For those who do not know it already, Anambra people in New York City (NYC) have been engaged in a latent war that has brewed to over-pour into arenas of possible grimmer outcomes. A very bitter war that has resulted to lawsuits upon lawsuits as some of the warring parties have even died in the process, and yet it continues. The war has raged inside the court houses with Igbo attorneys like Onuaguluchi reaping financially, but the embarrassment has spread beyond just New York City to Nigeria and other part of America. What is atypical is the boundless shame and the personalities involved in this never-ending saga.

Following a fight that broke out at one of the general meetings back in 2003 when chairs flew around, prior to the national Anambra State Association (ASA) Convention of November that year, I have followed with intrigue these people as they made complete fools of themselves, both old and young. I followed with keen interest to get a better understanding the root cause for two years now, so as to reach a digestible analysis of it. In the process, I had talked with many Anambra indigenes in NYC including members of the Anambra union; some were heavily laced with bias while some others were not as laced. Tracing the paths of the story was not difficult.    

According to very reliable sources, the saga was the brainchild of a few power-hurry juggernauts in total intoxication of the little power they held over the union. As a result, they forget that the tenet of democracy is not a thing to subvert or to play around with. All the fingers point to two individuals:  former social secretary and former financial secretary of the said Anambra Union in NY,  in the persons of Akwuobi and Chiejina --  as the chief trigger of the saga. Their skilled ability to play the role of area-scatters is no secret. It is a good service to moment that a list has been uncovered of people involved in propping both men. The list includes prominent citizens -- mostly elders within the tri-state area. As soon as it has been vetted, it will be published. For now, I will refer to them as committee of friends.  

These two and cohorts commenced to trigger a host of divisive internal tussles within the organization in the attempt to avert an impending change of power. They feared losing power and control. They had operated the union like their personal property including financially. In this frame of mind, the two processed to act up havoc, with complete support from their committee of friends. It led to a hellish filibustering of progressive steps attempted by the general body of the Union and on other general matters. These included the attempted sabotage of Anambra State Association National Convention of 2003, of which Governor Ngige of Anambra State was exclusively in attendance, the attempted blockage of land acquisition in Anambra State from the State government, the refusal of the financial secretary (Chiejina) to disclose the financial statements of the organizati on, the refusal of the social secretary to give account of money allotted for annual New Yam Festivals for two years in a roll, the impulse of Akwuobi and Chiejina to engage in physical brouhaha with other members at gatherings,  the impeachment of Prof. Ekwueme Okoli from the board of directors by Chief Chukwujindu Ezenekwe and his cronies as penalty for refusal to play ball … this list goes on.  

Following the split of the organization by the Chief, according to another credible source, the finances of the organization took an illegal turn. The financial book went missing. The former financial secretary went AWOL. The financial secretary allegedly converted the organization finances into his personal finances and has refused to produce the financial book. The former social secretary refused to give a financial account of the annual banquets for which he is given a budget of  more than $7,000 annually for New Yam festival two years in a roll.

According to sources, the attempted blockage of ASA-USA Convention 2003 was peculiar and illustrative of deeper political connections to this fight. It is alleged that the news of Governor Ngige being the keynote speaker of the Convention further exposed the political connection to this Anambra NYC story. The source discovered that when Christian Uba heard the news, he was not very pleased. He ordered his operatives to do whatever necessary to stop Governor Ngige from getting an audience in the USA. To this, he instructed them to halt the Convention and, if necessary, to disband the Anambra Union immediately.

Everything turned erratic and a crab-in-a-bucket game of tomfoolery commenced. This was championed by Chief Chukwujindu Ezenekwe, Madam Catherine Anaekwe, and Late Austin Ezeanya, who made the announcement that the union had been disbanded and proceeded to head to court. With this simple action, few weeks remaining to the day of the Convention, the Union divided- - resulting in the formation of another Anambra sect,  i.e. the new breakaway group consisting mainly of Akwuobi/Chiejina committee of friends. The two groups maintained an intensified war stance at the cost of near criminality. As a matter of cause and effect, it shined the worst light on Anambra Union, NY that the folks in the Anambra State assembly, led by Hon Frank Anthony Igboka, refrained from visiting the Anambra Union in New York during their recent trip in late October 2005.  

James "Udoka" Okoro is an adjunct professor in New York. Email: Udokaogu@yahoo.com