Caption : Cross River Diaspora Commission, Chairman, Prince Otu Okor
By Omolara Akintoye
At least 300 Black nationals from the Caribbean are getting ready to officially establish their connections with the Nigerian State of Cross River by obtaining recognition as indigenes.
This was made known by the Cross River Diaspora Commission, Chairman, Prince Otu Okor in Calabar, Cross River.
He informed journalists that the group, comprising members from Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, Grenada, the Bahamas, and additional islands, will travel from Barbados to Lagos and proceed to Calabar for the task.
“By next month, October, we are going to host 300 diasporas all the way from the Caribbean,”. The state government will receive them with a grand reception in Calabar. These are people who have lost touch with their home state, and they are eager to identify as indigenes of Nigeria, particularly Cross River State.”
Okor explained that the visitors were drawn by the state’s tourism appeal and cultural heritage. He added that they will spend 11 days in Cross River, undergoing documentation before moving to Lagos for further interactions with the Igbo community.
He also explained that the state would conduct official traditional induction ceremonies for the visitors across the three senatorial districts.
“We are going to induct them officially, traditionally, into the different traditional institution. We have arrangements where students from those countries will study in our local universities while our students will also be admitted in their universities”, Okor said.
