Ofala Festival 2025: Celebrating unity and resilience
By Osa Mbonu-Amadi, Arts Editor
This October, the historic city of Onitsha in Anambra State will once again burst into a jubilant display of culture, tradition, and community spirit as it hosts the much-anticipated Ofala Festival. Set for October 17 and 18, the 2025 edition promises to be a landmark event blending deep-rooted indigenous customs with modern cultural expressions and developmental initiatives, under the compelling theme: Njiko na Ntachi – Unity and Perseverance.
The Ofala festival is the heartbeat of Onitsha cultural identity. Originating from the 16th century, the Ofala Festival traces its origins to the founding days of Onitsha and has since evolved as the pinnacle of the city’s ceremonial calendar. The festival marks the monarch’s emergence from a revered annual spiritual seclusion period, a rite that symbolises renewal, protection, and prosperity for the kingdom. In traditional Igbo belief, this emergence is also a reenactment of the discovery that yam, a staple food, is not toxic but a life-sustaining gift, a theme resonant with resilience and gratitude.