Nzukora Aguata Celebrates New Yam Festival
New yam festival popularly called Iwaji is an ancient festival in Igbo land which can be traced back to the origin of the progenitors of Igbo race whose main occupation was farming.
It is a celebration of a successful farming season to usher in the harvesting period. Iwaji festival is common in most communities of South East of Nigeria. It is almost always celebrated with roasted yams and local red oil in a particular day fixed by the custodian of each community’s culture and tradition. In this case, the traditional ruler, the chief priest which has now been de-emphasised due to advent of Christianity and civilization and members of Eze in council.
In Igbo land yam has come to be regarded as the king of crops and therefore the symbol used to celebrate the successful farming season and harvest in Igbo communities.
The popularity of new yam festival has grown in leaps and bounds in recent time among Ndigbo to the extent that it is now celebrated by Igbos outside their communities-in cities within and outside Igbo States such as Enugu, Onitsha, Aba, Abuja, Lagos, Kano , Kaduna and in Diaspora. One may ask do these Igbos farm in these cities? Of course they do not but new yam festival has become an integral part of Igbo culture, which many sons and daughters of Ndigbo do not want to die, hence the symbolic celebration everywhere they found themselves in world.
It has also come to be associated with the celebration of success, good health, fertility and other fortunes among Igbo communities and individuals anywhere they found themselves.. It is pertinent to note that New yam festival has now been democratized as it can be celebrated by individuals, groups of like minds, communities and other organizations.
Therefore, the penultimate Sunday, the Nzukora Old Aguata Union (OAU), comprising three Local Governments of Aguata, Orumba North and South and 45 communities in Anambra State resident in Onitsha, particularly those trading at the Bridgehead Market filed out to celebrate their 2016 new yam festival at Holiday Resort Hotel, Onitsha.
Exepectedly, the event attracted prominent citizens of OAU some of whom were honoured for their prominent roles in developing Old Aguata, including Governor Willie Obiano, who was represented by his Commissioner for Health, DrJesophat Akubuike, himself son of OAU, the leader of People’s Progressives Alliance (PPA) in the State, Mr. Godwin Ezeemo, Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, the Ogirishigbo and the Proprietor of Rojenny Tourist Village, Oba in Idemili Local Government Area of Anambra State, all of them award winners of the day among many others.
In his address, the chairman of the organization, Chief Ebere Udoh, lauded Governor Willie Obiano, for the able way he has managed Anambra State, especially in the area of security and prompt payment of workers’ salaries as well as managing high political tension in the State.
“Night life has been restored back to the State and our people are no longer giving out their daughters in marriage in far away Lagos, Abuja, Kano for fear of being kidnapped and attacked by armed robbers” the chairman said.
He also paid glowing tribute to Chief Ezeemo, whom he described as philanthropist par excellence, who at the thick of kidnapping in the State stayed put in his Umuchu town which he has been staying for the past twenty years.
The chairman said of Ezeemo “he has nearly one thousand staff under his payroll, all sons and daughters of Anambra State” said the chairman.
Both Obiano and Ezeemo received awards of Agunechemba and Obinwanne of Old Aguata Union resp0ectively.
5The chairman was full of commendation for the sons and daughters of OAU, serving as Commissioners in Obiano’s government. They are, Ifeanyichukwu Ejikeme, Environment, Akubike, Health, Frank Emeka Offor, Housing and Urban Renewal and Mrs. Uzoamaka Ilob, Commerce, Trade and Industry.
Udoh explained that Nzukora OAU is a socio-cultural organisatio, not political, whose members were mainly traders, saying that the group was not formed to feather the interest of any group or individual, rather to give love , protection, and care to all the people of Old Aguata, wherever they may be found in Nigeria and beyond.
The group declared their unalloyed support for Governor Willie Obiano in his determination to give Anambra State unprecendented development.
They however called on Governor Obiano to come to rescue them from the constant threat of erosion, lamenting that the geographical area has been constantly being under the threat of erosion, which has kept them under suspense each rainy season.
But Ezeemo who as a mojaor sponsor of the event described the much publicized endorsement of Governor Obiano for a second term in office as a political scam., saying that the so called endorsement by some people loyal to All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) does not reflect the aspiration of Old Aguata people.
The PPA governorship aspiran also faulted Obiano’s security feat, noting that the current security measures in Anambra State was a smokescreen because of high rate of unemployment in the state.
According to him, Anambra needs permanent security measures which will guarantee jobs for the people particularly youths who are roaming the streets without hope for jobs in near future.
However, the Anambra State Commissioner for Health, who represented the Governor said they were not in doubt of the endorsement of Obiano by the Old Aguata Ubion for second term in office.
He said Governor Obiano has a blue print for developing Anambra State which has brought security to the state, increased the State rice production to 280,000 metric tones annually and the introduction of Universal Insurance Scheme, which will be launched in the state very soon.
He commended the group for their commitment to revive Igbo culture, which he said was very important because, if you “don/t take care of your own it will get lost”, describing Igbo race as special in the world.
The Coordinator of Nzukora Old Aguata, Mr Peter Okala, said that this year’s event was their first outing and expressed hope that next year there will be serious improvement in the oragnisation.
Okala also noted that the organization is not a political group working to realize the political interest of a political party or individuals, rather a group concerned with the welfare of Old Aguata people, especially in the area of their culture and tradtion.
Other prominent people of Old Aguata given award were former Central Bank Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, who was the chairman of the organisation and others.
Ezeonwuka who led others in his capacity as Ogirishigbo to formally cut the roasted yam to begin the festival urged Ndigbo not to abandon their culture but should strive wherever they are to promote and keep it alive.
Lauding the group, he said Aguata has people who can take it to places and usher rapid development to the area even as he called all other Ndigbo to emulate what Nzukora Aguata did to ensure that our cluture do not go into extinction.
