Ikeji 2024 has come and gone, the experience was in two folds and the general lesson learnt completed the third fold.
This year’s festival ended in a way that compromised the expectations of many observers. I was one amongst many that followed the trend of rancor, expected violence and what have you.
Much as the making of IKEJI 2024 promoted fears of the unknown, the festival itself was one of understanding, cooperation and managing our differences to encourage a united front.
The Year 2024 will go down memory lane as the best organized festival. The bases for my stance draws its strength from the fact that no one to the best of my knowledge was maimed due to violence and group conflicts were totally minimized.
Many critics of IKEJI festival would have also considered the dual celebrations as the beginning of the great fall of Ikeji festival, while the youths would view it as an extension of the rendezvous.
We took a trip to Zumex holiday resort Arondizuogu to chat with Mazi Dr. Ozoemena Ezuma, the Lord Mayor of Arondizuogu, who is a Chief promoter of tradition and it’s values explained that IKEJI festival is not all about the parading of masquerades but includes majorly the aspects of rites performed on the 1st day of the festival, which is the Oye egbugu
The mayor, who has contributed immensely to successive Ikeji festivals highlights on its numerous economic and social benefits.
He maintained that if due diligence is applied when promoting our tradition the mistakes of IKEJI 2024 would not have reared its ugly head.
When asked what actually brought about the problems of double dates for the festival? His response was one that tends to promote peace and seek out ways of correcting the mistakes rather than to apportion blames.
From the Mayor’s stand point IKEJI 2024 was an instructional arena of which lessons like the advantages of healthy competitions, the need for tolerance and the importance of development were taught.
Tolerance was promoted and accorded its place when all Iheme moved down to Izuogu to help boost the celebrations and Izuogu trooping down to Iheme to also encourage the celebrations.
Put this factors together you would have noticed a celebration like never before, an Ikeji celebrating our differences, an Ikeji we danced in the sun and cooled off in Ana-mmiri Admoha on Nkwo-Admoha day and on Nkwo-Achi day we all danced in the sun into the rains.
Recall we earlier published a story on ARONDIZUOGU GOES FRENZY WITH ITS ANNUAL IKEJI FESTIVAL
The Legend Fela kuti in one of his albums sang, “water no get enemy”. The dual celebrations was six of one, half a dozen of the other.
Finally let’s understand that, Izuogu na Iheme is an entity, so Ikeji festival should revert to status-quo from 2025.
In an Interview with Ogbuehi Obi Tiger Okpuruisi, the promoter of Tiger Okpuruisi Masquerade group opined that the 2024 Ikeji Festival was one of a kind. In his analysis, he maintained that Ikeji Masquerade Carnival having successfully survived about 3 threats, the latest being the 2024 Ikeji festival which came with it serious misunderstanding between the 2 prominent traditional rulers of Arondizuogu about which of the 2 dates April 5th 2024 or April 9th 2024.
At the end of it all supporters of the 2 dates had their ways leading to an Extravaganza , never witnessed in Arondizuogu before this time. The misunderstanding between the 2 traditional rulers stylishly answered the prayers of the youths who always wished that the 4days of Ikeji festival and 3 days of Masquerade carnival was never enough.
This time they had it in quantum starting from the 5th till the 13th (9 clear days). And the business people who thought that the misunderstanding will affect their businesses adversely had a field day, smiling to their banks for 9 days instead of the usual 3-4 days
New dimensions like the exposure of the the beautiful site of Ana-mmiri swimming stream which both the young and old enjoyed to the fullest.
It attracted Nwanyị ọcha and his Husband ICHIE EZENWA with the Children who never saw such site before and quickly undressed and dived into the stream to enjoy the funfair. The stream which until now was not known to anyone outside Adimoha town and it’s surroundings
He further noted that Arondizuogu as a whole lost most of the tourist income from Diaspora family and friends who feared that the discordant tunes might lead to breakdown of law and order but this was not the case
