.Dismisses claims by Ikwerre that they aren’t Ndigbo
Chigozie Amadi
Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has reiterated its commitment to the protection, of the Igbo people across nation and the world at large.
President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, stated this on Sunday while briefing Journalists in Port Harcourt, during his first official visit to Rivers state after assuming the office of president general of the apex Igbo body last year.
Iwuanyanwu who said he was in Rivers State to remind the Igbo people in the state that Ohanaeze Ndigbo has their interest at heart, and is committed to protecting them at all costs. He said, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo as a policy of the Igbos, was established by the collective desire to protect Igbo people.
He also pledged to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to prevent the predicted extinction of the Igbo language by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO, stressing the importance of taking proactive measures to sustain the cultural heritage of the Igbo people. “it will be a problem if the Igbo leaders fold their arms and do nothing to sustain their culture and language”.
He also dismissed the issues of fractionalization in Ohanaeze, insisting that he is the only leader of the body, describing those claiming to be factions as economic adventurers.
Stating that Igbos are scattered across all states of the nation, and across continents of the world, adding that the Igbos live in virtually all 774 local government areas in Nigeria, and contribute more to the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and GDP of several states in the country than any other ethnic group.
He said the apex Igbo body will stop at nothing to rise in the defence of any Igbo person that is unjustly treated anywhere in the Nigeria and the world at large.
He said, aside from the main states in the East, Igbos comprises of too many groups across the nation. “Ikwerre, Ahoada, Omoku, Etche people and others in Rivers State are Igbos. There are so many other groups, in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Kogi, Edo, Delta and Benue states. We have very strong indigenous Igbo communities, in these areas, these are people who by political division are placed there. There is hardly any local government area in the country where we don’t have Igbos living there.
“Today, Ohanaeze has increased in very great proportion to the extent that we have very strong diaspora content. We have our people all over the world. People have come to accept that Igbos are good neighbours. When they come to a place, they participate with all honesty in developing the place. When they make money in a place, they don’t carry the money to Igbo land, they invest it there in developing the land with business and houses, and I think the Igbos should be complimented for that.
“Ohanaeze has been established in all parts of the world, today we have; the European Ohanaeze with headquarters in London, we have Ohanaeze in North America and Canada, with headquarters in Washington, we have Ohanaeze in South America and Caribbean with headquarters in Brazil, we have Ohanaeze in Percipient with headquarters in Australia, we have Ohanaeze in Africa with headquarters in South Africa, and we have Ohanaeze in Nigeria with headquarters in Enugu which also doubles as the Ohanaeze Worldwide headquarters where we will build our global headquarters.
“Apart from where we live, Igbos are people who are very adventurous and their businesses are spread all over the country, they are very loyal and faithful and honest people. And wherever they live, they pursue their occupation and businesses, they also contribute massively to the development of that area.
“It is clear from the records that no ethnic group in Nigeria contribute more to the IGR and GDP of various governments in the country than the Igbos. They stay and develop wherever they live.
“Ohanaeze is a structure established by the Igbos to defend our people when they face any serious hostility or aggression which most of the time is due to their successes.
“Igbos believe in the rule of law and we advised that no one should go into crime, but if any Igbo person is being attacked and treated unjustly, Ohanaeze will rise to protect that person, we will rise to the challenge,” he said.
On the position of the people of Ikwerre people in Rivers State saying that they are not Igbos, Iwuanyanwu described the stance as a blatant lie, insisting that Ikwerre people are Igbos.
He said, “One major factor to know the ethnicity of a people is Language. Everybody identified to be Igbo and called Igbos, they speak Igbo. They could have had some little differences but it doesn’t stop the truth. For example, the word first son, in Owerri and Umuahia we call it “Okpara”, in Onitsha it’s called “Okpala”, and in Ikwerre its called “Epara”. It’s not me or my parents who say that Ikwerre are Igbos. For Ikwerre people to say they are not Igbo is not correct, because their language shows that they are Igbo.
“For example, they answer ‘Amadi, Amaechi, Onyesoh or Nyesom’, these are pure Igbo names with definite meanings. Some of them here in Ikwerre say they are from Benin, there is nothing wrong with it, someone can say I was originally an Igbo man but now I have made up my mind to change to Benin, its normal and will be accepted. But for somebody to come and tell blatant lie that an Ikwerre person is not an Igbo person, it can’t be possible and it can’t be defended in any modern society, because your culture, habit and name, everything is Igbo,”
“I was raised up in Rivers State and in those days, we didn’t have such controversies whether Ikwerre is Igbo or not, the truth remains that Ikwerre is Igbo,” he insisted.
He however urged the Ikwerre people in Rivers State to participate in the programmes and activities of the organisation, to maximise the impact and serve the purpose for its establishment.
