Iri Ji MbaiseOhakim Showers Praises On Ezuruezu,Others ■ Says Mbaise’s showcasing Igbo cultural heritage
By Chibuike Njoku
Former Governor of Imo State, Dr Ikedi Ohakim, has showered praises on the leadership, members of Ezuruezu Mbaise sociocultural group and the entire good people of Mbaise as a whole for continually showcasing the rich Igbo cultural heritage annually to the world through the Iri Ji ceremony held on August 15 of every year.
Speaking on the heels of this year’s celebration, Ohakim noted with delight that the IRI-JI festival always serves not just as a reminder that “we as Igbos have rich cultural background,it also reminds us of our collective identity as Igbos.” He averred that any race without a unique cultural identity is like a lost entity.
The former governor commended the Ezuruezu Mbaise sociocultural group under the leadership of Surveyor Joe Anosikeh for spearheading cultural renaissance and reawakening amongst Ndigbo through the annual Iri Ji festival which has now become “a national cultural festival by all standards.” He enjoined other communities in Igbo land to endeavour to take cue from the good people of Mbaise and fashion out ways of rengedering and sustaining the cultural ideals for which Ndigbo is known.
“I am proud of what Ezuruezu Mbaise under the leadership of Surveyor Anosikeh and our brothers in Mbaise are doing. Igbo cultures and traditions must be marketed to the outside world as a way of projecting our relevance and also protecting our identity as a people. Iri Ji Mbaise festival is a veritable mirror through which our uniqueness as a people is mirrored. I,therefore, earnestly commend them and wish other Igbo communities could emulate Mbaise people,” Ohakim stressed.
He pointed out that Igbo cultural identities in recent times are being relegated to the background. He described such a situation as worrisome,stating that unless the Igbos blow their trumpets, nobody will do that for them. “We need to reorientate ourselves culturally and begin to appreciate our various cultures and make the world believe that the Igbo race can not be relegated to the background among its contemporaries,” Ohakim said.
