IGBO WORLD ASSEMBLY CHAIRMAN AND REGENT OF ABAGANA ANAKWENZE RECOMMITS TO BRIDGING ANCESTRAL HOMELAND, AFRICAN DIASPORA

By: Comrade Eric Oluwole

*- New narrative of 1803 Igbo Landing in Georgia emerges*

*- Igbo World Assembly, Council of Igbo States in America (CISA) renew commitment to the Igbo Village project at UNN*

*- American Igbos vow yearly pilgrimage to Aguleri ancestral home*

*- Executive Governor of Anambra state, His Excellency Charles Soludo welcome them wholeheartedly*

*- Visit to OMAMBALA RIVER ignite them more to the history of slave trade*

Igbo World Assembly Chairman and Regent of Abagana, Dr. Nwachukwu Anakwenze has recommitted himself to strengthening the ties between the Igbo ancestral homeland and the African Diaspora.

A statement by his Director General/Spokesman, Comrade Eric Oluwole, said his principal Dr Nwachukwu Anakwenze made the pledge while hosting African American dignitaries including Dr. Sidney Davies and Mayor Griffin Lotson, in his Abagana, Anambra State country home.

Anambra State Commissioner for Culture, Entertainment, and Tourism, Mr. Don Onyenji, who, together with the Abagana Royal Council, Abagana Welfare Union, and prominent high chiefs, received the guests on behalf of the state government, and the entire Umunna Igbo at home, described the homecoming as remarkable.

He commended Dr Anakwenze as an exemplary leader who has tremendously impacted the Igbo community at home and in the Diaspora positively, and who is passionately committed to the people's socioeconomic and cultural revival, and to whom the race was grateful.

The commissioner described the Igbo Landing in Georgia, United States, many years ago as “something we must recognize and we must do something to tell our story” In this regard, he assured the state government’s “readiness to collaborate.”

Also in his welcome address, the President-General of Abagana Welfare Union, who noted the historical happening of the Igbo Landing in Georgia, said their kinsmen at home were happy about the reunion.

Remarkably, the Igbo Landing in Georgia, in 1803 was a defining moment in African American history, where enslaved Igbo captives resisted slavery, inspiring generations of folklore.

In his speech at UNN as Guest Speaker, Mayor Griffin Lotson, a seventh-generation Gullah Geechee descendant and Vice-Chairman of the U.S. Federal Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, disclosed new archival findings about the incident, which set the record straight.

He explained that contrary to the old narrative, the new findings have shown that the 181 Igbos said to have committed suicide did not commit suicide after all, but drowned while resisting to be slaves.

His words, “They have uncovered a record that the 181 Igbos did not die in suicide as claimed; but they refused to be slaves, and in the process of resistance, they drowned contrary to the speculation that they committed suicide.”

Also, Lotson, who runs the internationally renowned Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters, highlighted the cultural preservation work being done in his Darien, Georgia hometown where the Gullah Geechee community continues to safeguard African traditions.

Besides, Lotson has been instrumental in preserving Gullah Geechee traditions including a unique language, cuisine, and spiritual practices rooted in West African heritage.

The Gullah Geechee people who are descendants of enslaved Africans in the coastal U.S., maintain a distinct culture blending African, Caribbean, and Southern influences. Their traditions, ring shouts, storytelling, and Creole language remain a living link to Africa.

In his own speech at the occasion, Dr. Sidney Davies added a spiritual dimension, comparing Aguleri to Rome, Jerusalem, and Mecca.

He said, “Christians have Rome, Jews Jerusalem, Muslims Mecca, and Africans/igbos will have Aguleri . 

“We will be coming for our pilgrimage every year in Aguleri, our ancestral home. I am Igbo. Give me my citizenship (passport) . I want to be coming home every year.”

Meanwhile, Lotson has explored the deep cultural, historical and linguistic ties between the Igbo people and the Gullah Geechee community of the United States.

Lotson, who was recently re-elected as the Mayor Pro Tem of Darien’s North Ward, did this at the inaugural Nigeria–America Gullah Geechee Connection Distinguished Guest Lecture at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN.

Chaired by Dr. Anakwenze, the event featured a renewed commitment from the Igbo World Assembly and the Council of Igbo States in America (CISA) to advance the Igbo Village project at UNN, a multi‑billion‑naira initiative envisioned as a cultural hub to attract diaspora visitors and strengthen people‑to‑people exchange.

In his lecture, Mayor Lotson traced ancestral continuities and cultural survivals, culminating in the presentation of the 181 names associated with the 1803 Igbo Landing, a moment of profound significance for Gullah Geechee memory. 

Also, he led students in a demonstration of the Gullah Geechee dance, turning the program into a living exchange of performance and pedagogy. 

Notably, while on stage reconnecting with his roots, Lotson was simultaneously on the ballot in Darien; and he won his re‑election with 53.81 percent of the vote, defeating Patty Daughtry (23.10 percent) and Kevin R. Brown (18.10 percent). This victory secures another term in office and provides continuity for his leadership of Darien’s local government, his concurrent achievements, academic recognition in Nigeria and renewed civic mandate at home.

In recognition of his contributions to transatlantic cultural dialogue, the university presented Lotson with an Award of Excellence.