By: Chief (Dr.) Oyin Eyeku, President, Itsekiri Association of Northern California

Date: March 1, 2027

Ẹ kúọrẹ, ẹwẹ r’ọghọ!

I am writing to you today with both excitement and urgency. The IANC Executive Committee has secured a five-year lease on a modest storefront at 2200 International Blvd, Oakland—the future home of the Itsekiri Cultural Library and Resource Center. This will be the first physical space in the western United States dedicated solely to preserving and promoting Itsekiri history, language, and arts.

But we need your help to make it real.

The space currently has four walls, a leaking faucet, and excellent bones. Over the next six months, we plan to transform it into:

A reading room with Itsekiri-language books, Warri kingdom historical archives, and recorded oral histories from our elders in California and Nigeria.

A language lab with four computer stations loaded with our “Ẹnọ Ma R’Ọfẹ” curriculum.

A small museum corner featuring traditional regalia, ukọ ukọ beads, fishing nets, and photographs of past Olus.

A community kitchen for cooking demonstrations—because no cultural library is complete without the smell of banga soup.

The financial goal: $35,000.

What we have already: $12,000 from our general fund and a generous seed donation from the Omadeli family.

What we need: $23,000 from you—our members, friends, and well-wishers.

I am launching a presidential challenge: The “Ọmọ r’Ọba” Pledge Drive. Every dollar donated between now and May 1, 2027, will be matched by an anonymous elder up to $10,000. That means your $50 becomes $100. Your $500 becomes $1,000.

Here is how you can give:

Venmo: @ItsekiriNorCal (put “LIBRARY” in notes)

PayPal: president@itsekirincal.org

Check: Payable to “IANC Cultural Fund,” mailed to 2200 International Blvd, Suite B, Oakland, CA 94606

In-person: At our April 10th town hall meeting.

Every donor of $100 or more will have their name (or the name of a loved one) inscribed on our Donor Wall of Fame—a permanent plaque in the library. Those giving $1,000 or more will be recognized as “Elder Builders” with a private dinner hosted by the executive committee.

The proverb says: “Ọkpokpọn r’ọba k’ọn ma r’eghọn; iran r’ọmọ Ọba l’e ta ọnọ.” (The king’s canoe does not sink; the children of the king paddle it forward.)

Let us paddle together. Let us build a home for our stories before they are lost to the winds of California.

I await your response with hope and determination.

Yours in cultural preservation,

Chief (Dr.) Oyin Eyeku
President, IANC

P.S. – If you cannot give financially, give time. We need carpenters, electricians, librarians, and shelf-stackers. Email volunteer@itsekirincal.org.