Welcome to the Ethnic Afro Cultural Groups

At Afro Cultural Hub, we are dedicated to celebrating and promoting Afro culture as an integral part of the global cultural landscape. Our mission is to establish Afro Culture as an important part of the world's culture and to highlight the feasibility of creating a stable transcultural society.

AFRO ETHNIC CULTURAL GROUPS 

Ohanaeze Ndiigbo: The All Igbo People's International Community (Eastern Nigeria)

Showcasing the art of living together.

The Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo is one of the largest Afro Ethnic Cultural groups in the world. The group originated from Eastern Nigeria in West Africa but is presently spread across the world. The group as such, has branches or sub groups in many countries prominent among which is the United States of America, USA.

Our first attempt to get first hand information about this group brought us in contact with the maiden President of the Ohanaeze Ndiigbo Cameroon.

Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo Cameroon simply means The All Igbo Community in Cameroon. It is part of the All World Igbo Assembly with sprinklings of National Associations all over the world. The main objective is to promote the Igbo Culture in Igbo communities that hardly ever have the privilege of living it back home in the Ibgo Lands of Eastern Nigeria. Being one of those African Tribes with the greatest populations in the diaspora, Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo Cameroon equally has as a duty to help in the provision of care to underprivileged children and solving a whole lot of problems that would normally be found in any group of that nature. Though the Cameroonian arm of this movement is comparatively young, it has done quite a lot  since it was created in February 2015.

The maiden President of   Ohanaeze Ndi igbo Cameroon is His Royal Highness HRH Onyengubo Jonathan Thomas, a Cameroon based business mogul who by virtue of what he has done to impact upon the lives of Igbo people, the Nigerian community in general in  Cameroon and the immediate community in which he lives has earned him the title EZE GBURU GBURU 1 literally translated as the first elephant. While the title EZE generally refers to a Ruler or leader with Royal Status, GBURU GBURU gives the image of a personality with a very huge dimension likened to the size of an elephant. The figure “1” accompanying this title simply means HRH Onyengubo Jonathan Thomas was the first individual to be honoured with such a title in Cameroon. This title is a reflection of the stature he has attained as a result of his activities which fall in two distinct categories; namely the promotion of Igbo culture and his outreach programs which are mostly humanitarian as well as cultural.  

The venue of the enthronement of HRH Onyengubo Jonathan Thomas EZE Gburu Gburu 1 of Ohanaeze Ndiigbo Cameroon was in Tiko town in the Southwest region of Cameroon.

One of the main aims of Ohanaeze Ndiigbo all over the world is to promote the Igbo Culture irrespective of where the Igbos find themselves.

Just two months after taking office as President of Ohaneze Ndiigbo Cameroon, Eze Gburu Gburu 1 Onyengubo Jonathan Thomas created a sub branch in Lime; the Tourist Resort town on the Atlantic coast of Cameroon. This was in April 2015.

Apart from being strictly an Ethnic Cultural Group, Ohanaeze Ndiigbo is recognized by the Nigerian Government and it’s diplomatic representatives or embassies in the countries where the movement is active.

In this regard, the various branch presidents of the Ohaneze Ndiigbo carry out a lot of public functions and maintain or assure a cordial relationship between Igbos in the Diaspora and the people of the countries hosting them.

Since our reference in this writeup has been Cameroon, let’s make reference to an example from Cameroon without of course restricting ourselves to Cameroon.

After installing Onyengubo Jonathan Thomas, Eze Gburu Gburu 1 at the helm of Ohanaeze Ndiigbo Cameroon in February 2015, he amongst other things was present during the Oru Community Cultural Festival in Muyuka in the Southwest Region of Cameroon in December that same year and was eventually amongst those who met with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency President Buhari when he visited Cameroon.

He was eventually invited to the second Igbo World Festival of Arts and Culture at the Igbo Village of the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton Virginia, USA.

Author: Francis Ekongang Nzante, Center for Afro Culture CAC.