EkeUdi Square

Brothers and Sisters:

The history of Thanksgiving in the United States goes back as far as almost 400 years when the pilgrims celebrated the survival of their first winter in Plymouth, Massachusetts. President George Washington proclaimed the first National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789. Since then, Americans have set aside the last Thursday of November as a day to remember the less fortunate and give thanks to God for the bounties in the United States.

As we join other citizens of the United States to celebrate this thanksgiving, it is important for us to remember that as citizens of Udi, we have so much to be thankful for. Udi is blessed with human and material resources. The beautiful weather and landscape of Udi make it one of the most conducive places to live in the world. Citizens of Udi have been placed in so many elevated positions around the world, including recently the position of governor of Enugu State.

But in spite of the abundance of blessings in Udi, there is excruciating poverty and privation in the town. In close proximity to the mansions and breathtaking edifices that continue to rise in many parts of Udi are shanties and huts occupied by the less privileged. Most of these people cannot afford three square meals. As members of Udi Town USA who by the blessing of God have been elevated to elitist positions, we must search our consciences. We must ask ourselves how such unbearable poverty could be allowed to co-exist with such wanton affluence. We must remind ourselves that nothing we have was achieved by our own might. We must realize that as we celebrate Thanksgiving and enjoy the fruits of God’s blessings, there are God’s children who are not so blessed. As we feast on sumptuous turkey dishes, binge on a dizzying array of foreign beverages and discard leftover turkey without any thought, we must pause to remember that there are our brothers and sisters who have no food to eat and no wine to drink.

Brothers and sisters, it is time to take our role in Udi Town seriously. The saying that “to whom much is given, much is expected” has become a cliché. However, the veracity of that statement is incontrovertible. Much has been given to us as citizens of Udi resident in the United States. Therefore, we must accept the fact that much is expected of us.

As we go into the holiday season, let us keep the poor and downtrodden in Udi in mind. The cost of one of coffee that we take for granted as we head towards Dunkin Donuts every morning, could bless a family with a full meal. Let us remember that always. Above all, let us live thankfully every day that we draw breath and give with joy in our hearts.

Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to all
God Bless Udi Town State
God Bless Enugu State.

Ejike Eze, Ph.D.
Chairman, Udi Town USA

E-mail: chairman@uditownusa.org
Web: www.uditownusa.org

Word reaching the United States is that His Excellency Governor Sullivan Chime is off to a great start. State workers wrongly dismissed in the last administration have been recalled. Arears of salaries have been paid to workers and plans have been laid out for great infrastructural development in Enugu State. We did not expect any less from a true son of Udi. Let’s continue to give the governor all our support.

 ”Were ya ka egwu”

Abu m Omenka.

Umunna,

Last Saturday afo, ndi Udi celebrated the Aju festival. As most of us recall, the aju festival used to be grand when we were growing up. But in spite of the best efforts of some diehard Udi culturalists like Sam Aneke, Cyril Eneoli, our new governor, His Excellency Prince Sullivan Chime and a few others, the festival was still low-keyed.

Things have really changed so much. Now many people shun the festival because of the fetish angle to it. But I believe that the aju festival does not have to have the fetish aspect. I believe it should be celebrated as a harvest, just like the Thanksgiving harvest we enjoy in America. The part about sacrificing to the god of yams should obviously go or at least modified so that the Christians are not part of that. But I believe that the umuada should still come home, the chicken should still be roasted, the ighu should still be prepared and the otimkpu should still run around and entertain everyone. It is a part of our culture and we should not let it die. I will have more to say on this when I complete my article on Aju Festival in Udi.

Were ya ka egwu

Abu m

Omenka

Today, I succombed to self pressure and reacted, rather sharply, to the planned march organized by some Igbo organizations to protest the conduct of the last elections in Nigeria. Here is what I sent to the various mailing lists on the issue:

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Folks,

Until now, I had hedged on writing this piece because I do not want to be perceived as yet another rabble rouser who does not see anything good in what the diaspora organizations are doing. On the contrary, I am a firm supporter of President Jude Akubuilo and the sanity and credibility he has brought Enugu

 

Let’s get something clear ab initio. Elections have never been free and fair in

 

One may make the argument that we have to start from somewhere, that we have finally grown balls and are ready to speak up the status quo. All well and good. But then, that raises a number of questions. Why the emphasis on

 

The organizers of this march are people who reside in the

 

At the World Igbo Congress, I had the opportunity of watching ndiigbo in the

 

The leadership of the WIC has been accused of all kinds of things. Many say they have sold out ndiigbo while pursuing selfish interests. In fact, the dissatisfaction of many towards WIC is best encapsulated in what is now termed the “nku ukwa phenomenon”, many thanks to Dr. Ezejiofo Ude. So, maybe WIC is bad for ndiigbo. Maybe not. The truth lies neither here no there. The fact, nonetheless, remains that a march in downtown New York,

 

One must ask him or herself a question thus: If Andy Uba were to come to the United States today, would he be seen walking through the streets of LA, New York or Boston by himself, completely ostracized by the Anambra community, in particular, and Nigerians in general? Or would there be a long line of people preparing receptions for him and honoring him for “I don’t know what”? If you think that latter scenario is more likely the case, then you agree with me that the march makes no sense and you would excuse me if I don’t plan on attending.

 

My position is that if the Diaspora Igbo are truly averse to the evil that is prevalent in Nigeria and the farce that is called elections, they will start with not encouraging the perpetrators when they come to the

Folks,

I am excited to welcome you to Eke Udi Square on the Udi Town USA website. I plan to use this page to share my thoughts on what is going on in Udi. This is particularly important at a time when Udi is at a cross-roads.

I believe that a great town like Udi should have a big presence on the web not only via a website but also through weblogs and regular postings. That’s the purpose of this page. I hope you find it worthwhile. Please check back frequently and do feel free to post your comments.

Nnoo.

Omenka Ejike Eze