By John Ikani
No fewer than 40 students and faculty members from Morehouse College Glee Club in Atlanta, United States of America (USA) have traced their ancestry to the Igbo tribe in Nigeria’s South East and taken new Igbo names to suit their new status.
At an official naming ceremony held at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, the students narrated how they traced their Igbo ancestral roots through DNA tests.
While performing the Igbo-name-giving ceremony at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, the traditional ruler of Ibagwa-Aka community in Igbo-Eze South Local Government Area of Enugu State, HRH, Igwe Hyacinth Eze, expressed happiness over the reunion of the Igbo-Americans with their ancestral brothers.
Eze who said he was happy because of the spiritual, cultural and economic exchanges which would happen as a result of the reunion, added that he is willing to provide lands for those that are willing to live in his community.
Also speaking, the Public Affairs Officer, United States Consulate General, Lagos, Stephen Ibelli, said the Glee Club came to Nigeria to mark the 50th anniversary of its first visit in Nigeria in 1972.
Ibelli explained that the club would tour Abuja, Enugu and Lagos States to strengthen US-Nigeria cultural ties through music, arts and film.
“The Morehouse College Glee Club, which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its first tour in Nigeria, will offer public concerts in Lagos, Abuja and Enugu. In addition, the group will visit universities and high schools, meet Nigerian students, and explore their historical ties to Nigeria,” Ibelli said.
“The 1972 visit to Nigeria infused African music into the Glee Club’s tradition and American Choral music in general. Fifty years later, choirs across the United States sing in Nigerian languages, highlighting the long-term impact of that exchange. The Morehouse College Glee Club has since learned a variety of songs in Edo, Yorùbá, Hausa, and Igbo, including a piece specifically composed for them by Igwe Laz Ekwueme, famed Nollywood actor and University of Lagos professor.
“During the visit, the Morehouse College Glee Club will carry out a dynamic exchange of musical knowledge with the broad spectrum of the Nigerian society, singing in Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba languages.”
