Six STARTLING THINGS I LEARNT FROM OFALA NNEWI EVENT 2018

Six STARTLING THINGS I LEARNT FROM OFALA NNEWI EVENT 2018

Ofala Nnewi 2018 has come and gone, the dust and fumes have settled. Ofala Nnewi came with it Pros and cons. Anedoonline Tv was privileged to be part of this great event and here are some of the “things” I took home with me after the occasion.

Ofala Nnewi 2018, Igwe OrizuIII

1) The IGWE KENNETH O. N ORIZU despite his 93 years on this planet, is still full of life and vitality. He has literally refused to age. I witnessed the Ofala ceremonial walk of Igwe Kenneth Orizu accompanied by his cabinet members. This great Monarch walked with gait and kingly swagger from his House to the gate of the palace and even beyond the gate and back. His walk was with a tempo and he never faltered, none of the people walking with him slowed down out of the need for the Monarch to meet up with their pace.
Shockingly, Igwe Orizu was up early on the second day of the Ofala to attend to his visitors after the rigorous activity of the previous day.
IGWE IGA ADI oooo ( Long live our King).

Ofala Nnewi 2018

2) The saying that “entertainment business will not thrive in Nnewi ” is a Myth.

A lot has been said about Nnewi and its hostile climatic condition towards entertainment, these sayings are mere hypothesis at best. During the Ofala Nnewi, the whole of Eke Amobi area right to IGWE’s palace was literally unmotorable because of the mammoth crowd that thronged the palace to witness the occasion.
Ndi Nnewi who could not get a sit during the ofala event didn’t mind standing or perching in a corner inside the palace, they did this irrespective of their class and status. People who couldn’t make their way into the palace were contented with their conducive little space outside the palace under the hot scorching sun and hale of dust.
The Ice cream, pure water, Bottle water, Soft and alcoholic drink vendors were also busy attending to the crowd of people.
Nnewi is overdue for entertainment, you just have to come with the right entertainment material and meet the right contact (Like Anaedoonline platform ) that will help you with the promotion, then people will definitely throng to your event.

3) OFALA NNEWI IS ALL INCLUSIVE; Everybody was represented

The first thing that comes to mind when one hears the word “OFALA” is “NDI OGO MMUO” ( Traditionalists).
On the first day of the Ofala, I witnessed something that affected my perception of Ofala Nnewi positively. The Anglicans Led by Bishop Okpala were present at the palace to say a prayer before the occasion commenced, the Anglican choir was also present that morning to sing hymns.
On the second day of the Ofala Nnewi 2018 being the 29th December , Hausa community in Eke Amobi led by Malam Abdullahi Dambuka paid Igwe Kenneth O.N Orizu a courtesy visit.Y ours sincerely was opportuned to witness the warm reception that was accorded to the Eke Amobi Hausa Community.
On this same morning of 29th of December 2018 is the second day of the Ofala event, The 5 Nnewi diety Chief Priests came and performed their traditional rites.
During the two day event, Christians, traditionalists, Atheists, Hausas , Yorubas , Igbo etc sat side by side, enjoying the rich culture in the display.

Ofala Nnewi 2018, Obi Nnewichi, Left, Obi Umudim middle, Obi Uruagu Right

4) NOBODY WAS ROBBED OR RAPED

Gatherings like this in places like Lagos would have recorded a massive number of robbery, sexual harassments, and Open rapes.
From our findings, in spite of the crowd, nobody was reported to have fallen victim to any of these and that is something to be Proud about for Ndi Nnewi.
Its worthy to note that the security personnel available during the event was overwhelmed by the crowd so they would have been able to do little or nothing to stop the attrociuos act if any miscreant had decided to carry it out.
Ndi Nnewideservese some accolades for staying law abiding.

5) HUGE NNEWI EVENT IS A RECIPE FOR TRAFFIC DISASTER

The traffic around Eke Amobi during this period was in its ugliest form . Cabs and bike blatantly refused to convey people to Igwe’s palace and environs , the few that agreed gave the helpless passengers unreasonable charges .
On the Night of 29th december 2018 , Eke Amobi was impassable , Most of the commercial c yclists on sighting the heavy traffic refused to attend to people looking to patronise them , the ones that aggreed to work hiked their fares unreasonably .
people that didnt come with private means of transportation had to trek for a long distance until they were completely out of the scope of the heavy traffic where they get commercial cyclists ( Okada ) and Motorists that aggreed to transport them .
Organisers of huge events in Nnewi have to put heavy traffic into consideration when planning events.

6) The Organisers of Ofala Nnewi event did a good job of it but There are still massive room for improvement . I believe they will get it better this year .
The planning the next Ofala event should start months before December .

Ofala Nnewi 2018