For the first time in over forty years of being held hostage, intimidated, and harassed by a citizen, the Nkata Afarata community in Ibeku, Umuahia North LGA, celebrated a peaceful new yam festival on Tuesday.
However, this peace and unity were not achieved easily, as officials of the community union were harassed on the eve of the celebration on Monday.
The new town union chairman of the community, Silas Uche Ihemeremadu, was even detained following a peaceful protest at the Abia State House of Assembly.
Speaking during the occasion, Ihemeremadu expressed his happiness that the Nkata community “is now united”.
He said, “I am excited that before now, our people celebrated with machetes and other dangerous weapons. Satan fought to cancel this occasion, but God defeated Satan.
Lots of people intervened, including our sons, the Afarata traditional ruler, the state commissioner of police, the House of Assembly Deputy Speaker, and many others, to stop every intimidation in the community over the years during the new yam celebration.
“We have complained of being intimidated over the years by one of our influential sons, and we have been crying to God to intervene, as over thirty years, the community has lost many things.
“We protested to the Abia State House of Assembly but were arrested by different security agencies many times. But after all the intimidation, we are celebrating, and God has returned the joy to the Nkata community.
“This intimidation started even before I was born, about sixty years ago. Over the years, our community has hosted many state and federal agencies, including the Central Bank of Nigeria, Police Zone 9 headquarters, the Department of State Security Service, the Federal High Court, the Independent National Electoral Commission, the West African Examination Centre, and even the state House of Assembly, among others. But not one of our sons or daughters was employed by them.
“We will question these establishments about our royalties due to us as we hear that one person has been collecting them over the years. We are investigating”.
Also speaking, the Nkata Village Head and retired Police Officer, Sunday Ndukwe Onwuchekwa, said about the celebration, “It has not been like this for a long time.
This year’s celebration is an exception because of the extraordinary quality leadership of the chairman of Nkata”, adding that as the community hosts many federal and state establishments, “we have all it takes.
We are lacking social responsibility from them. If people are blocking us, we are here to say that it is enough. These establishments should reciprocate”.
In his speech, a son of the community and the Deputy Speaker, Abia State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Emeruwa, noted, “What we are doing today is what remains of our culture and which exists everywhere.
I am happy it is being done peacefully and to the glory of God”, while the Traditional Prime Minister of Ibeku Ancient Kingdom and national president of Traditional Prime Ministers in Nigeria, Uche James Akwukwaegbu, called on governments at all levels to encourage agriculture.
“There is nothing like peace”, he said, and he urged the leaders of the community to bring all under one unity.
The representative of the traditional ruler of Afarata Autonomous Community and Afarata II, HRH Eze Felix Ozed Onwukwe, who is the Traditional Prime Minister of the community, Chief Chidiebere Mbanaso, said, “This is the first time we are having a new yam celebration this way, and it is a good thing”, and expressed his happiness that the majority of the people in the community supported the occasion “against those who don’t want the event to happen”.
The President General of the Ibeku Egwu Association and Traditional Prime Minister of Eziama na Mgbaka Ossah Ibeku, High Chief Jery Onyemachi, expressed his optimism that “there is no trouble in the community again, only that one man cannot make a forest, hence the unity.
One person in Ibeku cannot determine what happens in Ibeku, but only a collective decision”, and called for unity in the entire Ibeku land.
According to members of the community, particularly Sir King Lucky Fred and Ndukwe Ibelegbu, they called on the Nkata people to maintain their present peaceful disposition, stating that the community has come out to say no to manipulation by “someone, somewhere”.
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