Victor Ezeja and Somto Bisina
Popular writer, Chimamanda Adichie, has been conferred with a chieftaincy title in her hometown of Abba, Njikoka Local Government, Anambra State.
Adichie, 45, received the title of ‘Odeluwa Abba’ on Friday, 30 December 2022, at a ceremony equally attended by the State’s governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, among other dignitaries.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe honour was conferred on her by His Royal Highness, Igwe L.N. Ezeh, the Eze of Abba.
The award-winning literary writer was spotted gorgeously dressed in a traditional attire and dancing in video posted on Twitter by @OneJoblessBoy on Friday.
READ ALSO: Ofala: After Chimamanda In Anambra, 2 More Women Traditional Chiefs Emerge In Enugu
A Facebook user, Uche Nworah, who shared photos of the ceremony on Facebook wrote: “Award-Winning Novelist, Chimamanda Adichie, Was On Friday, 29th December, 2022, Honoured By Her Native Abba Hometown, Njikoka LGA, Anambra State, With The Chieftaincy Title Of Odelụwa (She Who Writes For The World). Congratulations Odelụwa.”
Chimamanda has been very vocal about preservation of African culture. Recently, she called for the repatriation of all artefacts ‘stolen’ from Africa and deposited in European museums.
Delivering a lecture in Germany, the Nigerian writer and social activist, joined voices with those urging Europe to return artefacts taken from African nations during colonial era.
while making the call at the Humboldt Forum, Berlin in Germany, the vociferous pan-Africanist stressed that the materials regarded as African art, represent the cultural identity, dignity and religious inclination of people in the region.
According to her, the Ikenga, as an African (Igbo) sacred object, is a repository of spiritual meanings
“WhenI was researching my second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, which is set during the Nigerian Biafran war that started in 1967, a woman told me a story about her elderly father. It was early in the war and they were in the Biafran hometown, feeling relatively safe because the war seemed far away, “Chimamanda said.
“Then, suddenly they heard the loud terrifying sounds of bombing very close to them, and they knew that they had only minutes to leave their home and run into the interior for safety, before the Nigerian soldiers arrived.
“The elderly father was a wealthy man, but the only thing he rushed to take with him was his Ikenga, a piece of wood, a beautifully carved piece of wood; but it wasn’t just a piece of wood, it was also the repository of spiritual meaning. The Ikenga represented his Chi, his personal spirit as well as his ancestors, his guardian angels.”
READ ALSO: Return What You Stole From Africa, Chimamanda Adichie Tells Europe
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
