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A monarch in Delta State has declared end to hunger in his domain as his kingdom has successfully celebrated the annual New Yam Festival.
“With this celebration, the season of hunger is over”, said the Ogoani of Okpanam kingdom in Oshimili North Local Government Council of Delta State, Michael Mbanefo Ogbolu. This was as the traditional ruler vowed that nothing would make his subjects to abandon their rich cultural heritage.
Speaking in his palace on Wednesday, September 7, 2016, when he celebrated Iwaji festival, the traditional ruler said that the annual event has come to stay, adding that the scope of the celebration would continue to expand in the future.
He congratulated the people of his kingdom for a very successful harvest, noting that with the celebration, the season of hunger was over. This could be because people of the south-east usually refrain from eating new yams until the festival was celebrated to open the eating season. During this period, people scratched to eat, and thus suffered hunger and underfeeding. When the festival comes, the people rejoice and eat to the fill of their stomachs.
The Ogoani of Okpanam however, charged his subjects to continue to live in peace and be good hosts to people from other parts of the country who reside in the kingdom.
Also speaking during the ceremony, the Delta State Commissioner for Information, Patrick Ukah, stated that once nothing fetish was involved, the culture of the people would continue to receive support and reverence and thus be celebrated.
Ukah, who is from Okpanam, advised Nigerians to always distinguish between tradition and culture, stressing that culture should be seen as what makes a set of people different from another.
The ceremony, which was witnessed by all including non-indigenes resident in Okpanam, featured traditional dances by different groups and paying of homage to the traditional ruler.
The Obi of Akwukwu Igbo, His Royal Majesty, Obi Azuka 11, chiefs from other kingdoms and representatives of various communities were part of the celebrations.
Ignatius Chukwu & Mercy Enoch
