Fatherland Yoruba & Igbo Conference 2022:
Speaking with one voice
From a shared experience: Wetie to Biafra
DATE: Saturday 22nd January 2022
Kick-off: 3pm GMT
VENUE: ZOOM
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
Please click on this link to Register:
Upon registering, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to join the webinar.
FURTHER INFORMATION: www.fatherlandgroup.org
The theme for this year’s conference is:
The Biafra war – forget not but forge ahead: lessons from the brotherly rivalry by
IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan vs Enugu Rangers 1971- 1980
Noting: the history of Yoruba and Igbo relations and the current sorry state of the political and economic situation in Nigeria which is in part sustained by the breakdown of trust and harmony between the two ethnic groups.
The Conference will be followed by cultural performances from Amarachi Attamah and Ayan De First a.k.a. Mr. Culture and music DJ Bonny
The event will be supported by Dr Biki Minyuku, former head of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and chaired by Emeritus Professor Emmanuel Nwanze.
And recalling: the following viewpoints of preeminent Igbo and Yoruba statesmen:
“I am humbly of the opinion that the true beginnings of our loss of direction as a nation can be traced directly to the fabrication and installation of what I had earlier called east/west dichotomy”
Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu – Because I am Involved
“I hold it as a fact that if the Action Group and the NCNC, both of which parties have a monopoly of political following in the South, and at least one-third of the political followership in the North, could come together then, they would . . . infinitely increase the tempo of progress in the Federation as a whole”.
Obafemi Awolowo – The Trial of Obafemi Awolowo
The Yoruba-Igbo Conference is organized by Fatherland Group with the aim of improving relations between these two major ethnic groups for the betterment of Nigeria. This one-day conference follows up on last year’s inaugural conference which was headlined by the academics, Professor Banji Akintoye and Emeritus Professor Emmanuel Nwanze.
The theme for this year’s conference is:
The Biafra War origins of the brotherly rivalry between ICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan F.C. v Enugu Rangers F.C.
Speaking ahead of the Conference, the Convener of the Fatherland Group, the Historian and Lawyer Mr. Dele Ogun, said: “The Economist Magazine of June 25th 2001 said “The task before Mr. Obasanjo is nothing less than the reconstruction of Nigeria. It cannot be resolved by gestures. Nigerians have no common vision of a nation state called Nigeria, no sense of citizenship. The name and the footballers are about the only things that unite them. . .” Twenty years on, as we continue to look to our footballers to bring our people together when politicians divide us, we look to draw lessons from the wholesome rivalry between two of the greatest clubs in Nigerian footballing history Shooting Stars of Ibadan FC and Enugu Rangers FC in the company of two of their legendary players, “Mathematical” Chief Segun Odegbami and Chief Emmanuel Okala
Fatherland Group is a global network of forward-thinking Nigerians armed with a new understanding of our past, our present and our future.
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