Anambra community celebrates new yam festival, honors illustrious sons
By Julie Sylvia, Onitsha
Amawbia Community, Awka South Local Government Area, Anambra State , has celebrated her 2024 new yam festival at the Community Events centre where her scores of illustrious sons and daughters were also honoured for their community services.
According to the President General, PG, Amawbia Town Union, Chief Godwin Aronu,” Amawbia calls New Yam celebration Otite but for understanding sake, they started calling it Iwaji festival.”
Explaining why Igbo culture would not go into extinction, Aronu disclosed that ” We, that it was handed over to, are trying to be doing it as it was handed over to us, which was the way our forefathers did it.”
The President General also disclosed that they are looking forward for the Governor to establish skill acquisition center for them, noting that the community has, earmarked a place for such but looks forward for the Governor to come and establish it for youth and women.
“We started our organic fertilizer plant with 12-15M naira which was completed by the state government, so all these are what we are looking forward for the state government to do for us,” he stated.
On the election of Okpaligwe Amawbia, Aronu disclosed that it would follow suit immediately the election of the town Union executives which would take place on 31st December 2024 is over.
Speaking, the member representing Awka North/South in the Federal House of Representatives, Hon. Prof. Oby Orogbu said that Amawbia new yam celebration showed that Amawbia people are farmers, noting that any community without farming would be dealt with by hunger.
She advised all hands to be on deck so as to fight hunger out of our communities,band prayed God to give Ndigbo the life, strength and health to keep on farming and harvesting.
Earlier, the villages, sge grade branches, Umuada, Eziokwubundu Women, Amawbia Youth Vanguard, Okokpa Amawbia, Isi Isi agu Amawbia, Friends and well wishers paid homage to Osojeze Amawbia before proceeding to Amawbia Event Center for Iwaji festival
Among the awardees was Chief Ifeanyichukwu Okeke, the Director General, DG of Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON
