Ndigbo Celebrates Colourful New Yam Festival In Ejigbo Amidst Ban On Masquerades

CHUKA UBAH

The Igbo community in Ejigbo, Lagos State, on Sunday, 18th October, 2026, celebrated this year’s New Yam Festival in grand style despite restrictions placed on the display of masquerades and breaking of kolanuts by the Oba of Ejigbo.

The annual festival, which is one of the most significant cultural celebrations in Igboland, was held at Ejigbo with pomp, colour and a large turnout of Ndigbo, friends, well-wishers and residents from other ethnic groups in the area.

The event attracted many dignitaries and stakeholders, including the Traditional Ruler of Umuomaku town, Igwe Livinus Ezenwa, who was a special guest at the occasion.

The Royal Father of the Day was Eze Nicholas Njoku, the Eze Ndigbo in Ejigbo, who led other Igbo leaders to the occasion.

Also in attendance were traders from Ladipo Market led by Chief Casmir Ulasi, leaders of various Igbo town unions, men and women from Igbo communities, members of other ethnic groups resident in Ejigbo, as well as representatives of political parties who were at the event to solicit for votes.

The celebration was made more colourful by cultural dance groups, traditional music, display of Igbo attire and the presentation of new yams, which added glamour and excitement to the event tagged “Omena Ala Igbo”.

Speaking at the event, leaders of the Igbo community commended the organizers for their resilience, dedication and commitment to sustaining Igbo culture in Lagos despite the challenges faced before the celebration.

They praised the organizing committee for ensuring that the event was peaceful, well-coordinated and successful, describing their efforts as a great sacrifice for cultural preservation and unity.

According to the organizers, before the event, there were concerns that the festival might not hold after it was alleged that the Oba of Ejigbo wanted to stop the event until an undertaking was signed by the organizers not to showcase Igbo masquerades and not to break kolanuts at the venue.

The organizers reportedly complied with the conditions in order to ensure peace and to allow the celebration to go on as planned.

Despite the restrictions, which prevented two key traditional aspects of the New Yam Festival from being displayed, the event went on successfully and was widely applauded by attendees as a symbol of tolerance and cultural resilience.

The New Yam Festival, known as “Iri Ji Ohuu” or “Iwa Ji” in Igboland, is an annual cultural event celebrated by Ndigbo home and abroad to mark the end of the farming season and the beginning of a new harvest season.

It is a thanksgiving festival where Ndigbo thank God, Chukwu Okike Abiama, and the ancestors for a bountiful yam harvest, which is regarded as the king of crops in Igbo culture.

The festival holds great significance as it signifies abundance, unity, gratitude and renewal. It also provides an opportunity for families, communities and leaders to come together to pray for peace, prosperity and good health in the coming farming year.

During the festival, the oldest man or the traditional ruler usually cuts the first yam, prays over it and eats from it before others are allowed to eat the new yam.

It also serves as a platform for cultural education for younger generations, promotion of Igbo values, display of Igbo heritage, and strengthening of bonds among Ndigbo in the diaspora.

The 2026 edition in Ejigbo, despite the limitations, achieved its core purpose of bringing Ndigbo together, showcasing their rich culture and promoting peaceful coexistence with other ethnic groups in Lagos.

Attendees commended the Igbo community for their peaceful conduct and called on traditional institutions in Lagos to continue to promote mutual respect for all cultures in the spirit of Lagos as a cosmopolitan state.