Nze Arch. Stanley Onyedum Past President ICOTTHUSA
PRESIDENT of Igbo Council of Traditional Title Holders (ICOTTHUSA), from 2016 to 2020. Nze Arch. Stanley Onyedum was born in Nkwerre, in Nkwerre Local Government of Imo State, Nigeria.
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS:
Bachelor of Science, Urban Design, Morgan State University, Baltimore Maryland. Master of Architecture, Morgan State University, Baltimore Maryland. After graduation, Chief Sir Onyedum worked many companies including: Middle River Air Craft System, N&E Environmental and Construction Inc., Sonyx (Group) Inc., and Afram Construction Inc. before going into private practice.
IGBO COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT:
Throughout my adult life I have served the Igbo community with passion and will continue to do so as long as I Iive. Inspector General and Member Board of Directors, World Igbo Council June 1990-June 1996.
- President, Nkwerre Aborigines Union, Washington DC Chapter 1999-2002
- Patron, Nkwerre Aborigines Union Baltimore, DC, Virginia Chapter.
- Vice President ICOTTHUSA, 2011—2015
- President ICOTTHUSA, 2015—2019
MY VISION FORE ICOTTHUSA:
Under my leadership, I would want members of this noble organization to be very proud of their position in the society. We should also know what the red cap represents in Igbo tradition and culture. It is not for everybody, because it symbolizes authority, power and leadership in the community. In the olden days, only the upright and those who have contributed to the community are given chieftaincy titles. Though, sometimes we see people who are not Igbo Chiefs wearing red caps, a good look at them will tell you that they are not comfortable wearing them, because they are not qualified to wear them.
My goal for ICOTTHUSA is to have chapters all over Igbo speaking states of Nigeria within the next 2 years. While this is going on, we also should be expanding our branches here in the USA. We shall make sure that the United Nation's prediction about the Igbo language becoming extinct in the next 10 years does no come to pass. It is very shameful that this prediction was not made about any other language by UNESCO, only the Igbo language. This being the case, I challenge every Igbo family to start speaking our language to our children at home so that we, as a people, do not lose our identity in this world because language and culture is what makes a people.
Udo diri unu!