Despite the inclusion of their names and photographs in the programme of activities, Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa and four other governors were visibly absent from the 2016 Ndi Igbo Cultural Festival held in Asaba at the weekend.
The other four state governors, who failed to physically participate at the national festival of the Igbo people, were Chief Willie Obiano of Anambra, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, Rochas Okorocha of Imo, Chief David Umahi of Ebonyi and Mr. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia.
Besides Obiano, who was represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Vigilante matters, Chief Ikechukwu Aduba, none of the governors, including host Governor Okowa, sent words or representatives for the event which theme was, “Igbo Bu Ofu” (let Igbo be one).
Addressing his kinsmen drawn from the various Igbo speaking states in the country, the Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Godwin Ezeemo described the annual event as a reflection and fair representation of the Igbo nation in Nigeria.
Ezeemo, a former Anambra state governorship aspirant under the flagship of the Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA), noted that the theme of the event was apt and appropriate as it called for the unity and oneness of the Igbo nation at a time of overwhelming contemporary challenges.
He maintained that the Igbos are in all parts of the world, positively influencing civilization where they find themselves and contributing meaningfully to the growth and peaceful development of Nigeria and the world at large.
“The Igbos are everywhere and people always feel the presence of the Igbo man wherever he is. In the rural areas, we are predominantly farmers; in towns and cities, we are the great industrialists, the businessmen and the ones attracting great development. The Igbos are one in all parts of the world and we will continue to remain as one”, he said.
On the challenges facing the contemporary Igbo nation, Ezeemo argued that the slow but steady pace at which the Igbo language, culture and values are dying is one of the direct consequences of the Nigerian civil war which lasted from 1967 to 1970, adding that Nigeria remains one of the few countries that does not teach their cultural languages at basic levels of education.
The business mogul insisted that Nigerians are becoming ashamed of their heritage and called on stakeholders to ensure the reversal of the trend, noting that the Igbos must hold fast to their cultural values.
SOURCE: JOSHUA ERUBAMI
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