When MTN supported Ikeji festival

Bode Adewumi, Lagos

Acting President General, Arondizuogu Patriotic
Union (APU), Mazi Eddy Okparaeke handing a
giant trophy to Captain of Barca Bo which played a
football match during the Ikeji Festival at Aro
Ndizuogu recently.Ikeji Cultural Festival is a crowd puller. It is the greatest of all the festivals in the whole world. It is the life of my people. Even neighbouring towns come to join us at this time of the year to celebrate Ikeji, and any Aro Ndizuogu son or daughter who misses out on the celebrations counts himself or herself as unfortunate.”

Those were the words Mazi Ukonu Ojukwu, a 65-year-old man from Ndi Iheme community, who has witnssed so many Ikeji festivals and who was in his “elements” during this year’s festivities, shouting, jumping energetically and running all over the place like some of the young men and the masquerades. He hopes, according to him, “to see 35 more festivals before I go.”

According to Ojukwu, Aro Ndizuogu people do not joke with their Ikeji festival. “Many Aro Ndizuogu people prefer to come and celebrate Ikeji during this time of the year rather than coming home for Christmas in December. That is why you see so much crowd, and many of them come with their friends from other parts of the country and outside Nigeria,” he stated.

Ikeji cultural festival of Aro Ndizuogu in Imo State, Nigeria, sponsored by telecoms giants, MTN Nigeria, is a popular festival that brings the Igbo speaking community around the world together. Its origin dates back to over five centuries and it is acclaimed as the biggest pan-Igbo cultural community festival with strong heritage, international recognition and can lend itself to profitable exploitation.

The essence of the festival, which ranks among the best surviving traditional ceremonies of the Aro Ndizuogu people, is to celebrate the harvest of the first yams. It serves to unify and foster ties among Aro people who are spread across the entire Igbo speaking states and part of Cross River state. It appeals to the entire Igbo speaking peoples both at home and in the Diaspora.

About a week before the commencement, every nook and corner of the communities are made clean by the citizens as they prepare to receive visitors from far and near who throng the communities for Ikeji festival.

This year’s Ikeji cultural festival lived up to its billing, as every road, every street, every nook and cranny was practically taken over by an endless stream of people in the whole of its 28 communities during the seven days the festivities lasted. The high points of this year’s celebrations include a symposium, music fiesta, football competition, cultural pageant and Award/Gala night.

The first two days (April 6th and 7th) before festivities were devoted to “home coming.” It is expected that the sons and daughters of Aro Ndizuogu return home from wherever they reside during those two days to be part of that year’s festival. It is also during that period that corporate sponsors of the festival start to make their presence felt by embarking on corporate branding and other forms of public awareness in the communities.

Eke Odu (April 8th) marks the beginning of celebrations. It is the Ikeji eve and the time for Ima Nmanwu when the masquerade groups finalise their rehearsals and preparations for the year’s activities. Eke market day is the first day of the Igbo week.

The next day was Orie Egbugbu (April 9th) or day of thanks giving. It was marked by the pouring of libations, general feasting and paying of homage. This year, it also marked the final of the football competition held at St. Philips playground at Ndiakeme Uno and sponsored by MTN.

April 10th was Afor market day and marked the first day of masquerade outing at Afor Ndiawa market square followed by continued feasting and general merry making. Masquerades emerge on major streets and cause reasonable distruption of flow of traffic.

For MTN Nigeria, the festive period was an ample time to visit prominent citizen of Aro Ndizuogu. It seized the opportunity to pay courtesy to visit the homes and palaces of such individuals as Eze Ndubuisi Kanu JP, the Ikenuolueze of Ndi Iheme, Eze, Professor Green Nwankwo of Ndi Onyeoma Autonomous Community Arondizuogu, Ichie Mezuo Nwankwo Okoye Emesuo (Pericomo), Late Mazi Mbonu Ojike’s ancestral home, visit to the palace of Eze Dike, the 9th Monarch of Awa Izuogu, Eze, Dr. Mike Nwosu, the Ugo Ocha 1 of Ndi Akaeme Uno and the others.

All activities came to a crescendo on the sixth day, the greatest masquerade outing day at Nkwo Acha market square and along all adjoining roads. It is highest point of the celebrations and over 200,000 masquerades and masquerade groups are unleashed unto the streets, thereby making the roads practically impassable.

For the masquerades and all participants this was the essence of life and living. Nothing else in the world mattered except their present preoccupation. You could see mirth on their faces as they run and jump all over the place. The masquerade groups compose and sing various songs either praising themselves or their deities.

In their frenzy, they take up the entire road thereby making it extremely difficult for motorists and cyclists to ply the roads. They dare the few motorists that enter the roads to hit them as they run in front of them and sit on the car’s bonnet. Oftentimes the motorists have to pacify them by giving them some money before they let them go, only for another group to accost them and the process start all over again.

The masquerades engaged themselves and other young men they meet in a ceremonial flogging on the ankles, and the sound of their cane could be heard from afar. Even the pursuit and flogging of young ladies by the masquerades are part of the Ikeji fun.

In the midst of the exploits of the masquerades, there are other tricks and attractions that hold the audience spellbound, some funny, some serious and some plain curious. For instance, there was the magical trick of a young man who poured some palm wine into a basket in defiance of the laws of nature and which he drank from time to time. There was also the curious spectacle of a middle aged man who broke a bottle and was chewing the broken pieces.

There was another curious spectacle along the road between Nkwo Acha and Ndiawa of an elderly man who climbed to the top of a palm tree using his back amid so much shout and applause from his supporters and excited spectators. There was the bizarre scene of a young man who was wearing a bra, who in the midst of the crowd pulled down his shorts to reveal a lady’s G-string under pant he was wearing, and he left it that way throughout the day as he danced along the roads.

There was also the young man who dressed up in skirt and blouse like a lady, with padded chest and backside, wearing a wig, with painted lips and a lady’s hand bag to match. He was having the fun of his life as he moved and danced around the place while constantly adjusting his padded chest and backside. Adding to the whole fun of Ikeji was the MTN Community Connect (MCC) troupe with their heavy pulsating music being blared from large speakers which got the people enthralled.

On this epic day of the festival, they were strategically located at the Nkwo Acha market square from where they played all the latest music in the country and held other attractions such as dance competition for children and adults and raffle draws in which participants won various prizes including telephone handsets, generating sets, a motor bike and other corporate branded items.

As a crowd puller, Ikeji has the potential to become a major international tourism event. According to MTN’s Senior Manager, Channels and Regional Marketing operations, Mr. Ikechukwu Kalu, his company is committed to helping Nigerian communities develop and market their common heritage to the outside world.

According to Kalu, “At MTN, we know how important these celebrations are to our people. That is why we traverse the length and breadth of this country to lend a helping hand to the various communities to promote their heritage so that they could become attractive to the outside world, so that they would be turned into income yielding activities instead of mere entertainment.

“When we have done this, we now feel proud that we have able to make our operating environment better. For us it is a partnership. We just came back from the Argungu International Fishing Festival in Kebbi State. Before Argungu, we have been to several other festivals in the country since the beginning of the year. After Ikeji, we shall be in many more festivals before the year’s end. “At MTN we follow the passion of the people. That is why we partner with Nigerians at federal, state and local government levels to ensure that their passion is given a boost.”