Globacom-sponsored Ofala Festival kicks off in Onitsha

The 2022 edition of the Globacom-sponsored Ofala Festival kicked off on Friday in Onitsha, Anambra State, with the Youth Carnival organized by the Onitsha Ado Youth Council (OYC).

The carnival featured different cultural groups, including the Otu Odu Onitsha, Egwu Odu, and Agbalanze, dressed in full traditional regalia dancing through the streets of Inland Town, Onitsha, in celebration of his Majesty, the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, Agbogidi. The carnival was also used to showcase the rich cultural heritage of Onitsha indigenes.

Oreze Arts Series, a group art exhibition promoted by His Majesty’s Chimedie Museum Trust Foundation, also opened on Friday, with over 120 artists exhibiting their works. They include Alex Nwokolo, Kainebi Osahenye, Edison Ekwueme, Dr. Bolaji Ogunwo, Tola Wewe, and Ayeva Nourridine. The special guest will be Professor John Ogene, Professor of Art History and Graphics, Department of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Benin.

Ofala celebrations will continue with the Iru Ofala on Saturday, October 22, and the Azu Ofala on Sunday, October 23. It is an occasion for the monarch to fulfill certain obligations, and primarily a celebration by the monarch and his subjects of the monarch’s annual emergence from seclusion, during which period he successfully negotiated the fortunes of the kingdom. It is also a re-enactment of the joy the monarch shared with his subjects at the discovery that yam is non-toxic and a valuable food source. Igwe Achebe is also using the occasion of the Ofala to commemorate his 20th anniversary as monarch.

A Royal Banquet organized by Globacom in honor of the Obi of Onitsha comes up Wednesday, October 26. The banquet will be held at the Dolly Hills Hotel, Onitsha. The activities will be rounded off with an Ofala Thanksgiving service scheduled to hold on Sunday, October 30 at St. Stephens Anglican Church.

Globacom said the highlight of its sponsorship of the 2022 festival includes a special promotion to give subscribers an opportunity to win amazing prizes including tricycles, popularly called Keke, industrial sewing machines, and grinding machines. “All a subscriber needs to do to win any of the prizes is to recharge with a minimum of N1, 500 or to buy a minimum data bundle of N1, 000 before the end of the promo,” the company explained.

—