A Distinguished Research Professor at Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, in the United States of America (USA), Bernard J. Brommel, has underscored the need for all to work for peace in Nigeria, in the spirit of equality and inclusiveness.

Brommel who spoke at the 19th Annual International Conference of the Igbo Studies Association held from May 12- 14, 2022, noted that Nigeria has been going through turbulent times, adding that Igboland has also had more than its fair of the inherent violence in the turbulence ravaging the country.

The Conference and Meeting with the theme: “Onye Aghana Nwanne Ya: Everyone Counts,” held virtually witnessed a harvest of intellectual engagement and interaction of the USA-based association, advanced ISA’s mission to foster active collaboration among academics and professionals towards the promotion and advancement of Igbo society, culture, language, and history.

In his welcome remarks, ISA President, Professor Chielozona Eze, the conference enabled the participants to deepen their discourse on inclusivity and equality, “in the spirit that everyone counts, that we are equal not only in the eyes of God, but [also] in the classical Igbo democratic spirit.”

“Arriving at that destination requires that members work together for peace in Nigeria which “has been going through turbulent and violent times” lately and in Igboland that “has also seen its own share of violence, dysfunction, and dystopia,” added Brommel.

Renowned scholars, Professor Uchenna Okeja (Director of the Menkiti Institute for Comparative Global Studies, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA) and Dr. Cyril Obi (Program Director at Social Science Research Council, New York, USA) gave the keynote lecture and the featured lecture, respectively.

In his outstanding and incisive Ihechukwu Madubuike Annual Keynote Lecture titled, “Concept, Creativity, and Meaningful Life,” Professor Okeja, Professor of Philosophy, spoke about the importance of stories in the formation of human identity and culture.

Ndi-Igbo, Okeja said, should be critical and broad-minded in their creativity and the self-defining narratives they construct as a people, because “when survival eclipses the task of meaning making, no one survives.”

Speaking to the conference theme from their different disciplines, participants presented quality research papers that probed and cross-examined the multiple and interdisciplinary dimensions of Igbo studies.

The academics, independent scholars, and students who participated in the virtual conference from the three continents of Africa, Europe, and North America, delivered dozens of papers on history, literature, linguistics, media and communication, cinema and theater, African studies, and religious studies, among others.

According to a statement endorsed by the ISA Public Relations Officer, Dr. Chijioke Azuawusiefe, Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois, USA, is expected to host the 20th Igbo Studies Association Annual International Conference in May 2023.

•L-R: Professors Ada Azodo, Ex-ISA President, and Nkuzi Nnam, Director, Center for Igbo Studies and ISA Secretariat, Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois, USA