December 25, 2025 | SUNTV Global Channel
The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, has declared the last Sunday of every January as a special annual thanksgiving day to commemorate the survival of the Igbo people during the Nigeria–Biafra Civil War.
The resolution was unanimously adopted at the organisation’s Imeobi meeting held at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Enugu, following a motion put to vote by its leadership.
Announcing the decision, the Deputy President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Prince Okechukwu Nwadinobi, said the thanksgiving day was instituted to acknowledge divine intervention that spared the Igbo from total annihilation during the 1967–1970 civil war.
“On the last Sunday of every January, all Igbo people will go to church to thank God for saving us from extermination in Nigeria,” Nwadinobi declared.
He explained that the Senator Azuta Mbata-led Ohanaeze leadership considered it necessary to formally institute a day of gratitude, noting that without God, the support of some Nigerians, and the intervention of the international community, the Biafran struggle and the Igbo people might not have survived.
“Nigeria was determined to wipe out the entire Biafra, but for God and the intervention of a few Nigerians and the international community, Biafra would have been consigned to history,” he said.
Beyond the thanksgiving initiative, Nwadinobi highlighted several interventions carried out by the current Ohanaeze leadership to safeguard Igbo interests nationwide.
He disclosed that the organisation recently dispatched a high-powered delegation to Lagos over the demolition of Igbo-owned properties, particularly around 6th Avenue, Festac Town, and the Trade Fair Complex.
“A special NEC intervention team on the demolition of houses at 6th Avenue, Festac Town, has held productive meetings and is engaging relevant authorities to resolve the issues,” he stated.
According to him, Ohanaeze also intervened in the Mandilas Plaza fire incident, holding consultations with affected traders to prevent future occurrences. He added that a team of professionals has been assembled to guide Igbo business owners on best operational and safety practices.
Nwadinobi further revealed that the organisation has entered into a strategic partnership with Otu Oka Iwu, a body of eminent legal practitioners, to provide free legal services on issues affecting Ndigbo across the country.
In a goodwill message, former Archbishop of the Enugu Anglican Communion, Dr. Emmanuel Olisa Chukwu, described the decision as timely and spiritually significant, recounting his personal survival experience during the war.
“I almost lost my life during the war. I would have been killed during the genocide in Asaba, but God saved me,” he recalled, adding that the experience deepened his devotion to God.
The cleric noted that the Igbo are a deeply religious people whose faith has sustained them through decades of hardship.
“Igbo people are God-fearing, and they believe so much in God,” he said.
— SUNTV Global Channel
