NIROH plans Igbo Unity Day Celebration in Awka December

NIROH plans Igbo Unity Day Celebration in Awka December

By Linda Ike

A Social Cultural Pan Igbo Group, Ndigbo Royal Heritage Worldwide (NIROH) is planing to host Unity Day Celebration in Awka, Anambra State.

The Group is optimistic that the celebration which will hold at Alex Ekwueme Square in the state Capital will bring Ndigbo together for possible sober reflection and positive action.

President General of the Group, Dr. Paul Okoye who disclosed this at a press conference on Monday in Abuja said, the main aim of the event is to bring all Igbos together as well as to reinvent a new direction for the people.

Okoye said the Unity festival which would be a week celebration, starting from Monday November 28, 2022 to Sunday December 4, 2022 is aimed at unifying the Igbo nation.

He decried that most of the things the ethnic group was known for are fast eroding, making it difficult for them to speak in one voice and forge common political front,.

Okoye further said the event was also designed to rebuild the bridge that was broken in 1966 and initiate the process of healing the land, especially, in the realisation that no ethnical component of Nigeria can go it alone.

He said the purpose was not to apportion blame but to try to repair that which had been destroyed, maintaining that the North before the civil war used to be the closest ally of the Igbo nation underscoring the need to reinvent the friendship.

The President regretted the erosion of culture and tradition of Ndigbo by extremists, cautioning that action must be taken immediately to reverse the ugly trend, stressing that the region is at the verge of passing as a people without history or cultural identity.

“We as a people must accept that our culture is being bastardised in the wholesome acceptance of the western culture and Europeanization of our populace in the process of neocolonialism.

“The total erosion of our culture and tradition by extremists has to be checkmated without further delay. We are losing grip of our children and money tends to be our God. No respect for elders.

“We are at the verge of passing as a people without history or cultural identity. Our language is suffering near extinction and nobody seems to be proud to associate himself with Igbo origin.

“As the Holy Scripture says, let’s give to Caesar what belongs to him and to God what is His.

“The reclaiming of our cultural heritage is a task that must be done. All hands, therefore, must be on deck to leave a bequeathing legacy for the succeeding generation” he said.

He named the highlights of the programme to include: The Marathon, The Great Homecoming, Wrestling and Folklore and the Igbo Day Pre-conference.