“Thousands of Igbos are residents in Minnesota, some have lived here for over 45 years”-Gov. Walz .
Minnesota , the United States of America has proclaimed every 13th of August as Igbo day . This was contained in a release on the 16th of Aug , 2022 , by the Governor of Minnesota , Gov. Tim Walz
Ancestrals gathered that the proclamation of Igbo Day in Minnesota was contained in a document signed and sealed by the governor of Minnesota . The release published in the state’s official site indicates the importance of the Igbo people of Nigeria in the United States of America
According to the site , the proclamation document states the the reasons to officially proclaim Igbo day in the state of Minnesota
The proclamation document signed and sealed by Governor and Secretary of Minnesota reads as follows ….
“ Whereas The Igbos are one of the major ethnic groups in Nigeria; and
“Whereas there are thousands of Igbo residents in Minnesota, some of whom have lived in the State for more than forty-five years; and
“Whereas in 1985, Igbo Minnesotans formed the non profit organisation Umunne Cultural Association to unite and educate Igbo families and Minnesotans about Igbo culture, art, music and values; and
“Whereas first IgboFest was held in 1994 to celebrate the rich heritage of the Igbos and to educate Minnesotans about Igbo culture, and whereas Igbos in Minnesota have been involved in causes such as education, the arts, volunteering in local local schools and organisations, book drives, COVID-19 vaccination, and cultural perfomamces at local and international festivals, and
“Whereas Igbos in Minnesota are working to ensure the sustainability of Igbo culture by creating cultural awareness for the next generation.
“Now therefore, I Tim Walz, governor of Minnesot, do hereby proclaim August 13, 2022, Igbo Day”
The Igbo people , also spelled Ibo , and formerly also Iboe, Ebo, Eboe,Eboans,Heebo; natively ( Ṇ́dị́ Ìgbò) are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A sizable Igbo population is also found in Delta and Rivers States .
Large ethnic Igbo populations are found in Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea, as well as outside Africa. There has been much speculation about the origins of the Igbo people, which are largely unknown.
Geographically, the Igbo homeland is divided into two unequal sections by the Niger River , an eastern (which is the larger of the two) and a western section. The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.
The Igbo language is part of the Niger-Congo language family. Its regional dialects are somewhat mutually intelligible amidst the larger “Igboid” . The Igbo homeland straddles the lower Niger River, east and south of the Edoid and Idomoid groups, and west of the Ibibioid (Cross River) .
