By: Godwin Offor
The 50th anniversary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo should have been a moment of reflection, pride and renewed commitment to the Igbo people.
Instead, the choice of Lagos as the venue for the landmark celebration has raised a question that deserves an honest and uncomfortable conversation among Ndigbo:
What does it say about us when the apex socio-cultural organisation of the Igbo people leaves the South-East to celebrate its 50th anniversary in another region of Nigeria?
This is not an argument against Lagos.
Lagos is an important Nigerian city. It is home to millions of Ndigbo who have contributed significantly to its economy and development. Igbo people have businesses, families, communities and deep relationships across Lagos.
Nobody is suggesting that Ndigbo should withdraw from Lagos or any other part of Nigeria.
The issue is different.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo is not simply an association of Igbo people living in Lagos. It is an organisation created to represent the collective cultural and socio-political interests of Ndigbo.
That distinction matters.
When an organisation representing a people celebrates 50 years, the location carries symbolism.
And in this case, there were several cities in and around the Igbo heartland that could have hosted the occasion — Enugu, Awka, Owerri, Umuahia, Abakaliki, Onitsha and even Asaba.
So why Lagos?
That question deserves an explanation from the leadership.
This Is About More Than a Venue
Some may argue that the location of an anniversary is insignificant.
I disagree.
Institutions communicate through symbols.
Where we celebrate our history tells a story about where we believe our history belongs.
For an organisation whose name begins with Ohanaeze Ndigbo, whose mandate is centred on the Igbo people and whose historical roots are connected to the South-East, celebrating 50 years outside that geographical and cultural centre sends a message — whether intended or not.
The question is whether that message is the right one.
At a time when there are growing concerns about the strength, direction and political independence of Igbo socio-cultural leadership, decisions like this inevitably attract scrutiny.
And scrutiny is not hostility.
A cultural organisation representing millions of people should be able to answer legitimate questions from the people it represents.
Are We Becoming Too Desperate to Be Accepted?
This is perhaps the more important conversation.
Ndigbo have always been one of Nigeria’s most mobile and commercially successful populations. We live in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, Benin, Jos and virtually every major city in the country.
That is a strength.
But our ability to integrate into other communities should not come at the expense of our ability to build and strengthen our own.
There is nothing wrong with seeking national inclusion.
There is nothing wrong with engaging the Federal Government.
There is nothing wrong with building relationships with Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani, Ijaw, Edo, Efik, Ibibio or any other Nigerian community.
Nigeria belongs to all of us.
But national engagement should not require cultural surrender.
Ndigbo should be able to seek political relevance without becoming politically dependent.
We should be able to participate in national politics without weakening the institutions that preserve our identity.
And we should be able to engage other Nigerians as equals, not as a people constantly seeking validation.
What Happened to “Think Home”?
For decades, Ndigbo have preached the importance of developing home.
Invest at home.
Build at home.
Send businesses home.
Develop communities.
Preserve the language.
Protect our culture.
Support our traditional institutions.
Strengthen our political institutions.
The message was clear: wherever an Igbo person finds himself, there should remain a connection to home.
So when an important Igbo institution reaches a milestone as significant as 50 years, it is reasonable to ask why the celebration could not have been centred in the South-East.
This becomes even more important when one considers the continuing efforts to develop permanent institutional structures for Ohanaeze in Enugu.
If we are building an institutional home in the South-East, then the South-East should not become merely a geographical reference point while the organisation increasingly looks elsewhere for validation.
Lagos Is Not the Problem
Let us be clear.
The problem is not Lagos.
And the solution is not for Ndigbo to become hostile towards Lagos or other parts of Nigeria.
That would be counterproductive.
Lagos has welcomed generations of Nigerians, including millions of Ndigbo. Igbo businesses and professionals have become an important part of Lagos’s economic story.
But acknowledging Lagos’s importance does not mean pretending that its indigenous history and identity do not exist.
The popular phrase that Lagos is “no man’s land” is misleading.
Lagos is a Nigerian city open to Nigerians, but it also has indigenous people, history and culture that deserve recognition.
In the same way, the South-East is not “no man’s land.”
It is the historical homeland of the Igbo people.
Both realities can exist at the same time.
Respecting the identity of Lagos does not diminish Ndigbo.
And recognising the South-East as the Igbo homeland does not diminish other Nigerians.
Would Other Ethnic Organisations Do the Same?
This is another legitimate question.
How often do major Yoruba cultural institutions relocate their defining regional celebrations to Igbo land?
How often do major Hausa cultural institutions move their central cultural events to the South-East?
There may be individual examples in different circumstances, and every organisation has its own reasons for choosing a venue.
But the larger principle remains:
Every people needs a strong cultural centre.
A people that cannot confidently celebrate its history and identity at home risks gradually weakening the institutions that preserve that identity.
This is not about superiority.
It is about self-confidence.
Politics Should Not Consume Culture
One of the greatest dangers facing socio-cultural organisations is the temptation to become extensions of political interests.
Once a cultural organisation becomes excessively dependent on political actors for relevance, access or resources, its ability to speak independently for its people can become complicated.
That is why the leadership of Ohanaeze must be particularly careful.
Ohanaeze should be able to engage whoever is in power without becoming the property of any political party or administration.
It should be able to criticise when necessary.
It should be able to commend when deserved.
It should be able to defend the interests of Ndigbo regardless of who occupies Aso Rock.
That is how a socio-cultural institution earns credibility.
Not by being permanently close to power, but by being permanently accountable to the people it represents.
What Should Ohanaeze Do Now?
Rather than simply criticising the Lagos anniversary, Ndigbo should demand something practical from the organisation.
First, Ohanaeze should clearly explain the rationale behind the choice of Lagos for the 50th anniversary.
Second, future landmark Ohanaeze events should deliberately rotate between the South-East and other locations where large Igbo populations reside, ensuring both inclusion and connection to the homeland.
Third, the organisation should strengthen its institutional independence from partisan politics.
Fourth, Ohanaeze should make the development and preservation of Igbo culture a central part of its work, including language, history, traditional institutions and youth engagement.
Fifth, the organisation should create stronger links between Ndigbo at home and Ndigbo in the diaspora.
And finally, Ohanaeze must listen more closely to ordinary Ndigbo.
An apex organisation cannot only speak to governors, ministers, politicians, businessmen and traditional rulers.
It must also speak to the trader in Onitsha, the artisan in Aba, the student in Nsukka, the farmer in Ebonyi, the entrepreneur in Nnewi, the professional in Lagos and the Igbo family living abroad.
They are all part of the constituency.
At 50, It Is Time for Introspection
The 50th anniversary should not be remembered merely for the speeches, dignitaries or venue.
It should become an opportunity to ask what Ohanaeze has achieved, where it has failed, what it represents today and what it should become in the next 50 years.
The organisation does not belong to one president.
It does not belong to one political party.
It does not belong to governors.
It does not belong to businessmen.
Ohanaeze belongs to Ndigbo.
And that is precisely why Ndigbo have the right to ask difficult questions about its direction.
There is nothing wrong with Ndigbo wanting to be carried along in national affairs.
But being carried along should never mean losing our sense of who we are.
We can be proudly Nigerian and proudly Igbo.
We can build bridges without abandoning our foundation.
We can participate in national politics without surrendering our cultural institutions.
We can live successfully in Lagos without forgetting Enugu, Awka, Owerri, Umuahia, Abakaliki, Onitsha and the wider Igbo homeland.
The challenge before Ohanaeze today is therefore bigger than where one anniversary was held.
It is about identity.
It is about independence.
It is about institutional credibility.
And ultimately, it is about whether the organisation still reflects the aspirations of the people whose name it carries.
At 50, Ohanaeze does not merely need another celebration. It needs a serious conversation with Ndigbo.
And perhaps the first question should be the simplest:
Ohanaeze Ndigbo — are you still truly Ohanaeze Ndigbo?
