Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Friday, received a 10-man Haitian delegation led by Senator Moise Jean-Charles at the Government House, Enugu
The delegation was in Enugu, the capital of the South -East Nigeria, on a home-coming mission to know more about the Igbo culture and tradition having traced their roots to Igboland.
Addressing the delegation, Ugwuanyi, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Simon Ortuanya, welcomed them and expressed delight for the bold step they took tracing their root.
He thanked the leader of the delegation for the visit. Ugwuanyi said: “Today is a remarkable day in the history of our state and in the history of the people of Haiti.
“We want to assure our brothers and sisters for this historical visit. We want to thank you for keeping a date with history, for following your heart, and for following your roots and getting back to your roots”, he said.
“Today is a new beginning for all of us.
We open our doors to you and we are ready as we have demonstrated. We also want you to know that by changing your names is again in agreement with the Igbo tradition that you have a new name for a new born.
“Today, you are born anew in Enugu State and in the land of your fathers. Congratulations!”
In his address, the leader of the delegation, Sen. Jean-Charles, described the visit to Enugu State as home-coming, rooting back to their origin in Igboland, thanked Gov. Ugwuanyi for the hospitality accorded to them in the state.
He recounted the affinity of the people and culture of Enugu State and Haiti, revealing that Enugu has five letters as Haiti and that Enugu and Haiti mean cities on top of a hill.
“I have visited many countries, many places around the world but this is the first time I have visited a country that everybody looks like me.
“I have not come here as a foreign person. I have come back home. Before I keep on talking, I want to on behalf of all Haitians, all the blocks in Haiti, to thank you (Ugwuanyi) for receiving us after 218 years.
“We have decided that people in the whole continent of Africa and all of us who are there in Haiti is a wind following the bird from the African continent and it has brought bear in America which means all of us are one”.
In their separate goodwill messages, the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Hon. Ugonna Ibe, the Chairman, Enugu State Council of Traditional Rulers, HRH Igwe Lawrence Agubuzu, the immediate past President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo and former minister of Information and Culture, Chief Nnia Nwodo and Ozo (Dr.) Ferdinand Anikwe, gave a historic background of the Haitians and their link with Igbos. They applauded the delegation for taking a bold step in identifying with the people of their origin.
Highlights of the event were the traditional naming and name adoption by the Haitian delegation, which was performed by the chairman, Enugu state traditional rulers council, Igwe Ambassador Lawrence Agubuzu in company of other traditional rulers present, cultural dance display , dancing of “Igede” by the visitors and presentation of souvenirs to them by Enugu State government.
The event was witnessed by members of the Enugu State House of Assembly, State Executive Council (EXCO), Special Advisers to the Governor, top government officials and the President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Enugu State Chapter, Prof. Fred Eze.
Haiti is the first independent black republic in the world that defeated King Napoleon and the Fresh colonists in 1803 and became a sovereign nation in 1804.
Haiti is also the second oldest independent nation in the Western Hemisphere after the United States of America and was also the first country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery.
The Igbo lineage of the Haitian people has been a lingering story over the years, taking facts from the culture of the people of Haiti whose population derives from black slaves who got liberated from their French colonial masters.
