The FCT Igbo Community Assembly(ICA), Byazhin unit, will on Saturday 26 March, hold its first Ofala Festival under the leadership of His Royal Highness, Igwe Jude Udobi at LEA Primary School Byazhin by 12 noon.
According to Wikipedia, The Ofala Festival is an annual ceremony practiced by Igbo people, particularly the indigenes of Onitsha, Umueri, Umuoji and other neighboring communities such as Aguleri, Nnewi and Ukpo in Dunukofia Local Government Area.
It serves as a rites of renewal of the king or Igwe or Obi and it is similar to the Igue festival in Benin and the Ine, Osi or Ogbanigbe Festival in many mid-West Igbo communities of Nigeria. The term ofala, is derived from two Igbo words – ọfọ (English: authority) and ala (English: land)
The festival is celebrated within two days mostly in October by the Obi (English: king) and is a customary obligation that must be performed every couple of years without fail.
While we encourage the show of Igbo culture, unity among Igbos in diaspora, with their host communities, we cannot help but ask, of what use is this Ofala in a foreign land?
