By: Michael Dibie
It was a classic display of visual arts, music, dance attire, food, language and many more as Abuja residents came out in mass to celebrate the Abuja Igbo Festival 2025.
It was an embodiment of total expression and ultimate experience of the Igbo culture in its beautiful expression of the Ndi Igbo, South East of Nigeria.
In recent times and with the advent of globalization and development in modern communication systems, a lot has been said on how Ndi Igbo in diaspora display their cultures in foreign land as culture being a way of life of a people.
As Nigerians celebrate this unique tradition that showcases the rich cultural tradition of the Ndi Igbo of Nigeria, the Igbo people say it is an event that reminds them of their Heritage as true Nigerians.
“You know we always like to celebrate, anywhere there is celebration, we like it, it is part of who we are,” said Opkara Chidulue, Igbo youth.
“Igbo has a very beautiful culture, the dance, tradition, when it comes to food, we have a lots of foods, dance and masquerades, if you want to experience the Igbo culture, you need to open minded because there are lot of Igbo culture to enjoy, said Becky Ricky, Igbo mother.
The organisers say It was an avenue to give the Igbo people a feel of Home in Abuja away from Home through cultural delicacies. Head of media, Abuja Igbo Festival, Francis Anekwe said culture can be used as a vital tool to build unity among Nigerians and urged Nigerians to emulate good attitudes in their various interactions with people.
“This event came about because the Igbo youths saw the need for it because we found out that some of our brothers have not been traveling Home, some have not been to the village for over five to six years and also, we have a situation where some kids can’t speak their mother’s tongue, they have Igbo names but can’t speak the language, so we decided to bring the culture to Abuja,” Francis added.
“It is said that ‘variety is the spice of life,’ so it is important that within Nigeria that we showcase different cultures so that we know we are not different but in our culture we are similar as well, ” said Mary Chinedu, another Igbo youth.
The Igbos constitute one of the major ethnic groups in Nigeria with a very rich cultural heritage.
