Izo Ahia Ibeku celebration returns after 53 years in Umuahia with cultural rites, displays and thanksgiving to preserve Ibeku heritage, says Prince Apugo

Izo Ahia Ibeku celebration returns to Umuahia, Abia State, after a 53-year break, with preparations concluded for the historic cultural event on July 24. The event will take place at Isieke Market and will feature traditional rites, communal feasting and thanksgiving.

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Prince Benjamin Apugo, custodian of Ibeku tradition and the Oparaukwu/Ochiagha Ibeku, disclosed this during a press briefing in Umuahia. He explained that the event, which dates back over 3,000 years, was last held in 1972.

“This special cultural and traditional event bites deep into us because it is what we inherited from our ancestors, it is the vein that unites us as Ibeku sons and daughters,” said veteran Nollywood actor Chief Ben Onuegbu, one of the few remaining witnesses of the last celebration.

Apugo stressed that Izo Ahia Ibeku is not the same as the annual new yam festival but is a unique tradition aimed at preserving Ibeku’s heritage for future generations.

The Ibeku Kingdom, which comprises seven clans—Afarata, Afaraukwu, Amaoforo, Emede, Isieke, Ndume and Ossah—is expecting descendants from across Nigeria and abroad, including Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Imo, Enugu and Ebonyi States.

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“Most of the people who celebrated ‘Izo Ahia Ibeku’ 53 years ago are dead now but we are lucky to have about two or three of them still alive to guide us,” Apugo noted. “We want to revive it and let our children know about our rich cultural heritage.”