By Rose Oranye
The Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor, last weekend, marked this year’s New Yam Festival at his hometown, in line with Abatete’s culture and tradition.
The event started with the ceremonial cutting and eating of the new yam on Friday, at the palace of the traditional ruler of Abatete, Igwe Emeka Efobi, who was represented by the Abatete Traditional Prime Minister, Chief Pius Ezeigwe, who is also the Obi of Agbaja Abatete.
The commissioner also joined Obi Agbaja on Saturday, at the Agbaja Abatete Civic Centre, to perform the yam-eating ceremony for Agbaja, a quarter in Abatete, and personally performed the same ceremony for the people of his kindred, Uruokolo, based on his position as an Ichié and holding the title, Ichie Okaka Anueyiagu Abatete.
Speaking at the event, the commissioner, Ichié Ọkaka Anụeyiagụ Abatete, said that the New Yam Festival (Ịwa ji/Ịgụ Arọ) re-echoed the Farm-To-Feed Policy of the Solution Government, headed by Prof Chukwuma Charles Soludo.
Mefor, who thanked friends and well-wishers of Abatete for coming to witness the ceremony, explained that yam is recognised as the king of crops in Abatete and other places, which is why it is specially and symbolically celebrated among all the crops they produce.
“We do this in August every year to appreciate God for what he has done for us and pray for more bountiful harvests in the years ahead.
“It’s a way of proving what the government has been saying: that hard work attracts blessings. The governor has said: “Go back to hard work… Na aka aja aja na ebute onu manu manu. Healthy Living With Nonye Soludo is about farming – healthy living through organic farming.
“Governor Soludo also has a very serious agricultural policy – Farm-To-Feed (Ugbo azụ ụnọ). If everyone does that, it means that food security is ensured. What Abatete is therefore doing today is re-echoing what the governor and his wife are saying. Let’s farm to feed ourselves, our families, our state, and Nigeria,” he said.
Earlier, Igwe Emeka Efobi, represented by Onowu Pius Ezeigwe, glorified God for peace and progress in the town and praised Governor Soludo for the development projects he has brought to the state and called on him to remember Abatete in road construction projects.
In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Soludo on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Chief Ifeanyi Metu, expressed Abatete’s readiness to continue supporting the Solution Government’s programmes.
The President General of the Abatete Development Organisation (ADO), Chief Ezedinobi Ezigbo-Nwadike, represented by Sir Anthony Adibe, and the leadership of non-indigenes in Anambra State were among those who graced the different occasions held in the town in commemoration of the New Yam Festival.
