2025 Message
We give all glory to the Most-High God for this 23rd Ofala festival of my reign on the throne of our founding father, Ezechima. We never take the grace and benevolence of our Creator for granted. I also welcome our visitors who have come from various destinations to join our annual celebration despite the current travel challenges in the country. We trust that you will enjoy the festival as in the past.
The State of the Nation.
At Ofala last year, I stated that the previous twelve months were marked by uncertainties occasioned by the aftermaths of the general elections, further exacerbated by the continuing insecurity and the effects of the sudden removal of the fuel price subsidy. Unfortunately, the wellbeing of the polity has declined even more steeply in the last twelve months leading to a ten-day national protest in August 2024, tagged #Endbadgovernance. The two areas of most concern are the economy and security. Their combined effects are the spiraling rise in the cost of living, business closures, loss of employment, a general feeling of hopelessness, and lack of trust in the government.
Several individuals and organizations, including High Chief Gani Adams, The Patriots, League of Nigerian Columnists, Yoruba Council of Elders, Afenifere, Arewa Consultative Forum, etc, have variously drawn the attention of the government to the looming catastrophe if no constructive action is taken to reverse the decline. They have urged the government to give urgent attention to its fundamental constitutional responsibility, namely, the security and wellbeing of the citizenry. Some of the specific views put forward include devolution and down-sizing of governance; the nexus between insecurity, agriculture, and high cost of living; the impact of fuel price on the cost of living; bad governance driven by corruption; and ostentatious lifestyle of political leaders;
Meanwhile, Mr. President has been assuring the nation about the efficacy of his “very bold and unprecedented decisions”, even as petrol prices are sky-rocketing, the Naira is in free-fall, and the leaders of the #Endbadgovernance are being prosecuted for treason for expressing their constitutional right to protest. On our part, we urge Mr. President to also consider alternative views and urgently convene a non-partisan national economic and security summit to forge a collective way forward for the country.
In the South East Zone, we still face the unrelenting scourge of the unknown gunmen who kill, maim, and kidnap their fellow Ndiigbo for money. Schools, markets, and public facilities have remained closed on Mondays at enormous economic and social costs to Ndiigbo.
Ofala Onicha.
The theme for last year’s Ofala was Better, Stronger, Together. It reflected our commitment to build on the gains of the previous years while addressing the challenges ahead. It emphasized that we could become better and stronger by deploying our common bonds to work closely together as a community. We have this year added a further theme of Courage, Perseverance, Self-Reliance (Onye Kwe, Chi’e Ekwe). This theme responds to rapidly deteriorating situation in the country which demands self-sustenance as the government increasingly fails in its basic obligations to the governed.
We had pruned down the scale of last year’s Ofala due to the prevailing uncertainties then. Unfortunately, the present mood of the nation is even more foreboding that last year. Consequently, the Obi-in-Council decided to further deepen the austerity of this year’s festival without losing its core elements. Thus, the NIPR/COOU Annual Obi Achebe lecture was delivered last week by the eminent scholar and statesman, Professor Patrick Utomi. We also retained the annual Oreze Art Exhibition and introduced a week-long medical outreach programme that covered the entire metropolitan city. Finally, the Ofala Youth Carnival was stood down for this year as a mark of respect for the murdered leader of the Onitsha Youth Council (OYC), and the driving spirit of the carnival, Kpajie Barrister Ernest A.B.K Offiah.