Many people condemn the establishment of Igbo kingdoms outside Igboland. They say it is illegal to have separate kingdoms from the host communities. The fear is of domination and eventual conquest. This can be found within Igbo migrants in various parts of the country and beyond.
At some point, a Ghanaian called for the total ban of such kingdom especially one notable Igbo king who he felt was dominating the whole area without check. This calls for concern. Why would Igbos establish kingdoms in other cities and yet clamour for secession and regionalization? Some even complain of marginalization and oppression. Despite this, which many host communities see as intimidations and oppression within their own communities, Igbos have gone ahead to establish kingdoms and invest in so many permanent business areas such as industries, companies, property, markets, educational and religious institutions, transport and manufacturing. Their population in such cities, especially in most commercial cities of the world such as Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Washington, London, Ottawa, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Rome, Accra etc. kept increasing from year to year.
As migrants with such high level of investments, there is a need to protect their investments and property they have in such areas. They also unite among themselves in order to work together towards a common purpose.
The indigenes of the land where they live may not be comfortable with this kind of development especially in places where the citizens feel insecure due to the domineering nature of the Igbos. Does this go against the laws of the lands where they migrated to? It really does not. The people under the jurisdiction of the Igbo kingdoms are usually their people who have settled in clusters in such areas. Their kingdoms are also limited to their own people. Their goals include settling minor cases, uniting them towards a common cause, protecting them from any aggression and assisting them in various areas of entrepreneurship. They also act as unifying factors between the indigenes and the Igbo migrants.
There is no doubt that there has been abuse of such offices from time to time especially by the proud and arrogant ones. In some cases, the Ezes in diaspora duplicate their roles with the ones at home especially when they visit their home states.
Another challenge is that Igbos are new to monarchical system of government and may not know the practical process of choosing the kings. While some take the hereditary process, others apply the elective process. This had caused conflicts in the past. However, it is known that Ezes in other cities and communities outside Igboland have assisted in the unification and preservation of the culture and tradition of Igbos outside their homelands.
