‘Tradition, not government determines Obong’s ascension’

Edidem Bassey Ekpo Bassey II,
Obong of CalabarHistory has shown that after protracted disputes, only the one who was capped at Efe Asabo (Python Shrine) became the new Obong of Calabar, the revered throne in Cross River State. His Majesty, Edidem Bassey Ekpo Bassey II, was recently capped at the Efe Asabo. In this chat with journalists, he spoke on the succession dispute and other issues. Gill Nsa-Abasi was there.

As the crowned king of Efik people, where is your palace?
Traditionally, Efik people do not have a fixed palace. When there is a king, he either builds himself a palace or his place of ordinary residence becomes his palace. And the principality in which he lives; in which the palace is situated is then called King’s town, “Obio Ubong” in Efik. When the king dies and another one is selected and installed, where he lives becomes the palace and his principality becomes the king’s town. That is our tradition.

The idea of one standard palace or a fixed palace for the Efik people is a new thing; it is not traditional. It started in the 1970s and we are talking about a throne which is about five centuries old. We have reached an agreement that there should be a central and fixed palace, but we are yet to build it. What we have at No. 7 Effanga Ansa, is merely an office; we allow it to masquerade as palace. But a palace is a very elaborate thing as you all know; the king and other palace staff members live there just as so many other people do too. There are other departments as well. You do not call that level of property a palace; it is not a palace properly so called. Why is it that the majority of the Etuboms are not in that palace?

In 2004, there was a crisis. The verge of that crisis is that there are people who within the palace moved to stop the practice whereby government paid money, every month, to people who had a list of fake villages and clans. It is because some people who were sitting in the palace complained to government that so many villages for which they were paying money did not exist. It is also because there was a clan and village verification panel set up during the administration of former Governor Donald Duke. A number of Etuboms had supported the idea; unfortunately, His Eminence, Nta Elijah Henshaw, looked unbridled at the development. That led to a minor scuffle and later to the exclusion of Etuboms who were not part of that scam.

Nigeria must not reward such fraud by allowing those people to now exclusively select an Obong and continue with what they have been doing. 13 of them selected that fellow, 21 selected me. Now they have reconciled with some of the people who had also aspired and whom they roughly threw out and are now 18.

How many people are in the Ccouncil of Etuboms?
32

Can another Obong be capped in the same shrine while you are alive? What will be the consequences of such an action?
Second capping has never happened, but controversies have always occured. In 1970, there was a controversy regarding the kingship, but David Henshaw was the one who was crowned at the Efe Asabo (Python Shrine) and the Udoh Commission instituted by government upheld his kingship for that reason. Before 1970, there was an even bigger disagreement in 1964. Edidem Edem E. E. Adam was the one who was crowned at Efe Asabo and others disputed it. The Hart Commission of Enquiry instituted by the Government of Eastern Nigeria has a report which is considered one of the most important source documents for Efik history. The Commission upheld the kingship of Edem E. E. Adam.

In 1999, there was another round of controversies when we took Professor Henshaw to the shrine and crowned him. There was the Eyamba Idem Commission of Enquiry and series of interventionary acts by the Cross River State Government. Professor Henshaw eventually remained king because the only way they could prevent him from staying as king was to kill him. I hope that those who have said that they do not recognise my being crowned at Efe Asabo are not planning to kill me.

The claim is that those who performed the crowning on you broke into the Python Shrine, is this true?
You agree you were not there. These people broke into the place and acted surreptitiously. Then, you say that the materials used were not complete, how did you know if you were not there? Besides, how can you break into a place that many policemen guarded? Do you think even members of the community will keep quiet?

How will the funeral obsequies of your predecessor be handled?
They keep throwing this matter of funeral obsequies. Who in Nigeria did not know that Professor Nta Elijah Henshaw said he was born-again and anti-tradition? He returned his Ekpe (Lion) to the Henshaw Town Council Lodge. As far as the tradition is concerned, he died at that point. The Efik king sits on Ekpe; that is the authority of the kingship. That is why when the king dies, the Ekpe escapes into the forest. And you have to bring it back before another king can effectively sit on the throne. So, at the point he returned the Ekpe, constructively, he died. There is nothing to mourn now because all those traditional funeral obsequies are Ekpe-based. I have nothing but pity for them. They aspire to kingship, they want to be part of it, they want to dominate, but they do not take time to study and understand it. They do not understand the Obong kingship. We tolerate their being in the palace because we do not wish to give anybody an excuse to clamp-down on this situation and say there was violence. But remember that we have not yet built a palace; this is the palace now.

What are the consequences of a second capping?
The consequences of the second capping are not open to you. In James Town, one of my great grand fathers had an Ekpe Stone there; this is what gives you an authority to establish an Ekpe Lodge. The Ibaka people invaded that village and uprooted the stone; 18 of them were involved. After only two months, they all died. So, these consequences are not things you can publicly say or argue. Sometimes, you go and take a step in this traditional matter and your family members may start dropping off one after the other. These are not quantifiable consequences. But people should learn to take these things more seriously than they currently do.

Again, crowning at Efe Asabo will not make anybody Obong of Calabar; it is the first and only crowning that makes you Obong of Calabar; it is not a matter for government appointment. You can appoint commissioners, board members, but you cannot appoint the Obong of Calabar. Under the law of Cross River State, it proceeds according to tradition and this is the tradition.

You were said to have been expelled from the Obong’s Palace and stripped of your privileges and powers as an Etubom. How would you react to this?
I have already explained what happened in 2004. If they say that I was expelled by the Etubom’s Council, ask them about the processes, because there is a constitution and I have a copy. If the Council of Etubom is going to expel somebody, it will set-up a disciplinary committee. The committee will hear the sides of those involved, reach a decision and take it to the Council. Then, the council will make a pronouncement. Ask them for any of those processes and you will not find it. You cannot be collecting money as village and clan heads for clans and villages that do not exist. Then, professor wrote to me, telling me “do not come here again”; I won’t go there because I do not want a fight. I am a peace loving person but the Council did not remove me. If they remove me, they will be able to show you minutes, even of the per-functionary discussion. I am the one who crowned professor; I could take the crown back from him. Etubom Ekpo Eyo crowned me, if he says he wants to remove the crown, he has a better case than somebody who did not crown me.