Nnobi people in North America raised $40,000 at their 2025 convention held in Maryland over the penultimate weekend. The sold-out event featured young children and adults dancing, a masquerade performance, and other cultural displays. There were also business meetings and a dinner banquet. Nnobi people and their friends supported the convention theme of “Building Healthy Minds and Bodies: Investing in Education and Health Care.”
Amongst the dignitaries that graced the occasion was Dr. Chris Ngige, a former governor of Anambra State and former Minister of Labor under President Muhammadu Buhari. Dr. Ngige’s mother hailed from Nnobi. Also present at the occasion was the Igwe of Nnobi, Engineer Muodum Nick Obi. Supporting the Igwe were cabinet members like Ichie Omemma, Professor Chuka Obah, numerous titleholders like Akajiofo Nnobi, Prof. Ferdinand Ofodile and his wife, Ikemba Nnobi, Hamilton Ezeonu, ndi nze-na-ozo, and other prominent sons and daughters.
Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Ngige enumerated his road construction in Nnobi while governor. “Nnobi is my home,” he says. “What you all are doing here is vital,” he said as he donated two million Naira to support the fundraiser. “I’m a Nigerian man. I work there. We fight it out there. Anyone who wants us to put legs in one trouser, we do so and let the trousers tear. It is good like that.”
Nnobi Union North America organized the event to embark on strategic investments in community development. The leader of the host branch, Dr. Churchill Okonkwo, listed two vital areas the organization hopes to tackle–upgrading Nnobi General Hospital to improve patient and staff experience and positioning it to be a satellite of one of the teaching hospitals in the state. A portion of the money would also be used to renovate and construct primary school classrooms in the town.
“The Nnobi 2025 Convention stands as a testament to the power of collective action and the commitment of the Nnobi diaspora to the advancement of their hometown, Dr. Okonkwo said. “Organizers and community members alike are optimistic that these projects will have a lasting positive impact on the health and education sectors in Nnobi.”
