The Prince and heir apparent of Amuvi Throne in Arochukwu Village of Imo State Nigeria, Prince Uchenna Ochiagha has absconded from his home with his wife and kids, relieving himself off the responsibility of custodian of culture and tradition of his people ,which as claimed by the elders in the community comes with heavy penalty and spiritual consequences since his action is defined as sacrilegious.
Prince Uchenna’s Ordeal started when his father the king of the community died, leaving him as the next in line of succession to the throne, as Amuvi village still practice hereditary monarchy.
From our findings Amuvi as an ancient Kingdom still holds strong to its aged cultural practices and has refused to open its doors to modernism. Fetish initiation and rites which are occultic in nature still abounds for any one that will rule them, it doesn’t stop there, there are also cultural tenets to be followed by wards of the heir apparent , Initiations and traditional rites which Prince Uchenna Ochiagha has strongly opposed .
It is reported that the Prince is opting out because of so many unpleasant fetish demands, his two year daughter as well is expected to undergo a compulsory circumcision as the princess of the land.
Following his refusal to proceed with the cultural demands of his ascendance to the throne the Prince has reported incidents of threat to his life and of forcefully abducting him and his family ,which includes his wife and 3 kids by thugs of the king makers in his community to the village to face his destiny which has made him to go public with his decision to relinquish his right to the throne for the sake of his family’s safety.
The worried Prince narrated his dilemma to our reporters who ran into him at the Police Station in Lagos.
Prince Ochiagha with his late Dad (center)The King of Amuvi and his family
“Honestly When my father Eze Ndubuisi Benjamin Ochiagha died on 18 July 2017 after a brief illness, I didn’t envisage the hell that will follow his exit, the traditional demands for me to be able to take over the cultural and traditional affairs of my community was too much as it infringes on the fundamental human rights of my wife and children and not just myself. ” He Lamented
“The whole procedure involves a lot of fetish sacrifices and rituals. Some of the conditions they gave to me included the circumcision of my little daughter who is just under two years old. Initiation of my two minor sons into the Amuvi ancient occultist society as princes of the kingdom. A process that requires blood initiation and swearing of oath designed to ensure their lifelong allegiance and loyalty to the kingdom.
I am also expected to double as fetish priest and custodian of the community’s customs and traditions and must relocate to the village full time to take up the responsibility, an act which will affect my children and deteriorate their psychological and academic development as well ” he continued.
“After going through the above and other conditions from the kingmakers, I decided not to accept the kingship nomination and since then we started receiving threatening calls and other different kinds of threats. Am making my position public to deter them from taking any dangerous action and to assure them that am not changing my mind ever.” He reiterated.
Culture and traditional rites are considered sacred in many rural communities and requires extreme bravery for one to challenge them, and there is no gainsaying the fact that Amuvi community will not sit back to endure the looming humiliation it will face if the Prince succeeds in avoiding the throne , more sacrifices and rites will need to be performed to appease the gods of the land and in some past instances it will take more than faith in Christianity alone to protect the Prince and his family from the consequences of his so called sacrilegious action.
