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By Simeon Mpamugoh
As part of the ongoing preparations for this year’s Igbo Heritage Day Celebration organised by Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos Chapter, the League of Igbo Clergy International (LICI) recently powered a parley to mirror issues on insecurity in Igboland, Igbo Unification Agenda and Igbo Heritage Day celebration 2025, among others.
The event, which had “Ndigbo Which Way Forward?” as its theme, took place at the National Population Census compound, Babs Animashaun Street, Surulere, Lagos. It had in attendance Igbo leaders from different walks of life who spoke on the parley’s agendas.
The coordinator, Dr. Femi Ferguson, disclosed that the parley was the third in the series, adding that this year’s edition was at the instance of League of Igbo Clergy International (LICI) in honour of the Igbo Heritage Day.
He said that the event was to bring all Igbos together to work towards peace, unity and development, pointing out that it had no religious or sectarian colouration. “Most of the Igbos worshipping idols in Igboland and their Chief Priests bear Christian names. They either bear John or Timothy, and they’ll tell one that when they die, the church should bury them, because they are paying their dues. So, irrespective of what our people are doing in terms of involvement in occultism, cultism and ritualism, 99 percent of them are practising Christianity,” Ferguson said.
He revealed that assembling politicians, traditionalists, sociocultural administrators and the business community under a roof was so that where they could not reach, we (the clergy) could reach there. He said: “We are the closest people to the grassroot, not the politicians. We’re closer to the widows, orphans and the politicians who are in Churches. As watchmen and change agents to the evil bedeviling our region, we have the easiest means to reach them.”
On the killings in some communities in Imo State Ferguson said: “We cannot fold our arms and watch this genocide continue. We will tackle it spiritually, physically, mentally, intellectually, financially and materially in order to ensure that Igbo reclaim their lost glory,” he assured.
Asked how Igbos got to the sordid situation where everything is going berserk, he replied: “I wouldn’t lie to you, there is nothing physically happening that doesn’t have a spiritual connotation. Anytime the children of Israel were carried away in captivity, they might have committed one thing or the other which made God to hand them over to their enemy. Igbo has offended God; He is not unmindful of what is happening to them.”
He narrated a story his father’s friend, who was a soldier, told him. “He told me that, when a Hausa, Fulani or Yoruba soldier touches or sleeps with an Igbo woman, he would not bathe for three days; that it’s just like touching an angel. And when an Igbo man opens his mouth and proposes to a Hausa, Fulani or Yoruba woman, she will run after him because of the unique glory the Igbo man carries and that we are the best husbands, even to the outsiders.
“It suffices to say that we have lost that glory. And until we return to rebuild Igboland that had been destroyed by our captors and enemies as a result of our offense which made God to hand us over to them, we are not making a headway.”
To rid Igboland of the evil happening in the region, the Agu Aro traditional titleholder said there was no other way than for Igbos to repent and ask God for forgiveness. “Today, we are shading our own blood more than the blood shade during the civil war. Abomination is about to become a culture and tradition in Igboland. And if we don’t stand up against it, it will happen,” he forewarned.
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Eze Ndigbo n’Ajao in Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area, Lagos State His Imperial Majesty, Igwe (Amb) Frederick N. Nwajagu, enjoined Ndigbo at home and diaspora to eschew hatred and love each other. He added that love was critical to development of the region, adding that no one needs any seer to tell anyone when a people loves themselves. “It is evident,” he echoed.
The monarch, who was recently endorsed as the incoming Eze Igbo in Lagos State by the Sunday Ossai-led Ohaneze Ndigbo Lagos chapter, expressed concern about the disquiet among traditional rulers in Igboland, who ought to speak truth to Southeast governors and the presidency against insecurity in the region, instead chose to hobnob with them because of hand-outs they are receiving from the leaders.
“I know that with the benign economic environment in Igboland, the cultural and socio-economic development our people have engendered in other parts of the world can be replicated in the region. But unfortunately we are still politicking with the lives and future of our people.
“Look at what is happening in the sociocultural groups we have in Lagos State for instance – Igbo Community and Ohaneze Ndigbo – are having factional leaders. In Ohaneze, we have Solomon Ogbonna Aguene on one side and Sunday Ossai, who was duly elected on the other side. He contested and won, and equity demands that he should be allowed to function as the presidency of the group without any encumbrance until next year, when his tenure shall end and we call for another election,” Eze Nwajagu said.
He blamed the craze to get- rich quick among politicians, Igbo elites and young people for the growing insecurity in the area, adding that they were not getting their priority right in the Monday sit-at-home, kidnapping and the killings going on in the region.
He echoed: “This narcissistic behavior was not part of the norm during our forefathers. They lived a communal life and everyone was his brother’s keeper. It was part of Igbo culture to be hospitable but today it has mid-wifed to killing and maiming one another while traditional rulers from South East are keeping literal mute buttons to the menace.
“Our brother Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who went through the extraordinary rendition from Kenya, has been detained for more than four years, and none of them has consistently lent voices for his release; yet they’re custodians of our people’s culture and tradition. Sometimes I ask: What do our people want: Presidency or Biafra Republic? We cannot be talking about the Presidency and Biafra Republic at the same time. We must speak with one voice in order to chart a common front,” he summed up.
On his part, a retired military officer, Chief (Colonel) Reuben Nwako tasked all the security experts in the Southeast on the need to join hands in finding intelligent-based solutions to the insecurity in the region. Nwako, who spoke on insecurity in Igboland, warned that the Igbos were becoming an endangered species, adding that the killings going on in the region, if allowed to continue, would not only affect the population of the region but also shortage of manpower and future leaders at cultural, local, state, and federal levels. “There is a need to collaborate with like minds in tackling the scourge,” he posited.
The Chairman Igbo Heritage Day Organising Committee, Apostle Patrick Nwanze, hinted that the event which had “Unity in Diversity: Celebrating Igbo Traditions and Heritage Excellence,” as its theme was being packaged as a unifying platform for Igbo sons and daughters in Lagos and diaspora to come together in honour of their rich cultural roots. He added that it was a symbol of unity and resilience, stressing that it offered a chance to strengthen solidarity and discouraged division.
“It promotes enterprise, innovation, communal development and reaffirms our commitment to Igbo cultural values while celebrating our achievements and societal contributions. The event is equally envisioned to foster a deeper sense of belonging and pride in Igbo identity, as well as to promote social cohesion and shared responsibility among Igbos in Lagos and beyond, and would serve as a platform to spotlight innovation and entrepreneurship within the Igbo community,” Nwanze said.
Pix caption: L-R: Apostle Patrick Nwanze, Chief Robert Obasi, Dr. Femi Ferguson, HRH Igwe Fred. Nkemdilim Nwajagu, High Chief Sunday Ossai and Chief (Col) Reuben Nwako at the event
