By Lucy Ezeliora
To all lovers of Traditions and Culture in Asaba, Easter Monday 2025 has been picked for the celebration of Anioma Cultural Festival.
Organiser of the ceremony will once again bring together sons and daughters of Anioma, friends, arts and culture enthusiasts to a beautiful display of Anioma cultural heritage at the 21st Anioma Cultural Festival. The festival of dance, music, fashion and other creative arts of historical values which have continued to serve as a rallying point for cultural renaissance and the unification of Delta’s diverse population.
The festival which has become an upstage event for the people and stakeholders with collective shared sense of responsibilities in the development of arts and culture is gradually evolving into an oak.
In a press statement, Arc. Kester Ifeadi, President, OFAAC, Organiser of Anioma Festival said that this year’s festival is significant because the year mark the beginning of a new phase in the life of Anioma Cultural Festival. 21 years of existence, coming back better and bigger
“we remain focus, despite numerous challenges, and the death of Patrons. drawing strength from God the creator and from relevant stakeholders who have remained resolute in their supports and encouragement for OFAAC and its cultural activities.
Anioma Cultural Festival now in its 21st year has continued to attract interest from far and near, we give thanks to God”.
A festival of peace and unity. This festival has just reminded us that a people must have cultural values to impact to their young ones and cultural festivals like this help to unite us.
One of the best ways to tackle societal vices is to reinvent and recreate our cultural values as it teaches our young to respect their elders, learn hardwork and understand that together as one family in our communities we can maintain peace and keep our environment clean.
Speaking at the stakeholders get- together ceremony which has in attendance Chief Executive Officer of the Contemporary Group Limited, Arc. Kester Ifeadi Anioma stakeholders, Directors, Traditional Rulers and representatives of major ethnic groups of Anioma people.
The president said, this year’s festival will be great and unique as it will attract a lot of trendy indigenous traditional arts, crafts, traditional cuisines Dance wrestling and personalities to grace the occasion.
This year festival, according to him, would yield enormous results in terms of deliverables in the areas of investing more of creativity into the foremost Anioma cultural festival, registration of more people into the micro credit scheme, health insurance scheme, life insurance packages for members, annual lecture series and live coverage from Anioma Essence Magazine.
The OFAAC President said that the festival was a rallying point for Anioma’s cultural rebirth, making the state a centre for tourism and boosting the local economy and entrepreneurship stressing that ” The festival was a unifying factor bounded by the spirit of oneness which exist in all the communities in the nine local government areas of Delta North Senatorial District.”
For this year’s festival, Anioma people from all walks of life, will trooped out to display their rich cultural heritage at the fiesta organized by the Organization for the Advancement of Anioma Culture (OFAAC) on Monday in Asaba.
The Royal Fathers in the state will also be giving us their support by playing a prominent role in showcasing the love, peace and unity in the state and advocate for what is best for their people.
Anioma cultural festival has remained a essential event for the people of Delta State, as it helps to preserve the cultural heritage and promote unity and understanding among them, and also serve as an excellent opportunity for visitors to experience the richness and diversity of the Anioma culture firsthand.
For the 2025 Anioma cultural festival, According to, Arc ifeadi, the management of Seaman’s Schnapps will be the official sponsor of the popular spirit brand from Grand Oak limited, to support the festival
The brand usually partner with the festival to sustain its relationship with the traditional rulers in the Anioma community.
According to him, the festival provides the region and state with an opportunity to unify Delta’s diverse population, to celebrate Anioma cultural rich heritage, and to promote communal living, commerce, and tourism. Seaman’s Schnapps’ sponsorship of the festival contributes to sustaining cultural heritage and uniting communities in Anioma land.
I want people to know that the message is not OFACC but Anioma because we must continue to promote Anioma to thr world.
“OFAAC is an Organisation that is into so many things for the welfare of our people in order to preserve our identity. We have even gotten the life insurance benefits for those of our members who are dead. And let me assure you that we must work together more than ever before, and everyone must actively participate at the highest level in this year’s cultural festival. The 2025 festival will be done effortlessly to the glory of God”, Ifeadi concluded.
Speaking with some of the Royal Fathers at the press briefing, HRM, Obi Henry Kikachukwu, the Obi of Ubulu-Unor and the Second Vice Chairman of Delta State Traditional Rulers Council, He said, Anioma Cultural Festival has come to stay for the world to recognise we are Anioma people.
“OFAAC is the cultural umbrella of Anioma people. Anioma is a distinct identity, made up of people from different places and languages. Nobody can tell us who we are even though they are trying too hard to rewrite our history”
“Aside that, they have helped to showcase our true cultural values and traditional ways for our children to incurcate, that is why the Traditional Rulers are always willing to support the festival any time any day”
Also, HRM Obi Henry Jebefuna, the Obi of Akumazi thanked the organiser Anioma Cultural Festival for promoting the cultural heritage and the true value Delta North.
He said, the festival has done well for our people, they have showcased Anioma to the world, I will be there live to watch every aspect of the festival especially the traditional wrestling.
God continue to strengthen the President and the organisers of the festival” He said.
Also, HRM Obi Clement Ejiofor, the Obi of Ukala in his speech thanked the President and the Founders of Anioma Festival for promoting Anioma culture and advertising the role of Traditional Rulers in Delta State to the world.
“This kind of cultural festival breeds peace among our people, unite them and rekindle our traditional practices,” he said, adding, “it provides opportunity for our children to understand our custom, culture and traditions.”
” I am supposed to pay for advertising my role as a Traditional Ruler in Anioma land but OFAAC has over to showcase our true cultural heritage to the world”
“Many people don’t know the true meaning of our culture but OFAAC has made things easy and today Anioma culture has gone global. I want to appreciate the active team of OFAAC”
Telecom giants, MTN and others be will sponsoring this year’s event. And over 180 dance groups, along with other performing arts and exhibitors from the various communities in the nine local government area of Delta North Senatorial districts and beyond are billed for this year’s festival. The Asagba of Asaba, Obi (Prof) Azinge Epiphany will lead the crème de la crème of over 80 royal monarchs in Anioma and outside Anioma land to the festival.
There will be new categories of dance to thrill the crowd along side other indigenous dance groups to display at this year’s festival which includes Egwu-Ajah – maidens dance arts, Agwuba-royal dance arts, the vibrant Uloko dance and the scintillating dance arts of Anioma kids in primary/secondary school category. Prizes will be shared to winners.
i other activities lined up include traditional wrestling challenge, fashion display, arts and crafts exhibition, raffle draws with loads of exciting prizes and a royal banquet amongst others. Best performing groups from different categories will be awarded cash prizes of different sum and interesting gifts from MTN and Grand Oaks Nigeria Limited makers of Seaman’s Schnapps major sponsors of Anioma festival.
“Our goal is to help preserve, promote and advance the appreciation and development of the rich cultural heritage of Anioma people and Nigeria in general” said Ifeadi. There are so many exciting ideas turning into a reality because of the vision and enthusiasm people at the grassroots including royal monarchs continue to have for ensuring their communities are part of the Anioma Cultural Festival activities and ultimately get the attention they deserve.
Anioma Cultural Festival is deeply rooted in communities in Anioma land and the people take pride in their legendary traditional attires, dance, music, historical artifacts/crafts and cuisine. The Festival which is usually presented is an avenue to entertain diverse audience of culture enthusiasts and music lovers are exposed to the rich heritage of the Afro-centric nature of Anioma dance art. The festival is today reputed as the finest cultural event in Delta State attracting sons and daughters of Anioma both at home and in the Diasporas in addition to thousands of festival attendees each year.
