Onicha-Olona in Delta State is preparing for its annual Iwaji New Yam Festival, which will run from September 13 to 26 with traditional rites, community gatherings, parades and cultural performances.

Held in Onicha-Olona, Aniocha North Local Government Area, the festival marks the arrival of the new yam harvest and is one of the community’s major annual cultural events. It also serves as a homecoming period for indigenes living elsewhere in Nigeria and abroad.

Known locally as Iwaji, the festival centres on the ceremonial presentation, cutting and eating of newly harvested yam. Across many Igbo communities, New Yam celebrations traditionally mark the beginning of the consumption of the season’s harvest and provide an occasion for thanksgiving, family reunions and communal gatherings.

According to a statement issued by High Chief Osita Olunwa, the Iyase and traditional Prime Minister of Onicha-Olona, this year’s activities will take place at several locations across the community, including the Royal Palace Ground, village squares, community festival grounds and markets.

His Royal Majesty, Obi Emmanuel Okeibuno Metuiwe, the Obi of Onicha-Olona, is expected to lead key traditional ceremonies during the festival.

The programme will also feature village and age-grade activities, parades and cultural displays involving different sections of the community.

Speaking ahead of the festival, the President-General of the Onicha-Olona Development Union, Sir Patrick Anyibuofu Ejidoh, described Iwaji as an important expression of the community’s identity and a time for residents to reconnect.

“Ji Ohu Ofe is our way of saying thank you to God Almighty and to our ancestors for the gift of harvest. It is also a time for homecoming, reconciliation and planning for the development of Onicha-Olona,” he said.

Beyond the ceremonial eating of the new yam, the festival provides a platform for traditional music, dance and other forms of cultural expression, while bringing together families, age grades and community institutions.

New Yam festivals are celebrated in different forms across Igbo-speaking communities in southern Nigeria, with local customs and rituals varying from one community to another. Yam has historically played an important role in the agricultural economy of the region, and the annual celebration of the new harvest remains closely associated with communal life and cultural continuity.

Security arrangements have also been announced ahead of the festival. The Delta State Police Command said personnel would be deployed to festival grounds and major routes, alongside patrol and traffic teams.

Commissioner of Police Samuel E. Erale urged residents and visitors to comply with security and traffic instructions during the celebrations and warned against violence and the possession of weapons.