The Igbo wisely say: the sky is not the same place from which every bird descends. Some arrivals carry a message. At the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance and Celebration Day in Awka, after Soludo released the ceremonial white pigeons at Alex Ekwueme Square, one bird defied the script. It did not vanish into the sky but followed the Governor’s convoy home, perching majestically on the roof of his official car; a silent, feathered passenger sighted by our security details and my colleague -Mazi Ejimofor Opara during our review of the day’s events. In that unusual moment, a state ritual became a profound personal symbol.
This was no random act. In Igbo cosmology and universal practice, the pigeon is an unblemished emissary of peace, prosperity, and ancestral approval. Its deliberate journey from the parade ground to the Governor’s Lodge -Light House transformed it from a prop into a participant in the state’s political narrative. At a time when the administration is pushing a hard-earned narrative of restored security, the bird’s choice offered a potent, non-verbal counter to all criticism. It visually cemented the security gains not as temporary wins but as a destined chapter of renewal. As the philosopher Slavoj Žižek observes, “We are all afraid of the real message. We hope for a miracle, but without the miracle really happening.” Here, the “miracle”, a symbol of peace, literally followed leadership home.
The Governor’s own historic speech on the Armed Forces, urging Ndigbo to “move beyond the civil war of 56 years ago,” added gravity to the omen. The pigeon’s steadfast perch became a metaphor for closing a painful past and choosing a unified future. It resonated as a divine seal, suggesting the pursuit of peace had finally found a resting place. In the serene silence of its presence, the message was profound, echoing the biblical promise from the Book of Jeremiah: “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The bird, in its simple act, became an omen of that hope, alighting not just on a car, but on the shoulders of a season.
