Onitsha, Anambra State, spectacularly glowed with pomp last weekend. On hand to add perfume to the already scented air in C.J. Paterson Hall were celebrity music stars such as Ugosinaobichukwu Ikem Mazeli and Kcee. Mazeli, also known as “Onye nwe egwu” and “Material”, proved why he is hugely famous among the people of Onitsha. He, alongside his band and dancers, gave a good account of themselves.

Kcee serenaded the hall with his band as well. His electrifying performance was such that many guests got off their feet, danced and sang along with him throughout his performance. He in turn took time to interact with the audience as he moved round the hall while performing.   

The choice of these two maestros resonated well with the different segments of the Onitsha community. Music happens to be an essential element in Globacom’s efforts to market Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage to the world stage. The event in Onitsha tagged, “Evening With Glo”, has become the company’s signature tune in showcasing music that resonates with the various segments of the Nigerian society.

Like Ofala, the Ojude Oba Festival, which Globacom has consistently supported for two decades, recently witnessed a similar event as well. The company had assured at the event that it would always be at the forefront of promoting the culture and traditions of Nigeria to the world as a way of attracting positive attention and tourism to the country at all times.

Last Friday’s “Evening With Glo” show was a befitting prologue to the 2025 Ofala Festival. Globacom spared no cost to organize it in honour of the Obi of Onitsha, His Imperial Majesty, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe. The event drew prominent chiefs, illustrious sons and daughters of Onitsha, Glo business partners, customers and friends of the brand. 

Ofala is celebrated by traditional rulers of different communities in the South-East. But that of the Obi of Onitsha dates back to the 16th century. Every year, the festival showcases the town’s cultural heritage and represents its unity, royalty, spirituality, and continuity of traditions. Annually, it attracts over 500,000 visitors and also reaches over 10 million people through extensive media coverage. The event marks the royal father’s emergence from annual spiritual seclusion.

To prepare for this time-honoured tradition of the Onitsha people this year, the Obi had spent weeks in spiritual retreat and communion with the ancestors, in propitiation for the good of the land. Resplendent in his rich royal robe, he made his first public appearance after all these weeks in seclusion on October 17, 2025, the Iru Ofala day. Like a big mythical masquerader who only emerges from an anthill, Igwe Achebe appeared in his splendour and danced around the Ime Obi. This was symbolic of his readiness to lead his people into a new year of prosperity.

Among those who came to pay homage to him were chiefs, titled men, and his subjects. Some top personalities who also paid homage to the Obi included the Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa; Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu; and many other highly placed individuals.

The Obi did not lose sight of the strong support Globacom has given to the festival in the last 14 years; and for also elevating it to the global stage. He thanked the company for believing in them and expressed trust that the mutual benefit they both derived from it would continue to prevail.   

The Azu Ofala, which held on Saturday, October 18, saw another superlative showing as Globacom clearly showed its strong position as Nigeria’s biggest supporter of culture. As the grand finale of the festival, the Azu Ofala showcased thanksgiving, joy, and community festivity. The Obi, who graced the occasion in a lighter, festive mood, received goodwill messages from dignitaries and visitors.

This year’s festival also showcased lecture series, carnival, yam festival (owuwaji), art exhibition, and medical outreach, among others. A Royal Banquet to be hosted in honour of Igwe Achebe is billed to hold on October 22.

To make this year’s edition special, Globacom presented prizes to winners who participated in the Ofala promo, specifically introduced for the people of Onitsha. The promo ran for four weeks before the Ofala Festival. Eventual winners went home with a brand new Kia Picanto, two tricycles, power generating sets, grinding machines and many others.

An Onitsha-based businesswoman, Mrs. Obi Chidinma Esther, was the one who won the Kia Picanto. She was over the moon when she received the keys to the car from Onitsha royal chief, Chief Albert Ibekwe, the Odu Osodi, assisted by Globacom’s representative at the event, Tochukwu Okechukwu. Tricycle (Keke) winners, Ibeziakor Onyebuchi Anthony and Ejike Chiememma Gloria, as well as many winners of generating sets and grinding machines, also smiled home with their prizes. Additionally, Globacom has promised to continue with aggressive roll-out and upgrade of network infrastructure across Nigeria, especially 4G-LTE. This is to enable subscribers to enjoy enhanced experience on the network on both voice and data services.

The company’s generosity in hosting this year’s Ofala event is not surprising. It is in its tradition, as it believes that festivals are not just culture on display, but also engines of identity, creativity, commerce and tourism. Though it has been a major player and sponsor of the Ofala Festival since 2011, it has renewed its partnership with the Palace and the Ofala Festival Steering Committee for another three years. This is in line with the company’s belief that tradition and innovation go hand in hand.

It is also in continuation of its belief in the preservation of our identity despite globalization and digitalization. It is part of its broader belief that investment in culture yields returns beyond the balance sheet, builds communities, jobs, local businesses and pride. It is also the company’s way of honouring the humanity and dignity of our past and investing in our shared future. To buttress this fact, it quoted the late literary icon, Prof. Chinua Achebe, who said, “A people without knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”

No doubt, Globacom has contributed a lot to the growth of the Nigerian economy and empowerment of Nigerians in various ways since it started operations in Nigeria on August 29, 2003.

As I earlier noted in my previous piece titled, ‘Non-Oil Sector and Glo example’, the telecommunications giant pioneered per second billing. It crashed the cost of acquiring SIM cards from about N25,000 to about N200. Some other innovations of the company include Blackberry Services, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), International Prepaid Roaming and Mobile Banking Services. It crashed the cost of internet services with its undersea cable, which delivers a faster and robust connectivity for voice, data and video. It was the first in Africa to build this international submarine cable single-handed.

Last month, it unveiled what it called ‘Talkmasta 6 for 6’ and ‘Welcome Bonus’ as further rewards to its customers. ‘Talkmasta’ automatically gives customers who make six minutes of local calls to any network, six additional free minutes, which can be used to call any local network and free 50MB. The ‘Welcome Bonus’ gives subscribers who register a Glo SIM, a one-time welcome package worth N2,000.

The Nigerian government could partner with companies like Globacom to boost our tourism sector to meet up with its target of $1 trillion economy by 2030. Countries like the United States of America, China, France, Spain, and even Kenya and Morocco make a lot of money through tourism.

The sector contributed about $2.36 trillion to the US economy in 2024. It contributed 12.3 per cent of Morocco’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last year. It is projected to contribute over seven per cent of Kenya’s GDP in 2025. Though the sector is gradually coming up in Nigeria, it still contributes less than 4 per cent of the country’s GDP. Last year, it contributed N10.9 trillion. It is projected to contribute N11.2 trillion this year.

The tourism sector needs adequate security and infrastructure to thrive in Nigeria. The Federal Government must provide these things if it is serious about diversifying the country’s economy, which has depended so much on oil revenue. Meanwhile, the memories of the 2025 Ofala Festival will last for a long time to come. Regular visitors are already salivating in anticipation of what promises to be a show-stopper in 2026.

Re: Yakubu, Amupitan and INEC’s banana peels

Casmir, out goes Yakubu, in comes Amupitan. But what ails our electoral system and results remains the same. You were spot-on vis-a-vis some of the factors negatively influencing the integrity of our elections! For any umpire to conduct a free & fair election in this atmosphere of ‘emilokan’ is a herculean task. Only if Amupitan decides to be his own man will the elections be free & fair.

Will the powers that be allow him – by giving him a free hand – to conduct elections that will become a model/reference? APC, not satisfied with its power base is acquiring more powers by the way of defections.

But ‘one thing’ the electorate are demanding from APC is a free & fair election to put its popularity to test in 2027.

For Amupitan, the mind boggling questions agitating our minds are these: One, should we give him the benefit of the doubt? Two, can he be trusted, especially, when he is an appointee of the self-proclaimed emilokan?

Three, will trusting him not be at the peril of the electorate like we had with Yakubu who gave us an ‘abracadabra technology hitched’ election results? Four, can he, against all odds and against the wishes of his paymasters? Time will tell as we leave our fingers crossed.

–Mike, Mushin, Lagos, 0816 111 4572