For three days, beginning Friday July 27, 2018, the sleepy town of Ogidi in Idemili-North Local Government Area of Anambra state was a beehive of cultural activities as sons and daughters of the town came from all parts of Nigeria and the Diaspora, to celebrate the years edition of the famous Nwafor Festival, which is unique to the Ogidi people.
The event, which became a step taken further toward the revitalization of culture and tradition of the people, saw Igwe Alex Onyido, the Igwe Ezechuamagha the first of Ogidi kingdom, bless his subjects in prayers and supplications to God for their progress and success.
Igwe Onyido, a pharmacist of great repute, was spectacular in his royal diadem as he stepped out at the Palace Square where thousands of the Ogidi people, friends, associates and foreigners had gathered to witness the festival, which to people of the town, is more famous than Christmas.
Dancing alongside members of his cabinet, Igwe Onyido reminded the people of the great fortunes of Ogidi Kingdom and reignited the beginning of a cultural renaissance in the town with the appearance, for the first time in Ogidiland, the biggest of all masquerades, the Ijele, which for Ogidi people is named Ijele Inwelle.
The colourful day was hallmarked with music and dance. Masquerades dotted the Palace Square in different colours adding panache to a day which rainmakers used to show their prowess. The people enjoyed every bit of the event and asked for more as the sun disappeared from the sky.
Explaining the Nwafor Festival, Igwe Onyido said it was a moment of thanksgiving to God for the successful planting season while also preparing for the harvest.
According to him, people of Ogidi kingdom celebrate the festival in the last week of July every year. He said this year’s celebration was unique in that the towns Ijele made its first appearance.
Commenting more on the Nwafor Festival, Chairman and Chief executive Officer of The Dome Entertainment and Hospitality center in Abuja, High Chief Obiora Okonkwo, who is a high-ranking chief of the community, said, the festival was remarkable because it was the first since the community regained its monarchy.
According to him, Ogidi kingdom has been without a tradition ruler for 20 years. He said the interval caused a lot of cultural dysfunction in the community leading to efforts by great sons of the land to reconnect with their culture and tradition.
High Chief Okonkwo noted that leaders of Ogidi, who were connected under a common platform known as Olu Ogidi, agreed to ensure that the town revitalized its tradition and culture having successfully installed a monarch who, he said, is blessed with intellect, wisdom and insight, to lead the people.
Okonkwo lauded sons and daughters of Ogidi for tuning out in their numbers to celebrate the event which he promised will be get bigger with time, as plans get underway to build the festival into the cultural calendar of Anambra state for tourism purposes.
Many people who shared their views on the event said they looked forward to it.
Nkem Okafor, a trader at Oye Olisa Market in Ogidi, said she made a lot of sales on Saturday because of the festival.
“A lot of people came back and so I made a lot of sales. My beer parlour was filled with people who were enjoying themselves. They drank and ate pepper soup. I was actually looking forward to the festival because Ijele will come out that day. So, I prepared and stocked my shop”, she told our reporter.
Earlier in a chat, Igwe Onyido remined of the great fortunes of Ogidiland stating that the progenitor of the town, Ezechuamagha, was a hunter and a warrior who gave birth to Ogidi who in turn gave birth to nine children, today represented by the nine villages in Ogidiland.
He also stressed importance of Ezechuamagha in the life of Ogidi town nothing that the cultural renaissance of the people is paramount in his assignments.
He stated that though the culture of the people has been eroded by the impact of Christianity, he, alongside others, is working very hard to ensure a renaissance that will clean up culture of the people, retain the good aspects and drop the negatives.
Igwe Onyido also told reporters that part of the renaissance taking place in Ogidi has seen a drastic change in burial and marriage rites of the town. According to him, “marriage rites are now not as expensive. We have so many beautiful girls and we can even waive the rites for you if you desire so long as you show that you can take good care of her”.
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