2017 Ofala festival

Obi of Onitsha, His Majesty, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe (Agbogidi) celebrates his 16th Ofala festival.

Onitsha is a popular town located in Anambra State, in the South-Eastern part of Nigeria. Onitsha is known for its popular Main Market, which is said to be the biggest in West Africa . The town and its environs also have one of the largest tributaries of the River Niger, thereby allowing fishing and its allied businesses to thrive around there. Onitsha indigenes are a people, who cherish their heritage and value their culture very much in spite of their early contact with education. This is why they pay attention to the traditional ceremonies that abound. Some of these ceremonies include, the coronation of a new monarch, chieftaincy installation, initiation into the masquerade cult, Ozo title-taking, initiation into the Otu Odu Cultural group, and so on. However, the Ofala festival seems to be the most significant and prestigious of all the ceremonies performed in Onitsha

OFALA is celebrated in most kingdoms in Anambra State as a memorial ceremony for the remembrance of the date the traditional ruler of the area was installed. Indigenes of the various communities always look forward to their Ofala which takes place annually, usually towards the end of the year. There are two types of Ofala in the history of every monarch in Anambra. One is the annual event that attracts friends and well wishers of the people of the community during which the traditional ruler takes stock of his activities within the year and the other is the last Ofala which takes place after the death of the monarch.

Activities in celebration of the Obi of Onitsha, His Majesty, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe (Agbogidi) 16th Ofala festival,  sponsored by Globacom, began, on the 10th of October, with the Oraeze International Arts Exhibition at the Ime Obi, Onitsha, Anambra State.
Globacom in a statement issued in Lagos, said this year’s celebration of the festival would run through to Monday, October 16.
The programme of activities shows that a youth carnival was held on Thursday the 12th, while the main Ofala will be celebrated in the morning of Friday, October 13, and a cocktail party, Eze Onicha, in the evening of the same day. According to the programme of event, Azu Ofala, will take place on Saturday, October 14, while the Ofala Music Concert, during which the most beautiful girl in Onitsha will be crowned Miss Ofala 2017, will be held on Sunday, October 15, at CJ Patterson International Auditorium, Onitsha. A royal banquet in honour of the Agbogidi, Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, will hold at the Dolly Hills Hotel, Onitsha,  on Monday, October 16 to round off the festival. Globacom expressed satisfaction that “the festival is growing bigger and bigger every year since we officially took over its sponsorship in 2011. We commend the Agbogidi for all the innovations he has over the years introduced to the festival to make it more exciting and a tourist attraction. We are delighted to be part of this noble festival for another three years.” The company charged all lovers of tradition and culture to visit the Ime Obi, Onitsha Palace, to experience firsthand the celebration one of the biggest festival in the  south east  and enjoy the hospitality of Onitsha people.