Society that loses its culture is dead – Otti

From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia

People of Atani Abam celebrating the 2025 Ekponibro Cultural Festival (Ugbo Nmiri Nma) sponsored by UNUBIKO Foundation

A society that loses its tradition and culture, is dead, Abia State governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has said. 

“This speaks to our tradition and culture. And, any society that loses its tradition and culture is gone. In those days, societies begin to die when they lose their tradition. They begin to go into bondage and slavery,” Governor Otti said on Saturday, April 19, 2025, during the 2025 Ekponibro Cultural Festival (Ugbo Nmiri Nma).

The cultural event which held at Etiti Abam Primary School, Atani Abam, in Arochukwu Local Government Area of the state, was sponsored by the UNUBIKO Foundation, a non-governmental and non-profit organization, in partnership with and endorsement of the state government. 

“I am happy that Abam people did not forget where they came from. And, I want to thank the UNUBIKO Foundation for remembering and also bankrolling all these, and my prayer is that God will continue to replenish your source a million fold,” the governor added.

He encouraged the people to take agriculture seriously because of its importance to stomach infrastructure; “I need not preach to you about agriculture. If you do not have the vision, this is the time. The planting season is about starting. This is one thing that God has given to us without much toiling. 

“You plant something in the ground and then by the time you reap, you reap bountifully. You can plant in tears, but when you are reaping, you reap in joy.

“So, I want to encourage all of us, if we were not taking farming seriously, this the time to do so because what you call stomach infrastructure is in your farm. And, it is what is in your hands that God uses to bless you,” Governor Otti said. 

He also used the opportunity to thank Abam people for supporting contractors working on road projects in the area, which, he said was already in use would soon be commissioned. 

Commissioner for Culture and Creative Economy, Dr. Matthew Ekwuruibe, thanked the Governor for gracing the event, saying that under his administration, every sector in Abia was receiving the needed attention, including remembering and preserving the people’s cultural heritage.

He thanked the Founder of the UNUBIKO Foundation, Chief James Ume, for sponsoring the cultural festival.

Founder of UNUBIKO Foundation, Chief James Ume, while thanking the Governor for his good works in Abam and across the State, explained that the Ekponibro cultural festival is a heritage bequeathed to them by their fathers, which symbolizes their struggles, strengths, triumphs, and exploits.

The Rector of Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Engr. Dr. Christopher Okoro Kalu, said that the 2025 Ekponibro festival, themed: “Long May They Reign,” is a celebration of the difficulties and the triumphs of their forbearers in their sea trading business of agricultural produce like cocoa, kernel, palm oil, among others.

He listed some of the challenges to include bad weather, clearing of tree trunks that fell into the sea that must be cleared for their canoe to sail through, hostile communities and criminals and wild animals, among others.

“Upon return, the merchants troupe en mass to celebrate with families and friends in gratitude to the Supreme Being for a successful journey through the sea,” Dr. Kalu said.         

The event, chaired by Mazi Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji (Ugwu Aro), attracted captains of industries and political heavyweights from across the state and beyond.