Adazi-Enu Community in Anaocha Local Government Area has performed the traditional rites to mark its 2022 New Yam festival.
The event came to a climax with the eating of the new yam in various villages after the traditional Ruler of the community Igwe Alphonsus Okpalaechelu had performed the ceremonial cutting of the new yam.
After the traditional celebration, one of the villages in the community, Enugwu, also performed the ceremonial eating of the new yam following the customary authorization of the traditional ruler and explained that the essence of the festival is to rekindle the interest of Ndigbo in respecting their rich cultural heritage.
The event kicked off with the traditional “Egwu Ndi Ichie”, followed by appearances of the popular Izaga, Ajo ovia and Ekwuru masquerades, respectively.
Speaking during the event, the Head of Enugwu Village, Adazi-Enu, Chief Jideofor Okongwu, who described culture as people’s way of life, called for the compulsory teaching and learning of Igbo language and culture in all schools and colleges in the South-East geopolitical zone, to save it from total extinction.
Chief Okongwu, a lawyer and member of the National Executive Committee of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, used the opportunity to call on youths to embrace agriculture in order to become self-reliant amidst growing unemployment, even as he commended Governor Chukwuma Soludo for his proactive agricultural policies.
He urged affluent Individuals to always channel their resources to programmes that will have positive impact on their various communities, and called on Ndigbo to find ways of making the new yam festival a tourist attraction.
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for Dunukofia, Njikoka and Anaocha federal constituency in next year’s election, Prince Emeka Eze, his YPP counterpart, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeokonkwo, both of whom attended the ceremony, noted that celebrating new yam festival portrays the core Igbo culture and tradition passed down from early generations, and prayed for sustained peace and unity in Enugwu Village, Adazi-Enu.
Some members of the village, including Chief Emmanuel Eziuzo, Prince Chike Okongwu and Lady Josephine Okongwu among others, while thanking God for a bountiful harvest, prayed for the growth of their village and community.
The event which attracted traditional Prime Minister of Adazi-Enu Community, Chief Edward Ezeokonkwo, the clergy, cultural proponents, among others featured musical and cultural displays, eating of the new yam by Ndi Enugwu Village and their guests, as well as raffle draw.
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