Nigerian Igbos set up a running club in the UK to strengthen ties

In London’s famous Hyde Park around 11am on a clear Saturday morning, runners gather at a few benches – some tall and slim, others wide and strong, a few logging into the Strava app, but a common thread connecting them – the most of them are Nigerians of Igbo descent.

This is the Ozo Running Club, founded by Igbo people to celebrate the culture of one of the largest of Nigeria’s more than 300 ethnic groups.

“We wanted to create a space where young Igbo people can continually reconnect with their culture,” said Chibueze Odoemene, who founded the club along with Emeka Atumonyogo and Chigo Ogbonna.

In less than three months, the Ozo running club already has more than 300 members.

So fast The growth reflects not only a deep desire for community, but also the significant boom in social running clubs in recent years.

Stravathe popular running app, said participation in running clubs worldwide has increased by 59% this year.

But for the Ozo Running Club, the weekly Saturday meetings aren’t just about running, speed or fitness – it’s a place where strangers become family.

As runners wait to join their respective speed groups – fast, medium, slow and walking pace – a buzz and energy permeates the park’s tranquility as Afrobeats music plays from a nearby speaker.

“Igbo kwenu!” shouts Mr. Odoemene, his voice booming through the park to attract everyone’s attention.

The group responds in unison with a low, rumbling “Eyy.”

“Igbo kwezo!” he calls again, his tone both commanding and warm.”

This is followed by another uniform “Eyy” that resonates among the runners and sets the tone for the morning.

This traditional Igbo call and response is more than a greeting – it is a moment of pride, a reminder of shared roots and identity that is as profound as their commitment to one another and the weekly run.

“The chant is used as a call for unity, community and love among all Igbo peoples,” Mr Odoemene said.

Running clubs like Ozo, which are often free, have become places where people can make new friends, create a community and possibly even meet future partners.

The co-founders, who met at other Igbo social events, laugh at the prospect of a love story at their club.

“When people meet the love of their life it is amazing, but the most important thing for us is building a fun community,” Mr Odoemene said.

For For Francesca Ngozi Ezennolim, 21, it is not the prospect of romance that brought her there on a Saturday morning from Reading, about 64 km (40 miles) from London, but the promise of community.

“I don’t have many Igbo friends,” she said, adding: “I do have a lot of Nigerian friends – but it’s hard to find Igbo friends.”

Wearing a black sports outfit, she told the BBC she hoped the running club would fill that void in her life.

And she is not alone.

Jennifer Iwuamadi, 23, who was at the club for the first time, expressed the same sentiments.

“It is so important to come to an Igbo-run club because we can socialize with our brothers and sisters. It’s a great way to get fit and socialize,” she said.

Although the Igbos are one of Nigeria’s largest ethnic groups and play a prominent role in the diaspora, many feel that their culture is under threat. In 2006, the United Nations cultural organization (Unesco) predicted that the Igbo language would become extinct by 2025.

However, in the UK their numbers have increased over the last decade – from around 8,000 to 11,000, according to the Office for National Statistics.

In contrast, the number of speakers of Yoruba, the other main language in southern Nigeria, has declined from 15,000 to 10,000 over the same period.

However, some young Igbo people told the BBC that they had difficulty making friends outside their parents’ community.

“I have so many Yoruba friends but I want to meet people from my tribe,” Ms Ezennolim told the BBC.

“When people think of Nigerians, they don’t really think of Igbo. Nigeria is not just one piece, it is made up of multiple parts,” Mr Odoemene said.

But isn’t it divisive to have a running club that focuses on Igbo culture?

The founders shake their heads vehemently.

“You don’t have to be Igbo to come to the running club,” Mr Atumonyogo said.

He adds that people from Iran, Italy and the Caribbean have come to their sessions – and they encourage others to join in, learn about Igbo culture, ask questions and immerse themselves in the lively atmosphere.

But behind the joy and camaraderie lies a darker side of Igbo history.

In Nigeria, many people still associate the Igbos with the 1967-70 Biafran War, in which about a million people died after Igbo leaders in the southeast led a campaign to secede from the rest of the country.

Decades later, the wounds of the war are still raw and to some extent still shape the perspective of the Igbo people at home and abroad.

In his book “The Trouble with Nigeria,” the late Chinua Achebe, one of the most well-known Nigerian and Igbo authors, said: “Nigerians are unlikely to reach consensus on any issue other than their shared grievances against the Igbo.”

These words, according to many Igbos, reflect a history of marginalization that still reverberates.

For them, this story underscores a deeper goal – a desire to make a name for themselves and strengthen Igbo representation.

Uzoma Ehziem, 34, who moved to Britain almost two decades ago, said he did not feel Igbo culture received the attention it deserved.

He is one of the club’s pacesetters and believes that Yoruba culture dominates what many in the UK and around the world consider to be “Nigerian”.

From the legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti to the first African Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka to contemporary stars such as Davido, Ayra Starr and Tems, many of the most prominent figures in Nigerian pop culture are Yoruba.

An exception is literature, where Achebe and contemporary Igbo authors such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Akwaeke Emezi have achieved international fame.

Many in the running club believe the world should know more about the Igbo people.

“If you tell someone you are Nigerian, the first thing someone will ask is, ‘Are you Yoruba?’” Mr Ehziem said.

The club doesn’t just organize running sessions. Monthly social outings for community members have been added – from karaoke to dodgeball sessions to an Igbo gala to be held next year.

But for now, the weekly running clubs have become a source of joy and camaraderie for members.

As the race comes to an end and the entire group meets again at the benches, Mr. Odoemene rallies the runners with the same song of unity.

Old friends meet and new friends say hello.

People exchange phone numbers, and as they part ways, the promise to meet again next Saturday serves as a reminder that this is not just a fleeting encounter, but the beginning of lasting relationships based on community and cultural pride.