Igbos in Volta Region celebrate New Yam Festival

Igbos living in the Volta Region of Ghana have marked their annual New Yam festival at a colourful durbar held at the Igbo Palace near Diamond Cement, Aflao in the Ketu South  Municipality of the Volta region.

In a welcome address read on his behalf, HRM Dr Victor Anyim, the Eze Udo I of Aflao Kingdom, said the objective of the New Yam festival was to draw the attention of the people to the most important values of Igbo culture and encouraging same among the young and old, adding that the festival was a period for thanksgiving and asking God’s blessings for more yield.

“Like any other tribe in Africa, we celebrate the new yam because of its numerous benefits to mankind as well as the traditional belief of the transition and re-incarnation process in human beings similar to a seed yam.

The Eze Udo noted that the Igbo people are a tribe located mainly in the South-Eastern part of Nigeria. The people according to him are peace loving, intelligent, God-fearing and hardworking. He called on all Igbos and for that matter all Nigerians living in Ghana to obey the laws governing foreign nationals so as to continue to solidify the bond and good relationship between the two countries.

HRM Eze Dr Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu, the Ndigbo of Ghana, in an address congratulated HRM Eze Dr Victor Anyim the Eze Udo and Mrs Augustina Anyim the Ugo Eze of Aflao Kingdom for their continuous commitment to showcasing the rich Igbo culture and heritage in the diaspora. The Ndigbo of Ghana called on all Igbos to continue to celebrate and uphold their culture at all times.

He further added his voice to the call for all Nigerians especially Igbos to be law-abiding and to respect the laws of their host nation Ghana.

A new yam festival is an annual event for the people of Igbo land. It is celebrated between August and October where new yams are offered to the ancestors and the gods of the land for a greater yield in the next yam season. The celebration was on the theme: Enhancing and Strengthening Ghana-Nigeria Unity through Culture.

By Nelson Ayivor || ghananewsonline.com.gh