Abuja residents celebrate Igbo festival in grand style

It was a classic display of visual arts, music, dance, clothing, food, language and so much more as Abuja residents came out en masse to celebrate the Abuja Igbo Festival 2025.  

The day was an embodiment of the Ndi Igbo culture of southeastern Nigeria. The Igbos and their rich cultural heritage consitute one of the major ethnic groups in Nigeria. They are also found in Cameroon, Equitorial Guinea and Gabon.        

In recent times with the advent of globalization and development in modern communication systems, the Ndi Igbo diaspora display their culture abroad. The festival was a way to bring that same energy closer to home.

As Nigerians celebrate this unique tradition that showcases the rich cultural tradition of the Ndi Igbo, the Igbo people say it is an event that reminds them of their heritage as true Nigerians.    

“You know we always like to celebrate, anywhere there is celebration, we like it, it is part of who we are,” said Opkara Chidulue, a young Igbo man.  

“Igbo has a very beautiful culture, the dance, tradition, when it comes to food, we have a lots of foods, dance and masquerades, if you want to experience the Igbo culture, you need to be open minded because there's a lot of Igbo culture to enjoy," said Becky Ricky, who is also Igbo.  

Festival organisers say it's an opportunity to give the Igbo in Abuja a reminder of home and all its cultural riches. 

“This event came about because the Igbo youths saw the need for it because we found out that some of our brothers have not been traveling home, some have not been to the village for over five to six years," said Francis Anekwe, a festival representative. "Also, we have a situation where some kids can’t speak their mother tongue, they have Igbo names but can’t speak the language, so we decided to bring the culture to Abuja."

“It is said that ‘variety is the spice of life,’ so it is important that within Nigeria that we showcase of different cultures so that we know we are not different but in our culture we are similar as well," Mary Chinedu, a young Igbo woman attending the festival, told Africanews.