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From Aloysius Attah, Abidjan
For many years, the Igbo in Cote d’Ivoire had no central union. And it was not rosy, until in 2019 when some committed Igbo sons took up the challenge to form a formidable union in the country, shielded from the negative baggage of the past.
Led by Nze Ejike Williams, the group went to work and has been unrelenting since then. In an address recently, president-general, Igbo Union Cote d’Ivoire, Nze Williams, recalled that the Igbo Union started in Cote d’ Ivoire in the early 1970s with the displacement of Igbo people from the eastern part of Nigeria as former Biafra leader, Dim Emeka Ojukwu, migrated to the country with some eastern indigenes.
Ejike noted that after many years of existence, the Igbo Union had problems, ranging from inability of the leaders to establish long-lasting structures to gross mismanagement of funds for the development of the union. Eventually, the union died.
He said, fortunately, this present generation restructured the great union and restored its lost cohesiveness, peace and progress under his leadership and with his team and support of the states’ union leaders and their various members as well as the entire Igbo living in Cote d’Ivoire are now together.
Enumerating the reasons for organising the great Igbo Unity Week, he said it was to create strong cohesiveness among all the Igbo living in Cote d’Ivoire.
It was a very emotional moment amid a thunderous ovation at exactly 5:26pm that Sunday evening as the staff of office, crown and certificate of coronation were handed over and Chief Chukwuma was officially proclaimed as the first Eze Ndi Igbo of Cote d’IvoireThe ceremony was performed by the traditional prime minister, Chief Ugochukwu Nnadi, council of chiefs and executives of Igbo Union Cote d’Ivoire assisted by the traditional ruler of Alor community, Anambra State, Igwe Chinedu Elibe Okonkwo.
Enugu indigenes in Cote d’Ivoire led by Chief Peter Ugwu, Charlie Eze and Ozor Jeff Odunze described the recent developments in the Igbo Union Cote d’Ivoire as the dawn of new era where they will fly higher and conquer new grounds.
The newly coronated Eze Ndi Igbo Cote d’Ivoire, Igwe Chukwuma, who hails from Adazi Nnukwu community, Anambra State, said in a remark that he felt humbled that he was chosen among the multitude of Igbos in the country to be their leader.
He stated that, by the grace of God, he would use his position to reposition the Igbo in the Cote d’Ivoire to be pace-setters and shining examples to the world.
