“Ọhanaeze’s choice of today as ‘Igbo Day’ is fallacious and flawed. The 1966 anti-East/Midwest pogroms began on May 29 thru July 29 and peaked on Sept 29. It is a day to remember the massacre of >50,000 folks, but it is NOT one to celebrate. :::: [E]very day is ‘Igbo Day’!” (Sept. 29. 2023)
Two years later, after many moons of muteness, the day resurfaces like a masked man in the darkness of dawn. The passing of two Ọhanaeze chieftains from Imo State and the unnecessary noise about the turn of Rivers State at the helm of affairs have dealt the sociocultural society of Igbo political elites a bad big blow. Ọhanaeze is recovering, but bad habits die hard.
Happening in Awka today, the “Igbo Day” gathering will only help the incumbent Governor Soludo in his campaign for a second term. The clichéd theme “Onye Aghana Nwanne Ya” (Be your brother’s keeper), probably summons support for one of the patrons, not necessarily for Igbo unity and progress.
Although the group is yet to infuse #Ọha” (the public) into the setup, Ọhanaeze must not now wane nor wilt. While we wait for the executive committee of the current PG, Senator John Azuta Mbata to find its feet, someone should step on the stand and prep proper pan-Igbo celebrations on apt dates, including Ahịajiọkụ, Ọchụchụ Afọ, General Diaspora Return, and May 30 Memorial.
A more appropriate date for a semblance of pan-Igbo Day worldwide is #Ahịajiọkụ. The New Yam Festival in August is the Igbo equivalent of Easter, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and New Year celebrations rolled into one. The feast marks the end of toiling and the beginning of harvesting produce. It is a symbol of Igbo remembrance, responsibility, renaissance, responsibility, and resilience.
@OkaaMoe
9.29.2025
aladimma.net 