The Igbo apex sociocultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has cautioned against erosion of Igbo culture at the 2025 Ahiajoku Lecture slated to hold in Owerri, Imo State, next week.
The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Senator John Azuta-Mbata, gave the caution when the planning committee for the 2025 Ahiajoku lecture festival visited him in Enugu State at the weekend with the theme, âThe Future of Igbo Economy Amidst the Challenges of Insecurity: A Call for Paradigm Shift.â
Mbata, who promised to be in Imo State for the event personally, highlighted the importance of the festival and called for cooperation to ensure the success of the festival
âI express delight at the visit and commend the committee for its commitment. I hereby endorse the 2025 Ahiajoku Lecture Festival on behalf of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide. We shall cooperate to ensure a successful festival. I will be there in Imo state in person.
ââAhiajoku remains an avenue for deep conversations among Ndigbo on issues of culture, language, and survival. UNESCOâs has reported that the Igbo language is endangered, we urge urgent measures to avert cultural erosion. âThe Bible says Those who have ears, let them hear. We are encouraging studies and research on the Igbo language and culture. We have set up a committee for that,â he disclosed.
He revealed that his administration had instituted professorial endowment chairs in tertiary institutions to drive research in Igbo history, tradition, and language.
He called on the organisers to deliver an excellent festival that would elevate Igbo cultural visibility, while extending gratitude to Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State for reviving the Ahiajoku Lecture Series.
âExtend my regards and gratitude to Governor Uzodimma. Any role we are expected to play, we shall gladly play it. Our people must be heard,â he said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Director General of Ahiajoku Centre and Secretary of the Planning Committee, Hon. Nze Ray Emeana, traced the origin and evolution of the Ahiajoku Lecture Festival.
He recalled thatâ The festival was inaugurated in 1979 by the late Governor of Imo State, Chief Sam Mbakwe, as a platform for Igbo introspection and projection of the Igbo worldviewâ.
Emeana listed the stature of intellectuals who have graced the Ahiajoku podium to include Professors MJC Echeruo, Chinua Achebe, Ben Nwabueze, Donatus Nwoga, Adiele Afigbo, Laz Ekwueme, and Barth Nnaji, adding that their contributions helped establish Ahiajoku as Africaâs premier cultural festival of ideas, inspiring generations of Ndigbo to reconnect with their identity.
He emphasised that the 2025 edition would be both historic and symbolic, marking the 45th anniversary and the 25th lecture in the series and hailed the governor Hope Uzodimma for his passion for cultural renaissance and his commitment to the survival of Igbo heritage, describing him as the torchbearer who brought Ahiajoku back to life after years of neglect.
Emeana noted that each Ahiajoku lecture has always been crafted to interrogate the most pressing challenges facing Ndigbo at a given time.
According to him,âAt this moment, insecurity and the resultant economic downturn are the twin malaise confronting our people. This yearâs theme is therefore urgent and timely. ââ
The planning committee has a former President General of OhanaezeNdigbo, Chief Gary Igariwey, as chairman, and seasoned banker, Sir Stanley Amuchie as deputy.
âWith the apex leadership of Ndigbo fully on board, the festival now enjoys broader legitimacy and the moral weight of the Igbo nation, as it offers the festival a platform to drive home its message more forcefully, ensuring that the outcomes of the conversations resonate across Igboland and the global Igbo diasporaâ.
