New Yam Festival: Enugu Community Urges Govts. To Use Agriculture In Tackling Insecurity.

By Cosmas Chukwu .

As Nigeria continues to battle the alarming spate of insecurity currently bedeviling the entire nation, natives of Adogbalato kingdom, in Awgu Council area of Enugu State, have urged government’s at all levels to make the Agricultural Sector attractive, via human oriented programmes and policies, saying such idea would assist in taking off the streets teeming unemployed youths engaging in criminal activities.

They noted that though, successive and present administrations did their best in the sector, but there was still need for more efforts to be put in place towards encouraging farmers for a aggressive food production and youth employment in parts of the nation.

The natives averred that it’s a known fact that if properly utilized, the Agricultural sector in Nigeria has the capacity to change the ugly insecurity narrative in Nigeria, because it will help in checking youth restiveness, by keeping the jobless youths busy, since “an idle mind they say, is the devil’s workshop.

They further posited that if properly funded, and the needed enabling environment created, including provision of farm implements, fertilizer, among other incentives, it can equally be use to address the issue of food shortage in the country.

Speaking to newsmen in his palace weekend during the 2022 Adogbalato new yam festival celeberation which had earlier commenced at the Orie Awgu market square, the Traditional Ruler of the Community, Igwe Christopher Oti, said as the mainstay of Nigeria, there is need for government at all levels to always accord the all important sector the attention it deserves for the interest of the country.

The Monarch, who had during the celeberation given awards to best yam famers of the year in the locality, pointed out that Agriculture remains one of the key sectors that drives the economies of many nations hence, the need for Nigeria political leaders to always place it among their priority areas when allocating annual budgets.

He explained that the annual new yam festival celeberation is a time when sons and daughters of the Community, both at home and diaspora, come together to celebrate the harvest of new yarm which is the king of all crops, and also to thank God for a bumper harvest.

“So, new yarm festival (Ikeji) is a big event in Adogbalato kingdom and entire Igbo land, And as you know, yam is the king of all crops in Igbo land, and we accord it that respect.

“The celeberation is very important to us, and that is why our son’s and daughters return from far and near to come and celeberate it.

Speaking also with newsmen, Chairman of the Central Working Committee of this year’s celeberation, and member of the Elders Council, Ichie Tobias Sunny Ikoh, said the people cherishes the age long annual event which began with their ancestors who passed it into the present generation.

According to him, “it’s part of our culture, and we need to maintain it. We don’t have to discard it despite the challenges of western education.

“New yam festival is very important to us, we inherited it from our ancestors, and it will continue to exist from generation to generation. Those of us who are presently at the Centre state now, don’t have any option than to sustain it” Ikoh stated.

“May I also use this medium to call on government at all levels to always fund the Agricultural sector adequately, so as to encourage food production and avert food crisis in the country,