Need for a deeper understanding of Igbo history and culture, including clarifying Igbo, Yoruba, and Edo linkages, emphasised

Awka, Anambra State: The Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, today hosted the maiden edition of the Obi Nnaemeka Achebe Annual Public Lecture Series on Igbo Culture, Traditions, and Values. The lecture, titled “Onitsha Traditional Society – Origin, Spread, Culture,” was delivered by His Majesty Nnaemeka Achebe, Obi of Onitsha.

The lecture highlighted the need for urgent attention to four critical areas in Igbo history and culture. According to His Majesty, a definitive determination of the origins and ancestral linkages between the Igbo, Yoruba, and Edo language groups is necessary for positioning in contemporary Nigeria. He observed that “the search of Igbo history as a necessary pedestal to anchor the history of Onitsha presented three alternative versions for Igbo origin, namely, the Autochthony, the Internal Migration, and the External Migration Hypotheses” adding that “the two migration hypotheses mentioned the possibility that the Igbo, Yoruba and Edo language groups, and others, shared a common ancestral root prior to separating in different directions and developing different languages and dialects.”

The lecture also called for the interrogation of the authenticity of the book “Ado na-Idu, History of Igbo Origin” by B.O.N Eluwa and “ its hypothesis about the great but hardly known ancient kingdom of Ado-na-Idu, and the Igbo domination and eventual migration from Ile-Ife, which was the ancestral capital of Ado-na-Idu.”

Furthermore, His Majesty stressed the need for building a closer relationship among descendants of Eze Chima, the central figure in the founding of Onitsha Ado N’Idu and a host of sister communities on both sides of the lower course of the River Niger and authenticating the folk histories of Umu Eze Chima. All of these communities, he observed, “affirm their descent from Eze Chima, but present degrees of variation in their legends of the great founder” pointing out that “broadly, Eze Chima’s ancestors were either part of the Igbo migration out of Ile-Ife that sojourned in Benin, or he was a direct descendant of Oba Eweka I and Oramiyan or he did not have any ancestral connection with Benin or Yoruba but rather descended from the Nri civilization”.

Exploring Onitsha culture and governance, including the traditional justice system, and the journey of transformation which he initiated in 2002, focusing on modern management and leadership principles, the monarch finally emphasised the vital importance for the Government to stop the continuing deterioration and decline of Onitsha and neighbouring areas. According to the monarch, “ while the Onitsha Indigenous community continues on its journey of transformation, it is urgent for the Government to take urgent measures to address the decay in the greater Onitsha metropolis to restore its past glory as a leading industrial, commercial, educational, and cultural city in Nigeria. The establishment of a Greater Onitsha Development Authority becomes very imperative.”

The lecture was attended by dignitaries from across the country, including academics, traditional rulers, and government officials. The event marked the beginning of a new era in the promotion of Igbo culture, traditions, and values. Apart of the highlight of the events was the laying of the foundation stone of the Obi Nnaemeka Achebe Dome that will house the World Centre for Igbo Repository.

Chief Osita Anionwu,

Ike Akatakwuani/ Chief of Staff