By Emeagi Emeka Williams
A chieftain of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos, Caesar Kalu Umoga has scored the president of the apex socio cultural body in Lagos, Chief Solomon Ogbonna, high, disclosing that he has recorded a leadership hallmark .
Umoga who is the General Coordinator of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Alimosho LGA, the largest Local Govt in Lagos state, disclosed this to Timeswatch shortly after the Igbo Cultural Day celebration, held by Ndigbo N’ Alimosho, under his supervision as Chairman, organising committee on Sunday.
Describing Ogbonna as one man who is rooted in culture, he pointed that the best thing that ever happened in the history of Ohanaeze in Lagos is the emergence of Chief Solomon Ogbonna as president, a development he said altered the shapelessness of Ohanaeze and gave it form, direction and greater value, as far as Lagos is concerned. And against these backgrounds, and what he termed a rewarding cordial relationship with the political and traditional authorities of Lagos state, Umoga, an Abia state indigene of the South East Nigeria, urged stakeholders to rally round Chief Ogbonna to win a second tenure ticket as Ohanaeze President in Lagos state.
“As a matter of fact, Chief Ogbonna was the long awaited messiah Ndigbo waited for to rewrite their narrative, and his commitment and love for Ndigbo which found expression through the beautiful state Secretariat of Ohanaeze on James Robertson street, Surulere; his humanitarian strides for the widows, his empowerment initiatives for the youths and the indigent and his amazing rapport with the state government for the sake of the generality of Ndigbo, can never be over highlighted”, Umoga stressed.
He therefore asked those critics whose tongues wag hatefully for selfish reasons, to have a rethink and join forces with the man who has his eyes already fixed at getting a befitting permanent site for Ohanaeze, and more.
Speaking on the essence of the cultural fiesta, he said that the need to promote and sustain the cultural heritage of Ndigbo necessitated the event, stressing that it was a success and that it achieved the aim for which it was organised, owing to the massive planning, consultations and collaboration that heralded the occasion.