By Patrick Ochei
Every year in the past eighteen years, Anioma people have always looked forward to Anioma Cultural Festival with joy and excitement. It has always been a time sons and daughters from all walks of life at home and in the Diaspora, make frantic effort to be around to identify with the singular Festival that brings all communities in Anioma together, including participating cultures from neighbouring friendly communities within Delta State and beyond.
On Easter Monday, 10th April in this year 2023, history will repeat itself. This time, it promises to be more fascinating and colourful because, it’s a Festival of Victory and Celebration, themed “Preserving Our Cultural Heritage”.
This year’s edition heralds the celebration marking the end of tour of duty as Governor of Delta State by an Anioma illustrious son, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa who has held sway as the number one citizen of the State in the past eight years.
His administration brought about enormous development in infrastructure and human capital, and more especially, an atmosphere of serenade peace and prudence in management of resources.
Anioma people are proud of him as a quiet achiever in governance, a thoroughbred in politics and a home grown administrator.
This is a good time for us to celebrate – by celebrating the achievements of our son in office as Governor, celebrating peace, celebrating development and celebrating ourselves as a people.
Our culture is unique, and in the past two decades, had changed the narrative amongst culture loving and keeping communities of the world.
Anioma is renowned for her peculiar identity, shining through the exhibition of our pride fabric, the “Akwa Ocha” with aesthetic value, our language, our moral values and standards, our food, our ways of showing hospitality to strangers and of course, our land of peace and harmony, devoid of natural disasters.
We are blessed because we are beautifully made by the most expensive and diligent Potter Himself – God. We have found favour in His sight, and He has continued to show us mercy through our journeys in life’s existence.
Anioma Cultural Festival is that time to flaunt the beautiful creations of God in us by exhibiting our way of life through our highly revered culture and traditions.
We have come a long way on this history of uniqueness, all thanks to the Organisation For the Advancement of Anioma Culture (OFAAC), which provided us with the platform to showcase who we are and what we represent within the heterogeneous Delta in the past 18 years.
It is noteworthy to say that OFAAC has done noble through the patriotic initiative of the renowned Anioma highly achieved person of Arc. Kester Ifeadi, Managing Director of Contemporary Group Ltd.
This Ubulu-Okiti born culture enthusiast and passionate lover of Anioma, aside his widely acclaimed excellence in Architecture profession, has festered his nest worldwide by the promotion and mainstreaming of Anioma Culture to the world.
He didn’t do it alone, at inception, he galvanised ideas and concepts from the likes of Omu Anioma, HRM Obi Martha Dunkwu, the Desert Warrior, Chief Newton Jibunoh and a host of other cultural juggernauts who have continued to add value to the system.
We love our culture. We love the platform provided by OFAAC for Anioma Cultural Festival which comes up every year on Easter Mondays.
This 2023 edition promises to be eventful, colourful and culturally exhilarating. It will feature dance, wrestling, cuisine, arts and crafts exhibition, raffle draw and more. Don’t miss out; see you there. It’s our season; the Anioma season.
Comrade Patrick Ochei is the Secretary of Delta State Council of NUJ,
Publisher of Anioma Trust,
Media/Culture Consultant.
