During the ceremony, which took place at the community’s village square on Sunday, there were deliberate and aggressive efforts by the monarch, chiefs, young men and women, including the elderly to eradicate hunger and ensure food availability and sustainability through agricultural revival and consciousness among the teeming youths of the community.
It was gathered that the New Yam festival, known as ‘Iri-ji ohu,’ is a revered celebration that promotes Igbo cultural heritage and weaves together spiritual and cultural significance, reinforcing the people’s connection to their heritage, community and the divine.
In the region, only the monarch of a town has the right to celebrate the new yam festival first before the other people, after which every other member of the community would begin to celebrate.
Speaking with journalists during the celebration, the Chairman of Enugwu Adazi-Enu and a member of the cabinet of Igwe-in-council, Jideofor Okongwu, disclosed that the traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Alphonsus Okpaluechelu, has already flagged off the festival, which he said he attended.
Okongwu, who is a lawyer, expressed fears that the youths were fast abandoning agriculture for white-collar jobs, a situation he said would lead to looming hunger and food crisis if deliberate measures are not in place to check the menace.
He informed that the community, through the festival, is driving massive agricultural revival among the youths to reawaken their agricultural consciousness to tackle the looming food crisis amidst increasing prices of food commodities.
He added that the focus of the festival, beyond dancing and merrymaking, is basically to encourage the youths to make a U-turn and embrace agriculture to improve food production to eradicate hunger, as well as a means to promote Igbo cultural heritage.
He said without the celebration of New Yam in Igboland, nobody should be authorised to eat new yam adding that many people have this erroneous belief that it is ‘idol worshipping, but there is nothing like idol worshipping in the celebration of new yam.
Similarly, a community leader, Odira Nnamdi, affirmed that the New Yam festival is Igbo Cultural heritage which their forefathers also celebrated and which cannot be abolished.
The high point of the event included the display of various masquerades, different cultural dance groups, and refreshments amongst others.
Recall that the governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo, had during last year’s celebration, advocated a joint celebration of the New Yam festival to foster unity among Ndịgbo across the South-East.
The governor said that celebrating the ‘Iri Ji Festival’ in unison would show the world that the Igbos have a wonderful culture, pointing out that it was the first time every local government in the state came together to celebrate.