IGBOZURUOKE MEDIA

Chinua Achebe tells us something profound in “Things Fall Apart”. Unoka, the gentle flutist of Umuofia, lived and worked with the rhythm of the earth, yet he missed its secrets. He was a man who worshiped Ala, the earth goddess, and Ahiajoku, the deity of yams, with devotion “Every year, I sacrifice a cock to Ani (Ala), the owner of all land. I kill another at the shrine of Ifejioku (Ahiajoku), the god of yams,” Unoka lamented. Yet, year after year, his harvest was poor, his barns empty, and his debts piled high. In despair, Unoka sought answers from Agbala, the oracle of the hills and caves, who spoke with the voice of the gods.

“You, Unoka, are known for the weakness of your matchet and your hoe,” came the verdict of Agbala. “While your neighbors cross seven rivers to farm virgin land, you sow your yams on exhausted soil. Go home and work like a man.” 

Unoka’s tragedy lay in his refusal to blend human effort with divine guidance.

Okonkwo, his son, was the opposite. Rejecting his father’s perceived laziness, he resolved to wrestle with the gods, if necessary. He worked with ferocity, borrowing 800 yam seeds from Nwakibie, the wealthiest man in the clan. But the year he staked his fortunes on the earth, the rains betrayed him. The sun scorched his yams, and when the rains returned, they came with such violence that even the earth seemed to weep. Farmers wailed, and one man, in despair, took his life.

Okonkwo then learned that toil alone could not triumph over the whims of nature. In his strength, he too forgot that divinity walks hand in hand with humanity.

The story of Ahiajoku, the deity of yam and fertility, teaches a lesson neither Unoka nor Okonkwo fully grasped. Ahiajoku reveals that the earth, Ala, is sacred and must be revered, and that the harvests we reap are blessings from God. It reminds us of igwe, the sky, which sends rain and sun to nurture crops, and of ikenga, the personal god of enterprise and achievement. The centrality of Ala in Igbo cosmology stems from her nurturing and fertilizing power, the recognition that man is forged from the earth, depends upon the earth for survival, and returns to the earth after death. Igbo spirituality, therefore, emphasizes the delicate balance of human effort and divine grace, a harmony embodied in the festivals of Ahiajoku.

It is heartening that Governor Hope Uzodimma has breathed new life into the Ahiajoku festival and lecture series, first inaugurated in 1979 by the visionary Dee Sam Mbakwe. This festival, a gathering of Igbo intellect and culture, fuses the wisdom of the past with the challenges of the present, setting the agenda for the future. Uzodimma’s initiative is not mere cultural nostalgia; it is a deliberate response to the greatest question before Ndigbo today: how to reclaim identity, strengthen unity, and secure a sustainable future in the face of economic turbulence, insecurity, and disunity.

From its inception with the theme Ahamefula in 1979, the Ahiajoku lecture series has served as a mirror of Igbo society. Through it, the brightest Igbo minds, scholars and patriots, like Professors MJC Echeruo, Chinua Achebe, Ben Nwabueze, and Adiele Afigbo have spoken truth to power and charted a course for the Igbo people.

This year’s theme, “The Future of Igbo Economy Amidst the Challenges of Insecurity in the Southeast: A Call for Paradigm Shift”, which will be delivered on September 26th by Most Reverend Prof. Godfrey Onah, the Bishop of Nsukka Catholic Diocese, is both timely and urgent. It acknowledges the storms battering the Igbo nation but also summons hope, innovation, and a return to the values that have sustained the Igbo for generations; enterprise, hard work, and community.

TheAhiajoku festival reminds us that the Igbo economy cannot thrive on human effort alone. Just as Okonkwo learned in his struggle with the earth, the Igbo must recognize the necessity of collective responsibility and divine alignment. The festival provides a space for brainstorming solutions that honor both tradition and modernity.

As Ndigbo once again gather in Owerri, described by the foremost historian, Prof. Adiele Afigbo, in 1979 as the “Jerusalem of the Igbo”, they will confront their shared challenges and seek remedies. This festival is not merely a celebration but convocation of ideas: a fusion of ancestral wisdom and contemporary scholarship. It is a powerful reminder that the Igbo, scattered across the world, must not forget their roots. The Sun.Ngr