Glamour at its best as Igwe Achebe celebrates 22nd Ofala in grand style

The ceremony started with the Ndichie  who came in one after the other with their dancing to thrill the audience. The old men in their seventies, and above energetically took to the stage and danced like young men in their thirties. They move  in  groups of about  50 by 50 dancing energetically as if they have the heart of 20 year old men.

 

Maduako Igbokwe I Monday, Nov. 06, 2023

 

ONITSHA, Anambra, Nigeria – It was just carnival all through on Saturday when the traditional ruler of Onitsha kingdom, Anambra State, Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe   celebrated his 22nd Ofala festival.

The annual Ofala carnival   attracts who is who from within Anambra State. It had in attendance traditional rulers from both  the northern , south and West Nigeria, the Governor of Anambra State and top government officials. It was just a celebration of culture and values.

The theme for the 2023 Ofala festival was christened Better, Stronger , Together. Onitsha Ofala which usually falls early to mid October is the highpoint of Onitsha ceremonial cycle. The celebration, which is rooted in deep spirituality affords the Obi of Onitsha  the opportunity to fulfill certain obligations. It is primarily a celebration by the traditional ruler and his subjects on the monarch’s annual emergence from seclusion after he had successfully negotiated the fortune of his kingdom. 

The Ofala is also a re-enactment of joy which the monarch shared with his subjects, at the discovery that yam is non-toxic and a valuable source of food. It is equally an opportunity for the monarch, following his seclusion to review his army and obtain the assurance of loyalty from the general, the red cap chiefs ( Ndichie). Given that in the past, the monarch was rarely seen in the public , the Ofala provided an opportunity for his subjects to catch a glimpse of him, which is the reason they gathered in large numbers at the Ofala to pay homage to the monarch , and they still do that today.

The ceremony started with the Ndichie  who came in one after the other with their dancing to thrill the audience. The old men in their seventies, and above energetically took to the stage and danced like young men in their thirties. They move  in  groups of about  50 by 50 dancing energetically as if they have the heart of 20 year old men.

After them, came the Ozo title holders and the women title holders (Otu odu)  who would exhibit  their traditional dance steps to mesmerise the audience.

 When all titled holders had finished their traditional dances , the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Achebe came  in with his royal music and  dance  steps putting everybody on their toes as chants of   Agbogidi- Agbogidi – Agbogidi rents the  arena.  When the monarch is through with his his royal dance, the governor comes in and the celebration begins in earnest. 

According to Igwe Achebe ,the annual Ofala has grown steadily over the years in terms of  scope, social glamour and intrinsic meaning for Onitsha people.

He said an international arts exhibitions, lecture series, youths’ carnival and a post Ofala banquet have enhanced the content and attractiveness of the festival. The monarch noted that the Onitsha City marathon has added colour to the festival. Achebe said that with the strides the Ofala had made , it has continued to receive both national and international recognition.

“The Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation(NTDC) has endorsed Onitsha Ofala Festival as a major Nigerian festival and issued a specific mandate in its support. The Ofala had also received a certificate of recognition in culture from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation. This is in identification to its corporate contributions to the development of culture.

The Ofala is on course to achieving its objectives of attracting considerable national, West African and attaining the status of a major event in  Nigerian, by extension, in the West African cultural / tourism calendar” he stated.

Igwe Achebe assured that the Onitsha people will continue to give  due attention to her traditional governance process which is the heart of communal existence.

According to him , the need to do that  was long overdue for the review of the traditional jurisprudence process with view to speeding up cases and spreading the burden among Ndichie. He also disclosed that succession planning for the Obi – in – Council is on course as new and younger Ndichie have been appointed in the last two years as some have joined their ancestors.

“More appointment will be made in due course to cope with the growing workload as well as broaden the representation in Obi in- council. The code of conduct for Ndichie have been updated and will be placed in the public domain in the spirit of transparency” he said.

The Obi of Onitsha also noted Onitsha like other large cities has its own share of security challenges during the past years and continuing.

According to the monarch, Onitsha being the centre pieces of massive urban spread of contiguous communities, it is difficult to ring fence the city from the overall security situation in the urban conundrum.

“Being the main centre for economic activity, Onitsha has become the destination for mostly jobless and transient youths from rural communities in search of an elusive better life. Our main challenge remain youths unemployment , gangsterism, touting, homelessness, petty and armed robbery, cultism,drug addiction, child prostitution, rape and other. Unfortunately, the indigenous community is not spared of these pressures of urbanisation and we are constantly struggling to maintain a balance between our traditional life and modernization . 

The statutory security agencies that have bases in Onitsha, namely, the police, army, navy and DSS , are mostly reactive towards crime. Our reliance  for prevention is, therefore , wholly on our vigilantes’ services in two formations. These are the Anambra state vigilante Group (AVG) numbering 25 persons under the command of state government, and Onicha Ado community vigilantes Unit ( OCVU), numbering about 59 persons under the command of Ime Obi Onicha. Both group work collaboratively together and with the statutory agencies ,occasionally supported by the Onitsha youths council to maintain relative peace in the community. The major challenge is the need to structurally merge the two vigilantes groups under one command for optimum effect” he said.

Speaking at the occasion,Governor of Anambra State , Prof. Charles Soludo, in company his wife Dr. Mrs Nonye Soludo  congratulated Igwe Achebe for celebrating his 22nd Ofala Festival and wished him well in his reign on the throne. He  thanked the people of Onitsha for consistently projecting the foremost Ofala festival which has successively been celebrated annually.

He also spoke about the importance of Onitsha to the Igbo people, saying, “The greater Onitsha which is Onitsha North, Onitsha South, Ogbaru, Idemili North and Idemili South is Obi ndigbo and if Onitsha doesn’t move forward, the igbo race will also, not move forward.”

Soludo reiterated his commitment to developing Onitsha, saying, “Our emphasis on government is majorly on Onitsha and I assure you that the dry bones shall rise again. We have undertaken massive road infrastructural development in Onitsha.”

 The governor vowed to eradicate  touting menace that has been haunting Onitsha and the state at large over the years.

Soludo said, “We have reiterated that touts must leave Onitsha. We can’t continue to condone the frequent harassment of touts at Upper Iweka. We arrest them in hundreds and they keep flooding into the state but we won’t relent on the fight against touts until they all leave permanently.”

Speaking to  our reporter on the importance of Ofala to Anambra state, the Commissioner for Culture, Tourism and Entertainment Don Onyenji described Ofala as one of the  greatest heritage of the Igboman.

According to him, apart from Ofala there are cultural festivals like the New Yam Festival ( iriji), noting that Ofala is the cardinal one the government wants to project to the world.  Onyenji said that Ofala is serious tourism attraction as it boosts the culture and economic activities of the state.

“You know that a lot of things are around the Obi of Onitsha and the kingdom ,that is why we here today” he said.

According to him, the fact that people are peacefully celebrating the 2023 Onitsha Ofala is indication that Anambra state is peaceful. He disclosed that government has many plans to encourage the Ofala festival and other cultural activities in the state to grow.

The commissioner said the presence of the governor of the state Prof Charles Soludo, himself , chief of staff to the governor , chairman Onitsha south local government council was enough  encouragement to the  festival.

Also speaking to our reporter chairman of Onitsha south local government Hon. Emeka Orji said Ofala is a very unique festival that attracts  national and global attention .

According to him, the council is strongly in support of the carnival festival  because it has lifted Onitsha up apart from the main market which Onitsha is known for. He said that  during the Ofala there are  activities of both culture and tourism , stating that these  activities boost the peaceful co- existence of Onitsha with other communities and tribes.

“We are encouraging such a wonderful outing because it enhance peaceful co-existence. When there is  peaceful co-existence and relations , it helps in the fight against crime and criminality in the state. We are encouraging tourism and entertainment because when people are happy and properly engaged the level of crime will reduce. We are working towards making Onitsha a very peaceful town for the global community. You can see people came from all parts of Nigeria and some people came from various places across the globe, this is a festival to behold ” he said.