Ika Agba Festival is a historic event of Imoka, which is one of the top cultural festivals in Nigeria. The Imoka Festival is usually celebrated between May and June every year, in Awka, the capital city of Anambra State.
During the Ika Agba Festival, indigenes of Awka visit Umokpu village in a long walk. The oldest, Umuokpu, is one of the 33 villages of Awka, located after Amawbia, bordering Nawfia. According to history, in the olden days, Umuokpu was located on the outskirt to protect Awka from villains and invaders, because they were made of warriors, the strongest of the 33 villages.
This year, the Ika Agba Festival was a joyful event, as hundreds of youths and masquerades walked from different villages of Awka to Umuokpu, passed through Amawbia, beginning from around 3pm. At Umuokpu, there was a warm reception, with different stands of highlife music bands along the crowded road. Restaurants, beer spots and outdoor catering flourished. Many masquerades of different kinds and sizes did their stuff.
At the final destination in the Umuokpu village square, there was various a lavish reception for visitors, including Abacha (process cassava) and coconut for the youths. Umuokpu is renowned for its cassava industry. It is at Umuokpu that all the villages of Awka agree and fix the final date for the Imoka, which takes place four days after the visit; on that date, Umuokpu would visit Awka for the festival.
Ikata Agba, as its popularly called, is a brotherly visit to Umuokpu village, to officially invite them to the grand Imoka Festival. Its unites Awka indigenes home and abroad.