The President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Senator John Azuta-Mbata, lamented that Ndigbo have yet to fully achieve their collective potential, despite their individual brilliance, enterprise, and resilience.

Azuta-Mbata stated this on Monday in Umuahia, the state capital, in his welcome address during the Igbo Day Lecture and Dinner organised by Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, with the theme “The Igbo Charter and Development of Ala Igbo.”

He stated that the event was convened to harness the collective strength of Ndigbo through a unified development strategy.

He noted that the Igbo Charter for Strategic Engagement for National Development, written by over 67 Igbo technocrats and business leaders, provides a documented framework for engaging the Nigerian state and the world.

“The Charter proposes pathways to protect Igbo culture, particularly the Igbo language, and suggests that the Igbo language be made compulsory in primary and secondary schools across Igboland.

“Despite their individual brilliance, enterprise and resilience, Ndigbo are yet to fully achieve their collective potential,” he said, as he called on the Federal Government to find a political solution to the case of detained Biafran leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

Earlier, the Chairman of the occasion, Onyema Ugochukwu, called on Ndigbo to work together to develop Ala Igbo.

“We must look forward to building a brighter future, moving beyond complaining about those who won’t give us our due, to taking our destiny in our own hands,” he said.

Speaking, the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, said that his administration is repositioning the state from conventional trading to digital commerce.

The governor stressed that the future of global business lies in technology and digital delivery.

In his keynote address, presented virtually, the Chairman, Igbo Charter Committee for Strategic Engagement for National Development, Prof Kingsley Moghalu, said the Igbo Charter must be separated from party politics and should serve as a non-partisan roadmap for development, driven by merit, accountability and measurable targets.