09/02/2026
Okey Paulicap Okeke an Igbo man, was elected president of Ijesa Progressive Association of Canada (IPAC), the umbrella association for sons and daughters of Ijesaland in Osun State living and working in Canada in January 2017.
On Saturday, September 16, 2018, IPAC, under Okeke, held its annual “Ijesa Night” celebrations at the Manhyia Palace Convention Centre on Eddystone Avenue, Toronto. The event, which was chaired by Chief Isaac Ige, Odofin of Atorinland, was attended by many Nigerians, a number of who were there simply to confirm the rumour that the leader of Ijesa people in Canada wasn’t a Yoruba man.
At the event, the chairman expressed gratitude to Okeke for his leadership and for taking the group to lofty heights since his inauguration as president.
He asserted that it was Okeke that made the night a hugely successful one: “In Jesus name, the glory that God has given you will not be destroyed. For remembering your roots, your foundation will never crumble,” he prayed.
Born and raised in Ilesa, Osun State, Paulicap’s parents, Chief Okeke Chumba and Mrs. Janet Okeke-Chumba, are both from Ndeaboh, a community in Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State. Okeke and his siblings attended elementary and secondary schools in Ilesa.
But right from his childhood, Okeke discovered that his dad, a very liberal and totally detribalised Nigerian businessman, ensured that his children had a robust, sophisticated and liberal worldview.
His father, though a Christian, enrolled him in a Muslim school. He believed that the school was good in academics and in sports, and it was also close to their house along the General Hospital Road in Ilesa.
He held the position for 8 years and tried everyday of that 8 years to touch the lives of Ijesa people in Canada and back home. This role also culminated to being bestowed the very exalted chieftaincy title of Otun Atayese of Ijebu-Jesa in 2022.
Let us collectively say no to tribalism.
Credit to Tope Adeboboye (Nairaland) whose write up gave much needed information.
