IGUEBEN – A philanthropist and founder of Itaman Foundation, Prof. Simon Itaman and his wife, Dr. Anna Itaman were among personalities conferred with chieftaincy titles by the Onogie of Igueben, HRH Zaiki Ehizogie Eluojerior 1 at the 2022 Annual Ihuen Festival of Igueben Kingdom.
The Houston based philanthropist, was conferred with the traditional title of of Igueben kingdom, while the wife, Chief Dr. Anna Itaman was conferred with the title of Inene (mother) of Igueben Kingdom.
The monarch while conferring the chieftaincy titles on the couple said it was in recognition of their contributions to the development of Igueben and Esan Land in general, and also, to spur them to do more.
He appreciated them for the borehole projects, free medical services and other assistance rendered to members of his domain, as well as other parts of Esan land, noting that the gestures were worthy of emulation.
Fielding questions from newsmen, Chief Prof. Simon Itaman expressed gratitude to the monarch for recognizing his contribution to the wellbeing of mankind, and said the chieftaincy title “Uwaegieye”, which means “honour exists at home”, would spur him to do more for the kingdom and Esan Land in general, especially in the area of education and health.
Speaking on the objective of his foundation, Prof. Itaman stated that the goal of the Itaman Foundation was to ensure that the people of Igueben Kingdom, Esan Land, and Edo State in general remained in good health so that they could live long.
Chief (Mrs) Anna Itaman, who is a co-founder of Itaman Foundation, on her part, said the chieftaincy title would spur her to do more of what their foundation was already doing.
She commended the monarch of Igueben for his quality leadership, which according to her had taken the kingdom to a whole new level, adding that she has great admiration for the monarch.
“The chieftaincy title will bring me on to spotlight to do more of what we are already doing and also increase our efforts in bringing more of our friends overseas to contribute to the growth and development of our society”.
Speaking on the Ihuen Festival, otherwise known as New Yam Festival, the Onogie of Iguen explained that festival was an opportunity for the various quarters of the community to showcase their yam produce, to assess the quality and quantity of yam produce by each quarter, and then receive prayers from him for better harvest in the next planting year.
“This town was founded on good harvest of yam in 1516 AD. The production was very good. The early settlers decided to settle here so that they can continue to harvest good tubers of yam. Today, we are reenacting that because every year, we want to get better. We use the opportunity to also showcase our rich culture and tradition”, the monarch revealed.
