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From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
The people of Edda in Edda Local Government Area of Ebonyi State have a rich cultural heritage which has remained their binding force. New yam festival, an annual event in the area and entire Igboland calendar, is one of their rich culture and tradition which they still hold tenaciously.
This year’s festival with the theme: “The dawn of a new era” was very remarkable. Known as Ike-ji Edda, it is a harvest festival which is synonymous with the origin and tradition of the Edda clan.
The celebration in the area like every other part of Igboland, marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the traditional celebration of the new year. The event is a time for feasting and cultural performances.
In Nguzu Primary School field, Nguzu Edda in the local government area, it was a display of culture and tradition by the people such as Eyighiya where maidens used the opportunity and found suitors.
There was also Elemele performance at the event and native doctors displayed their mystical powers which was in the past channeled only to the perfection of their abilities in aiding the prosecution of war.
The event also featured Chakalagha owom which involved seasoned comedians who exhibited their sense of humor and entertained the people and Igbanzu which afforded galant youths of the area opportunity to display their skills and fitness to fight wars.
Addressing Governor Francis Nwifuru, who was represented at the event by Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Moses Odunwa, chairman of the local government area, Chief Chima Ekumankama, said Igbanzu cultural performances in the area are profound to Nguzu Edda, the traditional headquarters of the Edda clan. He opined that Edda has a rich culture that distinguished the people as great warriors, especially the Egbela Edda festival.
“This aspect of Edda culture unarguably aided the fighting spirit and ability of Edda warriors, who in the pre-colonial era, were hired as mercenaries across the length and breadth of Nigeria by other clans engaged in war.
“No wonder, our neighbors such as Afikpo, Amasiri, Unwanna, Akpoha, Akaeze, and Nkporo among others, inherited the Egbela Edda culture out of their own volition,” he said.
Ekumankama called for peace and unity in Edda land, saying the clan was on the threshold of growth and development. He said those, who he described as evil men, will never smell leadership position in the area.
“We are very united as you can see, we are very excited. I can beat my chest and tell you that only less than 5% of Edda stakeholders are not here today.
“Majority of Edda stakeholders are all gathered here today for the good of Edda land because this is the only land God has given us and we must keep it, we must protect it and we must ensure that we remain one forever.
“The days of evil leaders in Edda are over, the days of disunity in Edda land is over. The days of Owutu/Amangwu crisis is over. We must continue to be one and this festival will be made an annual event.
“I want to thank stakeholders of this local government area for supporting me. Without them, we wouldn’t have been here. We will no longer allow bad persons to govern us,” the chairman stated.
The chairman said the new yam festival of Edda clan was conceived by their forefathers to promote their identity, engender peace and unity and serve as a catalyst for entertainment and relaxation.
He used the occasion to appeal to Governor Francis Nwifuru to establish military and other security check -points in Oso Edda community to prevent further killings in the protracted war between the people of the community and their Amasiri neighbors in Afikpo local government area which has claimed many lives with property worth billions of naira destroyed
He lamented the beheading of a middle-aged man from Oso Edda, Dick Nnachi, by suspected warlords. He said he may resign if the killings continued as he was tired of seeing lives wasted in the war.
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“Sometimes I just feel like resigning to go back to my business just because each time I see the blood of an Edda man drop on the ground, it pains me. It makes me very uncomfortable and very said.
“If there is any day you hear that I have resigned, know it that this is the reason I have to resign. I am seriously pained your Excellency.
“If it is possible your Excellency, let us have the army, police and every other security apparatus in Oso Edda so that we can protect our people.
“Our people are being slaughtered and each time they cry to me, I shed tears. Your Excellency, I am appealing to you to please, do something.
“We don’t have spilling of blood anymore. Every year, I organize prayer for cleansing of the land and the enemies will always do that which is not needed. We will do the prayer again to cleanse the one they have just done but we don’t want the killings to continue.
“This is the only appeal I have to make today. Do something our governor. We don’t want to lose any other soul again because of the crisis between Oso Edda and Amasiri,” he told Governor Nwifuru who was represented by Hon. Odunwa.
Senator Sonni Ogbuoji, who represented Ebonyi South in the Senate, warned Amasiri people to desist from killing Edda people and threatened that if the killings continue, they may not contend with Oso Edda people.
“Edda people are warriors. Amasisri people should stop looking for our trouble. They should bring the head of the person they beheaded to us. Let them bring his head to us now. Amasiri people are not known to be beheading people. If someone sent them to do this, they should return the head of our brother to us.
“Oso Edda people are peaceful and law abiding and Amasiri should not take this for granted. Oso people are not in this occasion because of the beheading of this man, they are not here in this celebration,” he told the mammoth crowd.
A veteran journalist and researcher from the area, Mazi Ikenna Emewu, said Ikeji Edda signifies communal sharing, celebration of yam as the King of crops, celebration of purity of the young virgins and the elevation of moral values where older women taught the young maidens the virtues of motherhood, being good home keepers and wives, and industry.
He also explained that the festival serves as reminder to a man in his social responsibility of being the head of his family and providing for his family and thanksgiving God Almighty for preserving the lives of the Edda people to harvest the seed they sowed.
Emewu, who was chairman of planning committee of the festival, called for the sustenance of the Edda unified new yam celebration, which according to him, will make so much progressive sense and elicit benefits to the people in unity and economy.
On his part, a scholar from the local government, Dr. Arua Oko, said the celebration was not just about eating and drinking but about self- determination, and self-discovery. He lamented about the disunity, strength and leadership vacuum in Edda clan and urged the people to go back to what the area was known for.
He said: “Our forefathers fought in distant places and made peace among our neighbours. They were so united that it was difficult for any invader to penetrate any part of Edda land. They fought hard to secure our territorial boundaries, but today we are threatened by those who feared us.
“Where is the Edda groupism that shaped the politics of Old Afikpo Division and Abakaliki Province? Who has bewitched us? What happened to our unity and strength? Why have we tolerated leadership vacuum for such a long time? What happened to our gathering at Osisioma? Where is Atamata? There are so many questions that beg for answers.”
Arua urged the people to use the celebration to reflect and reevaluate the situation of things in the area, stressing that the challenges facing the people require creative intelligence and dialogue.
One of the titled chiefs in the area, Dr. Simon Igwe-Iroh, said he was fulfilled at the event because he has never seen Edda people coming together as a people to celebrate the festival. He commended the local government area chairman for organizing the event and assured that the event will be sustained for peace, unity and progress of Edda.
“We have come to reaffirm what we are known for, which is peace. The era of killing, maiming and destructions are over,” he said.
