Onwa-Oru-Uratta 2019 Celebration: We Must Sustain, Purify Our Culture, Says Catholic Priest
Dan Opara
Last Tuesday,19th Feb.2019,the entire eight (8) of ten (10) clans that made up the ancient towns of Uratta-Owerre in Owerri North LGA of Imo State, joyfully celebrated their highly revered annual traditional and cultural festival heritage ceremony known as ” Onwa-Oru-Uratta”,amidst fanfare and jubilation as friends,relatives,well wishers and political moguls from across political parties especially those contesting for various political positions from Owerri zone and outside the zone graced the festival which the people of the area generally described their own Christmas day.
The event which took place at the popular Onwa-Oru Square in Uratta opposite the Owerri North Council Headquarters in Uratta attracted the cream de la cream from the area and beyond,which includes some of the Imo Governorship party candidates,respected individuals from the area and other candidates of political parties in the state who were in attendance are: Sen.Ifeanyi Araraume,of APGA,Mazi OkeyEzeh,the guber candidate of the Social Democratic Party,SDP,Amb.Tony-Kelvin Obinna,the guber candidate of New Progressive Movement,NPM, and Hon.Chidi Godwin Ofoegbu,(Okenwa I of Ihiagwa Owerri West),the guber candidate of Providence people’s Congress,PPC, Hon.Engr.Leonard Chidi Anyanwu,the SDP candidate for Owerri North State Assembly, Hon.Okechukwu Okoroafor,the guber candidate of Kowa Party,and Hon.Ezenwa Onyewuchi Ezenwa,of PDP Owerri zone Senate seat,the Public Relations Officer,PRO of Imo State University,IMSU,Owerri,Sir.Ralph Njoku, the President of Orji Youths,Hon.Sunny Onyekuru,amongst other respected personalities who graced occasion.
An illustrious son of Uratta,who is also a Catholic Priest,Rev.Fr.Stephen Ike Unamba,from Owalla Uratta,said the Catholic Church is not against celebration of culture rather the church is against the celebration of obnoxious and fetishness in cultural ceremonies.
He blaimed the early missionaries who according to him condemned our culture so fast,duet to their poverty of understanding.
“We are in a hurry and very much prepared to re-embrace our culture and tradition,which the Catholic Priest insisted must be preserved at all times.
Father Unamba expressed delight and excitement on the successes so far recorded in the land towards the purification and sustainability of some traditions and cultures most especially in Uratta land.
The Catholic Priest said ” days are gone and are history when people dwells on fetishness in the name of culture and disclosed all that is needed nowadays is to purify the culture and engage on the sustainability of the culture which according to the cleric remains the cultural heritage which must be sustained, transfered to unborn children for education, enlightenment, re-orientation of lives”.
The Chief Guest Lecturer of the ceremony, who is also a Catholic Priest,Rev.Fr.Prof.Philip Ogbonna,in the summary of his lecture series, said “tradition is dynamic and changes, that fetishness in the culture have be scrapped out and as such new cultural innovations are now in place for the encouragement and upliftment of the cultural values, ethics and norms. People cannot/never exist without culture even as he described languages as part of culture to the people and the society at large.
The Catholic University Don,Fr.Ogbonna, described the people of Uratta as truthful, sincere and the most peaceful people on earth who accommodates their fellow people in all ramifications.
Speaking, the chief organiser of the 2019 Onwa-Oru-Uratta festival, Hon.Barr.Canice Onyekaji Manukaji,(Obulimba of Owerri zone)who is also the President General of Uratta Owerre World-Wide,expressed satisfaction on the successful celebration of the 2019 Oru-Uratta Day.
He therefore commended all and sundry from far and near who honored their invitations.
The PG of Uratta General, Manukaji, extolled all the political magnets who attended the festival irrespective of the electioneering tight schedules even as he thanked them (the politicians) for their respective assurance to the people of Uratta of effective development and job creation when they are elected into power in the forthcoming polls.
“We are happy with the large turnout of people especially politicians in the state,though we did not even invite any politician but they were all present. My prayer is that they might remember to fulfil all the promises they made to the people of Uratta, if elected”,PG requested.
