Oraifite celebrates first Afia-Olu after FG made it national festival

It was a day of cultural display at this year’s Afia-Olu National Festival of Oraifite Community in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Afia-Olu is one of the most famous cultural festivals in Anedo clan of Nnewi, Orafite and Amachi communities in Ekwusigo and Nnewi Local Government Area of the state.
Though this year’s festival was not graced by the Federal Government, but the celebration marked the median edition of the Oraifite Afia-Olu as a national festival.
According to the President General, Dr. Jap Okolo, this year’s celebration would be appropriately described as the Copernican turningpoint in the celebration of the age-long festival.
Afia-Olu Festival was adopted as a national festival in 2014 by the then Minister of Culture and Tourism, High Chief Edem Duke.
Oraifite, the home town of many prominent people including Sir Emeka Offor is the second largest town of the four communities that make up the present Ekwusigo Local Government.
It enjoys a common cultural heritage with Nnewi, the home town of the late Igbo leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Ikemba Nnewi.
Afia-Olu is a festival celebrated to mark the end of the planting season.
Oriental News gathered that the festival before now kicks-off on the last (Eke), a market day in Igboland in August.
However, because of the variance between the native market days and the modern weekdays as well as its elevation to its present national status, the community recently in a motion at its General Assembly adopted and resolved that the grand finale of the Oraifite national festival shall be celebrated on the third day of August every year.
According to the President-General of the town, Dr. Okolo, this was made to accommodate the interest of civil servants, friends and well-wishers who may feel more disposed to having the festival on Saturdays.
He disclosed that during the period in the community each family prepares delicious foods for their visiting friends and relations that offered them helping hands during the planting season.
These delicacies are usually served with palm wine after which everybody will move to the village square, now Oraifite Centre, where various masquerades and traditional dancing groups avail themselves the opportunity to showcase their cultural dances.
Dr Okolo in his welcome address recalled a popular Igbo adage which says that “anyone that climbs an Iroko tree should fetch as much firewood as possible because climbing an Iroko tree is not a task that one performs on daily basis.”
He, therefore, appealed to the Federal Government to fulfill the pledge of assisting the Oraifite Improvement Union (O.I.U.) financially in the celebration of the national festival with the sum of N5 million every year,” adding that “we are yet to receive any amount for the organization of this year’s festival”.
He also used the opportunity to appreciate the governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano for the gigantic strides he took on assumption of office in the security and health sectors.
“Our amiable governor deserves to be commended for tackling the deplorable security situation of Onitsha town with dispatch,” he said.
He noted that in Oraifite community, the asphalting of the Oraifite portion of the Ekwusigo link road and the Justice Nwazota to Nkwo Edo road awarded by the administration of the former Governor Peter Obi were being pursued with vigour by Obiano, but regretted that recently the contractors demobilized their workers from the construction sites.
His words: “We are worried by this development, but may we like Oliver Twist plead that His Excellency looks with favour upon us and approve the construction and asphalting of the following roads to assist famers in moving their agricultural products to commercial towns.
“They are Akwa Ozubulu to Isingwu Oraifite road. This 4.2km road will help to decongest the traffic-laden upper Iweka round-about by serving as a good diversion for people going to numerous towns in the state from the River Niger bridge in Onitsha through Atani and for conveying agricultural produce from the riverine parts of the town to other parts of the state.”
Looking at the health sector, the president general said that the Oraifite General Hospital could properly be described as a hospital for the dead and not for the living as the only functional department in the health institution was the mortuary.
“Consequently, we humbly request for the provision of the necessary equipment and materials in the hospital as this will positively touch the lives of our people.
“Finally, may we repeat our appeal to both the Federal and Anambra State governments to address the problem posed by many gully erosions in Oraifite. There are about 51 documented active erosion sites in this town.
“The most active of these is Olioba gully erosion in Ibollo. This one is presently threatening to divide the Onitsha-Owerri road and is very close to a PHCN transmission tower. It is over 100m wide, 80m deep and has travelled over 1km distance in less than 6yrs (i.e. after the dualisation of Onitsha – Owerri road).
“It has already devastated our farmlands, economic trees and cash crops. We were made to understand that a contractor has been engaged to deal with this erosion menace, but the work is moving at snail speed. Please we need your intervention so that we do not become refugees in our land.
“We wish to express our profound gratitude to Sir. Emeka Offor for being a great pillar of support to OIU through his numerous contributions, including promising to re-roof the Civic Center main building single handedly,” he said.
Speaking, Governor Obiano assured the Oraifite people of his total commitment to ensure that developmental projects get to all the 177 communities in the state.
Obiano who was represented at the occasion by his Special Adviser on Town Union and Chieftaincy Matters, Mr Ikechukwu Onyeabor, described ‘Afia-Olu’ festival as a worthy Igbo culture and thanked the Federal Government for adopting it as a national festival.
The Obi of Oraifite, Igwe (Dr) Dan Udorji listed the significance of ‘Afia-Olu’ festival to include a period of cultural revival in the community as well as a time for the mass return of the people of the community to celebrate and thank God not only for the end of the planting season but for their lives and God’s blessing unto them.