Legendary Nigerian actor Segun Arinze has strongly condemned Dr. Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu, the Nigerian man who used to call himself as the Igbo King in Ghana.
In an interview with Kwame Dadzie and Doreen Avio on Daybreak Hitz on Hitz FM, Arinze said he was shocked and utterly disappointed when he read the reports about Ihenetu, who has been parading himself as Eze Ndigbo in Ghana since 2012.
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The multiple award-winning actor lashed out at the development, describing it as a complete insult to both Nigeria and Ghana.
He went further to question how the supposed Igbo King will leave his home state in Nigeria and come to Ghana to claim king.
He further threw a rhetorical question by asking How he would feel if a Ghanaian travels to his own home state in Nigeria and starts claiming to be a king there.
The actor stressed the need for people living abroad to respect the laws and customs of their host nations.
Video below…
Background
Dr. Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu, a Nigerian, has been presenting himself as the King of Igbos in Ghana since 2012. He claims that his role is cultural, not political, and says the late Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu inspired the concept of Igbo diaspora kingship.
However, his title has been met with fierce resistance. The Ga Traditional Council in Ghana has denounced him, stating that he is not recognized in the National Register of Chiefs and has no authority to operate as a king in Ghana. The council has since ordered him to cease all activities under the title “Igbo King in Ghana.”
Despite his insistence that his leadership is merely symbolic for the Igbo community abroad, many Ghanaians have protested his actions, describing them as an affront to Ghana’s chieftaincy system.