bragged.
Likening and Comparing his tenure Extension court Judgment to that of Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma , he asked, has anybody impeached him when he won from the court even though he was fourth? Those challenging me are just doing so out of ignorance.I will enjoy the benefit of the court judgement I won.
On the Constitutionality of his two term presidential ambition, Aguene agreed that Ohanaeze Ndigbo constitution provides for a single term of four years but pointed out that his second term will not be through Electoral process but by Court judgment which he won through consent. Contending that he is still in charge of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos State, Aguene stated that he was with his lawyer and a Senior Police Officer in his office as at the time of the interview via telephone, those he said affirmed that he was not impeached by the incident.
Explaining what transpired at general assembly meeting, he alleged that thugs were hired to disrupt the general assembly meeting he summoned. He affirmed his believe in the court Judgment and said he would not down play the ruling just as Governor Uzodinma. He warned that those that are going contrary to his court Judgment will have the court to contend. Contradicting Chief Aguene’s position, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State Secretary General, Chief Everest Ozonweke, confirmed the impeachment of Aguene. Accused him of greed,excess quest to emancipate public funds, which he said led him into the archaic, wishful thinking agreement that he used to get the consent judgment that will not stand the test of time
Chief Ozonweke, also noted that the purported court consent judgment was unfortunate, arguing that the said Ruling was full of errors and gimmicks .
” it can’t hold waters anywhere , it was a shady job done out of desperation. indeed Constitution of any organization remain supreme . The constitution of Ohanaeze Ndigbo is politically quite clear with regard to tenure and impeachment processes.
It provides for only a single tenure of four years for all officers of the group including that of the president. So there is no amount of agreement you can reach with anybody that contravened the constitution of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
Infact, former Ohanaeze President, Aguene, should have started with the process of amending the constitution or overiding it through a motion ,which was not done.
The matter the impeached Ohanaeze president went behind through the back door to get his consent judgment, does not even concern him , it was a case Barrister Onwughala instituted against some Ohanaeze Ndigbo world wide leaders, people like Nnaa Nwodo, Eric Ebel , DIG Okpara and others, challenging the validity of the election of 2018.”
“It is only him that knows what he told the court to enable him get such judgment that runs against Ohanaeze Constitution.In any case, the judgment didn’t not say he can’t be impeached.He was duly impeached by over two third majority of members present at the general assembly meeting.
“We have an acting President in the person of Chief Vitus Uzo, who was our former Deputy president. Our legal department is working to vacate the ruling.very soon he will stop parading himself as Ohanaeze Ndigbo president, Ozonweke concluded .
With this brewing crisis, the stage may be setting for a supremacy war as Peace may finally elude Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos State, especially, as the country prepares for 2023 general elections . It would be recalled that the annulment of 2017 elections Conducted by the National body of Ohanaeze Worldwide led to factions and litigation by Former President , Barrister Onwughala, which he was said to have abandoned .
Our Correspondent learnt that it was Onwughala’s abandoned suit that Aguene revived and procured the consent judgment pronounced by the Lagos State High Court, dated 12th April, 2022, which empower him to spend the next four years as the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos State.
However, following the suit said to have been filed in 2018 , before the Ikeja High Court over the annulment of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State election, by a faction led by Chief Mike Chidedelu on behalf of his group against Chief Aguene’s faction, asking the Court to reinstate and recognized his faction, it was said to have been resolved with terms of settlement as consent judgment before the Court.
In the said judgment , apart from Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene, who was retained as the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State, other Executive members elected with him were dissolved and fresh election was ordered for the vacant positions by the Court.
The Court was said to have also ordered that the factions be merged and they were eligible to contest for the elective positions that were declared vacant for the conduct of the election.
The Court was said to have directed that the Electoral Committee set up by Chief Aguene, led by Chief Oliver Akubueze, be retained and conduct election for both the Local Government and State Executives with the bylaws of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos State.
Addressing Ndigbo in the State, Eze Dimgba, who insisted on following Ohanaeze Constitution, urged the Igbos to be law abiding and continue to identify and support the Lagos State Government , as the agitation is not against the state but for a credible and legitimate, transparent, and accountable leadership to be enthroned to lead the Igbos in Lagos State .
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President Tinubu in Turkey: Guard of Honor and Strategic Agreements Signal New Era in Bilateral Relations
By Prince Adeyemi Shonibare
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, was accorded a full guard of honor during his official state visit to Turkey, a ceremonial reception reserved for world leaders and a strong signal of the respect Nigeria commands on the global stage.
The ceremony, held at the Turkish Presidential Complex in Ankara, featured military pageantry, national anthems, and formal protocol before high-level bilateral talks commenced.
The Presidency confirmed that President Tinubu briefly stumbled due to a camera cable while proceeding to the presidential lodge but stood up immediately and continued his engagements without interruption, stressing that the incident had no impact on the visit or his health.
More importantly, the visit delivered substantive diplomatic and economic outcomes. During talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on January 27, 2026, Nigeria and Turkey signed nine cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding, covering military cooperation, higher education, diaspora policy, media and communication, halal accreditation, diplomatic training, and the establishment of a Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO).
At a joint press conference, President Tinubu emphasized the need to deepen cooperation in security, trade, and economic development, while President Erdoğan reaffirmed Turkey’s support for Nigeria’s fight against terrorism and commitment to strengthening strategic ties.
With Turkey’s strengths in defense technology, intelligence, education, and industrial capacity, the agreements open new opportunities for technology transfer, security collaboration, trade expansion, and human capital development.
In essence, the Turkey visit stands as a diplomatic success, defined not by a fleeting moment, but by honor, respect, and concrete agreements that advance Nigeria’s security, economy, and international standing.
By Prince Adeyemi Shonibare
Preface: The Necessity of Historical Context
Every generation seeks its heroes. In music, this instinct often manifests through comparison—an exercise that frequently reveals more about contemporary taste than historical contribution. In recent years, public discourse, amplified by social media, has juxtaposed Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti with global Afrobeats icons, most notably Wizkid, provoking the recurring question of “greatness” in Nigerian music.
This essay does not diminish the accomplishments of Nigeria’s contemporary stars, whose global visibility is unprecedented. Rather, it offers a scholarly contextualization—one that distinguishes between musical origination and musical succession, and between cultural architecture and commercial dominance—while situating Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti firmly within the category of historical inevitability.
The Problem with Simplistic Comparison
Comparing Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti with contemporary Afrobeats performers is, by scholarly standards, inherently flawed.
Fela’s work transcended performance. He engineered an entire musical and ideological system, fused political philosophy with sound, and permanently altered the trajectory of African popular music. His output represents cultural authorship, not entertainment calibrated to market demand. Fela’s music is timeless precisely because it was never designed to be fashionable.
A Yoruba proverb captures this distinction with enduring clarity:
“Ọmọ kì í ní aṣọ púpọ̀ bí àgbà, kó ní akísà bí àgbà.”
A child may own many clothes, but he cannot possess the rags of an elder.
The proverb is not dismissive. It is instructive. It speaks to accumulated depth—experience earned, systems built, and legacies forged through time rather than trend.
Musicians and Artistes: A Necessary Distinction
A rigorous analysis requires conceptual precision. Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti was a musician in the classical and intellectual sense: a composer, arranger, bandleader, employer of musicians, multi-instrumentalist, theorist, and cultural philosopher. His work demanded mastery of form, orchestration, ideology, and discipline.
Fela composed extended works, trained orchestras, performed entirely live, and embedded African political consciousness into rhythm, harmony, and structure.
By contrast, many contemporary stars—though exceptionally gifted and globally successful—operate primarily as artistes: interpreters of sound whose work prioritizes studio production, performance aesthetics, and commercial reach. This is not a hierarchy of worth, but a distinction of function. Fela’s music demanded study and confrontation; contemporary Afrobeats prioritised accessibility, pleasure, and global circulation—often without courting antagonism.
Afrobeat: An Ideological Invention
Afrobeat, as conceived by Fela, was not merely a genre. It was an ideological framework. Jazz, highlife, Yoruba rhythmic systems, call-and-response traditions, and political chant were fused into a resistant, uncompromising form.
Modern Afrobeats—by Wizkid, Burna Boy, and others—are adaptations and descendants, not replicas. They have expanded Africa’s global cultural footprint, but expansion does not erase origination. Fela’s Afrobeat remains the undiluted prototype upon which contemporary success rests.
Enduring Legacy Beyond Mortality
Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti passed in 1997, yet his influence has intensified rather than diminished. His legacy is evidenced by:
– Continuous academic study across global universities.
– International bands, many formed by people not alive at the time of his death, performing his works.
– FELABRATION, now a global annual cultural event.
– Broadway and international stage adaptations inspired by his life and music.
– Lifetime achievement and posthumous recognition by the Grammy Awards.
– Cultural centres, festivals, and scholarly conferences generating lasting intellectual and economic value.
This constitutes cultural permanence, not nostalgia.
Reconsidering Wealth and Sacrifice
Measured monetarily, Fela was not among the wealthiest musicians of his era. His radicalism came at an immense personal cost. He was beaten repeatedly. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was killed. His home was burned. Original artistic archives were destroyed during state-sanctioned violence by unknown soldiers, even though history records who authorised the actions.
Yet Fela gave voice to generations—from Ojuelegba to Mushin, Ajegunle to Jos, Abuja, and even the privileged enclaves of today’s ọmọ baba olówó. He toured globally with an unusually large band long before satellite television or social media could amplify his reach.
Like Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe, Fela’s wealth exists beyond currency. It resides in influence, citation, adaptation, and endurance.
National and Global Recognition
Fela received a state burial in Lagos—an extraordinary acknowledgment from a military government he relentlessly criticised. Nations rarely honour dissenters so formally.
Globally, his stature aligns with figures such as James Brown, Elvis Presley, and the Rolling Stones—artists whose music reshaped identity, politics, and social consciousness.
The Crowned Princes: Wizkid and the Ethics of Reverence
Nigeria’s modern stars—Wizkid, Burna Boy, 2Face Idibia, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Tems, Olamide, among others—have achieved extraordinary global success. They are wealthier, more mobile, and more visible internationally than previous generations, and they deserve their accolades.
Wizkid, in particular, has consistently demonstrated reverence rather than rivalry toward Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti.
Femi Aníkúlápó Kuti has publicly stated:
“Wizkid loves Fela like a father.”
Wizkid has repeatedly supported FELABRATION, never demanding performance fees. The only times he has not appeared were occasions when he was not in the country. He has remixed Fela’s music, bears a Fela tattoo on his arm, and openly acknowledges Fela’s primacy.
A senior associate and long-time friend of Wizkid has affirmed that Wizkid adores Fela, would never equate himself with him—“in this world or the next”—and that recent tensions were reactions to provocation rather than assertions of equivalence.
This distinction matters. Wizkid’s posture is one of inheritance, not competition.
Seun Kuti and the Burden of Legacy
Seun Kuti is a musician of conviction and lineage. Yet relevance is best secured through original contribution rather than reactive comparison. Fela’s legacy does not require defence through controversy; it is already settled by history.
As William Shakespeare observed:
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
—Julius Caesar
The weight of inheritance can inspire greatness or provoke restlessness. History rewards those who build upon legacy, not those who contest it.
The Songs That Made Fela Legendary
Among the works that cemented Fela’s immortality are:
– Zombie
– Water No Get Enemy
– Sorrow, Tears and Blood
– Coffin for Head of State
– Expensive Shit
– Shakara
– Gentleman
– Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense
– Roforofo Fight
– Beasts of No Nation
These compositions remain sonic textbooks of resistance.
Fela in the Digital Age
Had Fela lived in the era of social media, his voice would have resonated far beyond Africa. His music would have found kinship among global movements confronting inequality, oppression, and social injustice.
“Music is the weapon.”
—Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti
Weapons, unlike trends, endure.
Placing Greatness Correctly
Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti’s greatness does not require comparison. He is the great-grandfather of Afrobeat—the musical and cultural architect who cleared the roads upon which today’s Afrobeat princes now travel.
Honouring contemporary success does not diminish historical achievement. To understand Nigerian music’s global relevance is to understand Fela. History, when read correctly, is both generous and precise.
Prince Adeyemi Shonibare writes on culture, music history, and African creative industries. He is a media and events consultant based in Nigeria.
Years after a petition alleging abuse of office, intimidation and institutional misconduct was submitted against operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Hajia Mazangari has drawn public attention to the matter once again, expressing concern over what she described as prolonged institutional silence and the absence of any known resolution.
The controversy arose from a bank draft transaction involving a sum running into several millions of naira, reportedly issued in the name of “EFCC Clients Account” and handed over to one Habibu Aliyu.
According to the account contained in the petition, Hajia Mazangari was later contacted by her bank and informed that an EFCC operative allegedly approached the bank, requesting that the draft earlier issued by her be cashed into another personal account.
The bank reportedly declined the request, insisting that the draft could only be re-issued in the name of a new beneficiary in compliance with established banking regulations. Attempts by Hajia Mazangari, through her solicitor, to retrieve the original bank draft allegedly resulted in hostility from Habibu Aliyu and Ruqqaya Ibrahim, with the situation escalating into what the petition described as sustained malice, intimidation and humiliation.
“It is as a result of this unending malice, torture and humiliation that we passionately plead to you, sir, to save our client who has been run aground by people with personal vendetta disguising as public officers,” the petition read.
In a further petition dated 14 January 2020 and addressed to the then Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, through her counsel, Ibrahim Salawu, Esq., Hajia Mazangari alleged that Habibu Aliyu (a former staff of the EFCC), Ruqqaya Ibrahim (a serving EFCC staff), Mohammed Goje (a serving EFCC staff) and one Mustafa Gadanya (a former staff of the EFCC) had, on various occasions, stormed her family residence in Kaduna.
According to the petition, copies of which were obtained by our correspondent in Abuja, the individuals allegedly accused her, her son and his associates of being involved in a pension scam, insisting that they were “neck-deep” in the alleged fraud and would be dealt with and made to face prosecution.
Hajia Mazangari maintained that the accusations were unfounded and that the repeated visits amounted to intimidation and abuse of authority.
In a related development at the time, counsel to Ahmed and Fatima Mazangari, Barrister Ibrahim Salawu, also wrote to the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court seeking the reassignment of their case to another court, following the elevation of the presiding judge to the Court of Appeal and the resultant irregular sittings of the court.
Despite the seriousness of the allegations contained in the petitions, efforts to obtain an official response from the EFCC at the time reportedly proved abortive.
Years later, Hajia Mazangari maintains that the institutional silence that greeted her complaints has persisted. She faulted the former Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, for allegedly failing to address the concerns raised in the petitions.
She further accused the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, of failing to intervene or cause a review of the matter despite being formally notified.
According to her, the situation has not changed under the current leadership of the EFCC, which she claims has continued in what she described as the same pattern of silence and inaction, leaving the issues raised unresolved several years after the petitions were submitted.
She also raised concerns over the continued service of an officer identified as Mohammed Goje at the EFCC office in Gombe, noting that other officers of similar standing were reportedly dismissed in the past for corrupt practices. She questioned why no publicly known disciplinary or investigative outcome has emerged from her complaints.
Hajia Mazangari stressed that her decision to speak out again is not based on any fresh incident, but on the need to draw public attention to an unresolved matter which, in her view, underscores broader concerns about institutional accountability. She called on relevant authorities and oversight bodies to revisit the petitions and ensure that the issues raised are conclusively addressed in accordance with the law.
When contacted for comments on the allegations and the renewed public attention surrounding the matter, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had not responded as at the time of filing this report.
However, the Commission is hereby afforded the right of reply and is free to present its position or clarifications on the issues raised.
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