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Nnewi Afia Olu Festival: The Need for Rebranding

by cornel
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Nnewi Afia olu festival appears to be the only surviving traditional festivals among the 14 yearly festivals peculiar to Nnewi. It is a festival designed to mark the end of the year’s farming season and also offer thanksgiving to God for a bountiful harvest which is done across various communities in Igbo land. It comes up in the Month of August or early September.

Although little documentary evidence exist about the origin of the Nnewi Afia olu festival, however it is believed that Nnewi Afia Olu festival started with Uruagu and Nnewichi owning to their promxity to Ojoto and Ichi, where the festival held before Nnewi. Since then, it has remained part of Nnewi custom and tradition.

In the past, the festival was celebrated independently by the four quarters, but as events unfolded, the desire to come together to generate greater strength, love and unity became generally accepted.

However, it appears that the festival has become a shadow of it’s past; due to the poor participation by indigenes of the community and also the inefficiency of the organizers. In terms of content as it concerns activities, it is nowhere near that of other major festivals of large towns like Nnewi. The festival has become dominated by non-indigenes which have added little or no value to it.

The Afia olu festival which usually held at the Nkwo triangle (which is the rallying point for people living in Nnewi) is no longer available as the state government in collaboration with few individuals has taken over the land for commercial venture.

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Nnewi Afia Olu Festival: The Need for Rebranding

There is an urgent need to rebrand Nnewi Afia olu festival to ensure its sustenance in other to preserve, promote and project Nnewi’s rich cultural heritage.
The rebranding and repackaging of Nnewi Afia Olu festival will increase participation and attract tourist from other parts of Nigeria and the world.

Afia Olu should grow beyond a situation where masquerades are seen flogging people or each other. It should be made an entertainment rich in cultural display, dance, singing, different kinds of masquerade parades, theatrical performance etc.

To rebrand Nnewi Afia Olu festival, there is a need to set up a committee to facilitate the planning, this committee should be made of men and women of ideas and integrity across board.

The Committee should focus on the following objective:
  • Organizing the festival through Public-Private Partnership arrangement. They should reach out to corporate organizations, Nnewi billionaires and millionaires, government agencies and culturally inclined groups of individuals to join us in the process of rejuvenation of our cultural heritage.
  • Since Nkwo Nnewi triangle which is a holy ground handed to us by our ancestors is no longer available (Ka Chineke mere anyi ebere) they should carefully find a befitting arena to celebrate the event.
  • A conference or summit should always be organized in one the conference centers in Nnewi during the festival. The Conference will provide a platform to facilitate discussions around the history of Nnewi people across the centuries, our identity, ideology, through the sharing of experiences, research and ideas. It will also open discussion on the need to reposition some of our cultural practices and the need to document and preserve the history, heritage and culture of Nnewi People.
    The conference should also discuss Nnewi economy, political, social development and governance.
    It should also feature exhibition of historical artifacts.
    The conference should be attended by Nnewi historians, development experts, entrepreneurs, local stakeholders, professionals, archivists and the general public.
  • They should raise the public knowledge of Nnewi Afia Olu festival through increased publicity and press conferences before and after the festival.
  • The football competition in memory of our great heroes should be expanded to accommodate all the villages that make up the four quarters in Nnewi.
  • They should introduce cultural pageantry with full participation of male and female of the four quarters. This will produce Mr. and Miss. Nnewi.
  • Free medical outreach should also be introduced.
  • Cultural dancing and singing (Nnewi Songs) competition should be considered.
  • Award Night or Award day will feature different categories of award to Nnewi sons and daughter who are doing well in different sectors of the economy.
    Award and Prizes should be given to winners of the pageantry, dancing, singing and football competition and also the most colourful cultural troupe.
    The award day or night should features different kind of activities like music concert and the rest.
  • The committee should review critically the issue of masquerading, part of what has have caused poor participation in Nnewi Afia Olu festival is the issue of masquerading. During the festival, most churches organize programmes on all the days of the festival to ensure that members do not participate in the festival.
    Personally for me, contrary to religious belief, the Nnewi Afia Olu (New yam festival) has nothing to do with diabolic practices. It is simply the Igbo traditional way of thanking God for a bountiful harvest.
  • They should also introduce fundraising to facilities community development and also sponsor children of the poor in the town in Education through scholarship award.
  • The festival should be rounded up with an Interdenominational Service of Thanksgiving and Prayers for Nnewi in a neutral ground.

Nnewi Afia Olu Festival: The Need for Rebranding

Nnewi Afia Olu if rebranded willl attract people from all over the world to our Nnewi, the festival provide a platform to call home Nnewi sons and daughters abroad to renew and reaffirm the bond of brotherhood, it also brings to mind a sense of belonging and to plan for community development.
The festival will also generate business opportunities especially for small medium enterprises.

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