Enugu – The National Executive Council (NEC) of Ohanaeze Ndigbo under the leadership of the apex Igbo organization’s newly elected President-General, Senator John Azuta-Mbata has set up a peace, reconciliation and dispute resolution committee aimed at addressing any dispute that might arise to disrupt activities of the organization and entire Igbo race, especially those ensuing from the organization’s last election.
The Igbo umbrella body said the committee is expected to address dissenting voices that culminated in noticeable factions with a view to ensuring that everyone is carried along in the scheme of things.
It explained that because of the importance the organization attached to the committee, it would be headed by a former President General, Ebonyi State born, Chief Gary Enwo-Igariwey.
National publicity secretary of the Igbo apex body, Dr. Ezechi Chukwu, who disclosed this while briefing newsmen at the end of their inaugural NEC meeting, stated that the committee will ensure that divergent interests are streamline with a view to ensuring peace and progress in Igbo land.
He equally hinted that the apex Igbo body which also set up other Committees, resolved to engage in research for the development of Igbo language, culture, tradition and history, adding that seed money was equally released to kickstart the project.
According to the Ohanaeze Spokesman world wide who was joined during the media briefing by the Assistant National Publicity Secretary, Mazi Ikechukwu Bismarck Oji, “It is high time we as Ndigbo started telling our history and obviously, if we don’t have a robust mechanism to enhance our culture and tradition, especially language, our language could go extinct.
“When our languages go extinct, our world view, world pattern, our belief system, our social mirror and all other aggregates of a corporate being as it bothers on Ndigbo, will also go extinct”
“So, the committee will embark on extensive research on Igbo historicity on Igbo language and culture and output of this committee on endowment chairs in the universities will equally make extensive and periodic publications as it borders on their research outcomes.
“This, we believe, will enhance scholarship, give our claims a sustainable academic background and also justifies all our efforts towards enhancing and consolidating our being as Ndigbo within the polity.
“The chairman of the committee is Prof Fred Eze, Vice President General (Enugu)
“We also established a very important committee on peace, reconciliation and dispute resolution. This committee will look at all sorts of issues that are associated with either crisis or are prone to crisis within the compact of Ohanaeze Ndigbo at different levels.
“A few of our NEC members are also in the committee. They’re also going to engage some other Igbo scholars especially Igbo language scholars and pan-Igbo academics in various institutions of learning
Dr. Chukwu added that he has no doubt in his mind that Ohanaeze’s narrative would soon be changed “with the enthusiasm and huge cognate experience which Senator Mbata has brought to bear.”
The committee he further stated was given milestones and timelines in order to enable us run on a systematic note
“We equally had the approval of NEC to establish another important committee that will enable Ohanaeze to establish a professorial endowment chair in the seven states with specific terms of reference to engage in research for the development of Igbo language, culture, tradition and history. A seed money was equally released to that effect
