It was indeed a day of joyous celebration for the Igbo community living in Ghana as celebrants gather to celebrate the new yam festival.
Eze Dr Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu, Paramount King of the Igbo Community in Ghana amidst a joyful crowd cut into a tuber of roasted yam, dipped the morsel into a bowl of sauce and took a bite to commensurate the 2023 new yam festival
The symbolic ceremony took place in Accra when Igbos in Ghana celebrated the New Yam Festival and 11 years of Igbo throne in Ghana
The Eze thanked God, in the name of Jesus, and invoked divine blessings onto the yam, which the Igbos described as the King of crops
The celebration was on the theme, “Sustaining the Culture and Tradition of the Igbo People in the Diaspora.’
The New Yam Festival, in the Ogidi community, is an important way of marking the beginning and end of the farming season. It is a celebration of life, accomplishments in the community, culture, and well-being.
The royal celebration had in attendance, royalty from parts of Ghana and elsewhere in West Africa, political, and religious figures among who were Mr. Kofi Akpalu, Leader of the Liberal Party of Ghana; Mr. Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, former Minister of Youth and Sports, National Chief Imam Sheik Osmanu Sharabutu were present.
The Eze, Dr Ihenetu in his welcome address thanked God for the harvest and the “opportunity to plant.”
The King urged Igbos and other Nigerians resident in Ghana to continue to be law-abiding and advised Nigerians resident in Ghana to get registered in the ongoing national identification exercise in Ghana for easy identification.
He stressed the importance of teaching the younger general African values and culture and hinted of plans to establish Igbo schools in Ghana.
