Ohanaeze at 50: Otti urges Ndigbo to preserve history, renew institutions

Gov. Alex Otti of Abia on Tuesday  urged Igbo people to preserve their history while continuously renewing institutions created to advance their collective interests.

Otti gave the advice on Monday at the public presentation of a book: Ohanaeze at 50: The Burden of Memory, The Politics of Relevance.

It was authored by Mr Kalu Onuma. Otti served as the event’s chief host.

He said the 50th anniversary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo provided an opportunity not only to celebrate its longevity but also to examine its relevance to present and future generations.

He said the book’s emphasis on memory and relevance was significant because institutions must learn from their history while adapting to changing social realities.

“Memory tells us where we are coming from. Relevance challenges us to ask where we are going.

“An organisation that forgets its history will struggle to understand its present, but an organisation that becomes too attached to its history without responding to the demands of the present may gradually loses its relevance,” Otti said.

He said Ohanaeze emerged in 1976 from the need to provide a platform for Igbo people at a difficult period in Nigeria’s history.

He said that the circumstances that produced the organisation had changed significantly.

Otti said the new realities required institutions representing Igbo people to create a greater space for young people, women, professionals and the growing Igbo diaspora.

He commended Onuma for undertaking what he described as an important examination of the history, experiences and future of Ohanaeze.

The governor urged members of the public to read the book, saying that its value would  be measured by the conversations and actions it would generate.

“You cannot correct what you refuse to acknowledge. You cannot improve what you refuse to examine, and you cannot build the future if you are afraid to learn from the past,” he said.

The author, Onuma, said the book was not written to praise or condemn Ohanaeze, but to examine what the organisation had achieved, where it had struggled and what it could become in the next 50 years.

Onuma said the book was an independent work and not a commissioned history of Ohanaeze.

He said: “If it provokes questions, then it has done something useful.

“If it generates debate, then the conversation has begun.

“If the conversation leads to renewal, then the purpose of the book would have been achieved.”

The royal father of the occasion and Obi of Onitsha and Agbogidi, Nnaemeka Achebe, performed the traditional breaking of Kola at the event.

Achebe said the breaking of Kola symbolised fellowship and goodwill, urging Igbo people to strengthen their bonds while preserving their cultural heritage.

The reviewer of the book, Prof. Okey Anueyiagu, described the publication as an attempt to interrogate an institution rather than merely celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Anueyiagu said the book examined Ohanaeze’s history, leadership, internal dynamics and relevance to contemporary society.

He urged the public to read the book critically and note the questions it raised about the future of the organisation.

It was reported that Ohanaeze Ndigbo, established in 1976, is an apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation representing the collective interests, unity and cultural heritage of Igbo people.

The organisation emerged six years after the Nigerian Civil War in an effort to rebuild Igbo communal institutions and provide a platform for collective representation.

It was reported that the book examined five decades of the organisation’s evolution and pointed out the challenges and possibilities ahead.