Ohanaeze Ndigbo spokesperson, HON. CHIEDOZIE ALEX OGBONNIA, explains why 29-Sept is Igbo Day of celebration
The events of 1966 that led to the Nigerian-Biafran War were very remarkable in the history of Igbo nation.
In the first place, the military coup of January 15, 1966 snowballed into a chain of genocide against the Igbo.
It all began on May 29, 1966 at Kano. It was one of the most tragic days in Igbo history. It was the day over 3,000 Igbos were massacred in Kano as a consequence of what was considered an Igbo coup of January 15, 1966.
Two months later, July 29, Major General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi Ironsi, the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces was killed along with his host Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi by Northern military officers in what was tagged a counter coup. Several other Igbo officers were located at various military formations and killed on July 29.
As if that was not enough, on September 29, 1996, another major ethnic cleansing took place in which about 30,000 Igbos were killed in the Northern Region.
Based on the above backdrop, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has set aside September 29 every year as a special day. It is a day of sober reflection on one hand, and a day to celebrate the Igbo resilience, ingenuity, entrepreneurial skills and frontier spirit, on the other.
Without sounding immodest, all Nigerians affirm that the Igbo are endowed with the highest human creative potential, perhaps in the whole Africa. How come that an ethnic group that has suffered various kinds of injustice, alienation and relative deprivations have undauntedly remained afloat in the academia, corporate world, transportation, tourism, commerce and industry, etc? So, instead of mourning, we have chosen to celebrate the God’s love and kindness towards the Igbo.
We celebrate the innate capacity and perseverance in the Igbo to break physical boundaries to achieve results where most fail. We celebrate that we passed through the valley of the shadow of death and bounced back; passed through the belly of the whale; traversed turmoil and hell and bounced back to glory and spendour. We celebrate the courage, tenacity and adaptability to live and thrive in all parts of the world. We celebrate the promise of God that he fights for the oppressed.
Ohanaeze President, Prof. George Obiozor, sees September 29, 2021 as a turning point in Igbo history. It is a convocation of some sorts; a renewal of Igbo spirit of pragmatic socialism, oneness, shared values and Onyeaghananwanneya.
He has constituted a local organising committee to be chaired by Ambassador Lawrence Agubuzu, a traditional ruler and retired federal bureaucrat. While accepting the appointment, Igwe Agubuzu commended the concept of Igbo day and promised that the committee will do everything possible to deliver on its core mandate.
The event kicks off 26 September with Thanksgiving Celebrations in all churches in Igboland.
Why 29-Sept is Igbo Day, by Ohanaeze
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