Actress urges South-East govs to revive Igbo culture
The Nigerian-Canadian Peace Ambassador, Dr Uba Iwunwa, has urged the governors in the South-East to revive and promote Igbo culture, history, and festivals as a way of preserving the socio-cultural heritage of the Ndigbo.
Uba appealed to the governors to collaborate in promoting festivals and other great events that project the rich cultures and traditions of Igboland.
She described culture as the identity of any society, stressing that Ndigbo could not afford to allow their history and culture to go into extinction or degenerate.
Uba, founder and chairperson of Ikenga Abiama Dynasty Foundation, a Pan-Igbo humanitarian and socio-cultural group, made the call in a goodwill message in commemoration of the 2023 edition of the Eri World Cultural Festival, slated to be held at Aguleri in the East local government area of Anambra State.
She maintained that rekindling and promoting various cultures among the Igbo was an act every indigene must carry out with every sense of pride.
She said, “My culture is my pride and identity. Eri Festival is the cultural heritage of Igboland in honour of Eri, the progenitor of the Igbo ethnic nation. As we all know, culture is the social heritage of any society, which reflects the core identity of its norms and values.
“I urge the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, as well as his counterparts across the southeast, to work collaboratively in promoting the festival and other great events that project the rich cultures and traditions of Igboland.
“I am happy with what we have seen recently at the Obi Onitsha Ofala festival. It is time to give other festivals like that of the Eri kingdom (and others across the Igbo land) greater recognition and promotion.
“This is important, particularly as others, the Yorubas, the Binis, the Fulani emirates, the Calabar, even the Itsekiris and so on, have succeeded in projecting their traditions and festivals to global limelight and we are lagging behind.
“That is why I am calling on our state governors to rally behind organisers of these festivals to give them global projection.
“Eri festival is one of those socio-cultural events of the year that I look forward to because it resonates with me as a daughter of the great Igbo nation with some historical connection to the Jews.
“I am also happy with the fact that efforts were being made to commemorate the Eri festival every year by His Royal Majesty, Eze Chukwuemeka Eri, Ezeora the 34th (Aka-Ji-Ofor Ndigbo).
“It’s my opinion that sons and daughters of the Igbo nation across the world should also cherish and celebrate Eri Festival.
“Our culture is our identity. We cannot afford to allow our history and culture to go into extinction or degenerate. We should rekindle and promote our culture with every sense of pride. Nobody can do that for us.”
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