Woman Bags Rare Chieftaincy Title In Imo

In Igboland, traditional titles are mostly reserved for men; it is rare for women to be bestowed with such titles.

But the two communities of Ihiagwa ancient kingdom and Dindi Ihiagwa in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State overlooked such cultural inhibitions and honoured one of their illustrious daughters, Dr. Patience Onuoha, recently.

Onuoha, a United States-based businesswoman, CEO of Patching Enterprises Ltd, was conferred with the title of Omereoha II of Ihiagwa, by the two traditional rulers of Ihiagwa clan, Eze Kingsley Odu and Eze Lucky Ajoku, for her innumerable roles in assisting the two communities financially.

The two communities chose December 26, the historic day when both separated from each other eight years ago and became autonomous for the event. People from the communities gathered that fateful day and celebrated their common ancestry muted by love and maturity.

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Ihiagwa Day as they named it is a special day mapped out for the people of the clan to unite and attend to matters concerning them and to chart a way forward in line with their cherished ancestry.

In his opening remarks at the occasion, Chairman of the 2019 Ihiagwa Clan Day celebration, Festus Ekechi from Dindi, appreciated the two monarchs of the communities for bringing peace, joy and mutual understanding to the area.

Ekechi also urged all members of the two communities to fulfil their pledges towards the erection of a befitting civic centre for their people.

Also speaking, Chairman Ihiagwa Town Management Committee (ITMC), Chief Emeka Udokporo, described the event as a special day for the people because according to him, it was the first time the two monarchs were jointly conferring chieftaincy title on an individual.

The two traditional rulers eulogised Onuoha as she was being honoured. Eze Ajoku said the recipient had brought smiles to a lot of people in the two communities.

Her empowerment programmes, according to him, had seen over one thousand widows become independent after losing their husbands.

Many youths from the area, he also noted, have become self-employed after benefitting from her numerous skills acquisition programmes.

“She has directly employed so many of our youths, the vigilante outfit of the community which she has been sponsoring is a living testimony.

“So many infrastructures have been brought by this great woman to the two communities, electricity, health care services and her contribution in the ongoing civic centre projects,” Eze Ajoku said.

Onuoha was not the only person honoured at the occasion, Aminu Ahmed, a retired director of Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation, was also honoured with a chieftaincy title of Omeudo I.

Speaking shortly after being conferred with the chieftaincy title, Ahmed disclosed that he cherished the honour bestowed on him by the Iheagwa people and would henceforth relate with the communities as a second home.

(The Sun)