Asaba Monarch Provokes Thoughts At Maiden New Yam Festival
BY Ahabamnews
The Asagba of Asaba, HRM Obi (Prof.) Epiphany Azinge, yesterday, celebrated his maiden New Yam Festival since ascending the throne with a call for renewed commitment to agriculture as a lasting solution to food insecurity.
The New Yam Festival, a prominent feature of the Asaba traditional calendar, is also widely celebrated across Igbo communities as a time of thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest and prayers for a prosperous new season.
While cutting the New Yam (Iwa-ji), the Asaba monarch thanked God for his mercies and benevolence on the Asaba Kingdom, even as he thanked the Asaba people for their support since ascending the throne of his forebears.
‘Today, we are celebrating so much, so much under the guise of the New Yam Festival, and I am not the one to hide my feelings on any issue. However, regarding the Asaba people, do you still farm? Every year we celebrate the New Yam Festival, but this question has become imperative: whether we must continue celebrating this festival.
‘’This is because Asaba has come of age to farm our yams. In the olden days, our yam barns showed our strength, wealth and status in society. That was why our ancestors married many wives and had many children to help with work on the farms.
‘’Therefore, anything we are celebrating is spiritual, and that’s why we thank God for his abounding love to us in many ways than one. Our children are doing fine, the kingdom is moving in the right direction, and there is peace in the land. This is what I celebrate today, most of all.
‘’But I plead with the Asaba people, let us start farming again. No kingdom can thrive while ignoring agriculture. We have fertile lands, and we can also decide to fish in the River Niger.
‘’Therefore, I have decided to provoke thoughts at this occasion because it is becoming a ritual that, every year, we come out to celebrate New Yam Festival with yams brought from elsewhere’’ the monarch said, even as he expressed optimism of greater prosperity for the Asaba Kingdom.
At the event, the monarch recognised and honoured distinguished personalities who have worked for the continued progress of the Asaba kingdom, including the member representing Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency, Hon Ngozi Okolie, the member representing Oshimili South Local Government Area in the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon Bridget Anyafulu, among others.
Distinguished personalities present at the auspicious occasion include a former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Peter Onwusanya; Hon Shedrack Rapu and Oshimili South Local Government Chairman, Chief Kelvin Ezenyili.
Others are the Vice Chancellors of the Dennis Osadebey University (DOU), Asaba, the University of Delta (UNIDEL), Agbor, Admiralty University, the Acting Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Asaba, Dr Ekenem Omo, and the General Manager of the Delta Printing and Publishing Corporation (DPPC), Mrs Rosemary Nwaebuni, who was represented by the Special Projects Manager, Mr Patrick Nwanze.
The event reached its climax with the five ebos (quarters) of Asaba; Umuezei, Ugbomanta, Umuagu, Umuaji and Umuonaje taking turns in the same order to pay homage to HRM Azinge.
