Embrace sisterhood to enhance development in South-East – Amb. Ojukwu urges

Amb. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the wife of the late Igbo Leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has tasked Igbo women to embrace sisterhood and strengthen the ties of solidarity among each other. “This will ensure that the Igbo women will maximise the gains of developmental efforts in Igbo communities across the country,” Odumegwu-Ojukwu said in an address at the Igbo Women’s Movement Worldwide (IWMW) Annual Assembly and Patron’s Gala. The address was made available to newsmen in Enugu on Wednesday. She emphasised that without sisterhood being the basic foundation or support base, the realization of the necessary impact of humanitarian interventions within the communities, of which their supervisory roles are also imperative, would remain a challenging quest. Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who is a former ambassador of Nigeria to Spain, urged Igbo women in the Diaspora to continue to support relief programmes and the provision of basic amenities in Igbo communities. According to her, these relief programmes and provisions should be targeted at the people, especially those communities with little or no government presence in terms of life-changing facilities. The Convener of the Assembly, Lady Chinwendu Okoroigwe, in her speech, charged the attendees who came from all parts of Igboland and the Diaspora not to relent in supporting these community relief efforts and interventions. Okoroigwe noted that the support had become necessary because the living conditions of the people in the homeland have continued to deteriorate, with women and children feeling the greatest impact. She, however, pledged to sustain the vision of the organisation in bringing the much needed succour and relief by its humanitarian programmes in disadvantaged communities in the South-East. The convener said that IWMW movement is a dynamic organization which membership comprises illustrious daughters of Igboland both in Nigeria and the Diaspora. She noted that the movement is committed, through multifaceted activities, to bringing succour and relief to the less privileged within communities in Igbo land. “This is done through water provision projects, healthcare interventions, poverty alleviation, scholarships, prison outreaches, advocacy and women’s rights, women economic empowerment through skills acquisition initiatives and other initiatives addressing the specific needs and challenges faced by Igbo women both within Nigeria and the Diaspora.” The IWMW annual Assembly and Patron’s Gala, which was held in Paris, France, between Aug. 12 and Aug.14, 2023, was themed: “A Prosperous Alaigbo, Today and Tomorrow”. The Igbo women’s assembly is convened annually in adherence to Igboland’s age old tradition of the yearly ‘August Meetings’ in its villages and communities as well as in the Diaspora. Other highlights of the event in addition to the Annual report presentation, were investitures of patrons and matrons, and award presentations, with late Igbo leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, bestowed with the hallmark Post-humous Award of ‘True Igbo Spirit, Excellence and Sacrifice’.