From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
The Igede Community in Onitsha and Asaba recently jointly celebrated the new yam festival where they called for peaceful co-existence between the Igbo and the Igede people.
Igede is a community in Benue State that shares some common cultural activities with the Igbo.
The Igede National Day which was held at the Onitsha Military Cantonment was used to mark the new yam festival in Igede land by its sons and daughters living in Onitsha and Asaba, who came together to showcase their cultural heritage.
The immediate past President-General of Igede Development Association, Onitsha/ Asaba branch and the Ad’Uwokwu, District, Igede, Benue State, Chief Patrick Akobo, while speaking at the event called for more cooperation between the Igede residents in Anambra and Delta states and the Igbo people in the states.
He noted that Igede people and the Igbo have a lot of similarities in their cultures, tradition and even their names, which he said sound alike, urging the Igbo and the Igedes to continue to come together in building the state and Nigeria in general.
“If you see an Igede man with an Igbo man you may hardly differentiate between them except they tell you, and the interesting thing is that most of us speak Igbo fluently and are very conversant and at home with Igbo culture because of the level of our relationship with our Igbo brothers.
“We want to appeal to our Igbo brothers to continue to give us the co-operation they have been according us, so that together we will move Igbo, Igede land and Nigeria forward. It will interest you to know that culturally, traditionally, and in resemblance, it is difficult to differentiate the Igbo man or woman from their Igede counterpart.
“Our people in Anambra and Delta states have been very industrious, very hard working and we have relentless commitment in building the states and the country in general,” he said.
He disclosed that their people have been advised strongly not to involve in any crime, saying that was why you could hardly get any Igede man involved in any criminal activity in Anambra and Delta states, nsisting that they do not have any criminal record as far as the states are concerned.
“We have code of conduct for our people called ‘Ten Commandments of the 12 Disciples’ our parents gave to us; before we leave our homes
our parents will tell us to carry it along like the Bible and you must
not go outside that Ten Commandments. So, we work with the fear that has been installed in us by our fore fathers, that is why it is very hard for an Igede man or woman to steal somebody’s property, very difficult and get away with it.
“We believe in the strength that God has given us to work and do something meaningful for ourselves and to the society, we are God-fearing, we have what we call 12 disciples and the only things from the Scripture – the Bible are what we believe.
“If the Igede man does not have money to feed himself, he will come to you not to beg for food, but to tell you please, I want to work for you so you can pay me, and that is why if you go to shoe site in Onitsha today, Igede people are 40 per cent of the people manufacturing shoe at the site.
“If you go to Onitsha Main Market, the tailoring section more than 50 per cent of Igede youths are dominating that section, we believe in hard work and committed to whatever good thing we are doing to earn a decent living, we believe in honesty in everything and that with unity, Nigeria will move forward, we have been in Anambra State and we co-operate well with the Igbo because we have almost the same name and culture.
“As you can see, we have just done our new yam festival today and one of the greatest things that happened today is the agreement for cordial relationship with our Igbo brothers and sisters who we have been living harmoniously with over the years.
“Another thing is the appreciation of our Idoma brothers, the youths of Idoma have in their unbelievably and heartwarming gesture unanimously agreed that the Senate seat being currently occupied by one of their own and our Idoma brother, Senator David Mark should go to Igede in 2019.
“We are commending them for their understanding and appealing to the incumbent Senator representing Zone C Senatorial Zone in Benue State, Chief David Mark to agree with the vision and the decision of the youths of Idoma by allowing the Igede person to succeed him.
“Igede people are the third largest tribe in Benue State, which is made up three major tribes, the Tiv, Idoma and Igede and, in fact, when you talk about the food basket of Nigeria, it is Benue State, that is the food basket of Nigeria.
“It is Igede people that are making it happen in agriculture, they are the people behind the scene producing the food that the state uses to boast of being the food basket of Nigeria, we believe in farming and education, the two things that make Igede tick in the country.”
Chief Akobo thanked the youths of Idoma for unanimously agreing that an Igede man would succeed Senator Mark in 2019.
“We have asked our elders to liaise with the Idoma elders, now the youths have agreed, we believe that everything has to do with lobby, let them see them and agree so we can move ahead; the same way our Tiv brothers should allow the governorship position to go to Zone C to our Idoma brothers.
“The seat of the governor should go to Idoma, while the Senate for Zone C should go to Igede person that is how we want political positions to be shared. We believe that our Tiv brothers will relinquish the governorship seat to our Idoma brothers.”
In his remarks, the leader of the Idoma people in Anambra State, Elder Friday Edor said he was happy to be part of celebration and expressed satisfaction with the relationship between the Igede people in Anambra and Delta states, as well as the Idoma.
He promised that they would continue to encourage the relationship,v adding that next year they would mobilize support for each other in their activities.
“We urge people at home to collaborate with each other for more development in the state.
“We will do our best to promote our culture, we have come to join our Igede brothers today in their celebration, and we have learnt a lot and we will go home and replicate same in our own culture and ask for assistance where necessary from our Igede brother.”