ADA N’ OKPARA Ndigbo Cultural Fiesta thrills Igbos residents in Dublin, Ireland
By Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu
As Flavour’s song goes….‘anywhere we enter dem call us Ndigbo, maka n’anyi bu ndi Igbo!
……..And so, it was when the Igbo Community in Ireland turned out together with their friends and well wishers over the weekend to witness and celebrate this Igbo cultural fiesta. The Mayor was there as were Irish parliamentarians.
It was indeed a memorable event. Ndigbo in Ireland have done a wonderful job in ensuring that their children, a new generation born and now being raised in Ireland are firmly in touch with their Igbo roots.
These children and youth impressed me with their spoken Igbo, their knowledge of Igbo Culture and tradition of obedience to parents and elders, and for the females, their grasp of a woman’s role in the home.
It was a night of song, dance, debates, pageants, native wrestling, masquerades and other cultural activities.
It was, above all else, a profound moment. I witnessed the coming of age of a new generation born of a race with a proud and powerful history stained with blood, sweat and tears. A race which has survived against all odds, which rose triumphantly like the Phoenix from the ashes of 20 pounds; a race making its impact felt across the globe.
In the course of my address I made it clear that they must never forget WHO they are. Oh yes, There was a Country…..their Country. They are of the Land of the Rising Sun, born of a stock that is resilient, dynamic, indomitable…, and we must never cease to dedicate ourselves to the great task of immortalising the sacrifices ordinary men, women and children had to make to secure our future….and Yes, we are indestructible.
History bears us witness…And they must never forget this, wherever they may be.
IGBO AMAKA!
