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By Young E. Freeborn, Warri
The DPO in charge of Patani Police Station, in Patani Local Government Area of Delta State, CSP Benjamin Igometi, has again called on Uwheru people in Ughelli North LGA of the state to promote and protect the just-concluded annual Ade wrestling festival.
The senior Police officer, who is an indigene of Uwheru kingdom, made the call during the wrestling segment of the cultural festival which was co-hosted by Erovie community.
The popular Ade wrestling festival, which began on April 24, according to the cultural practices of the Uwheru people, started in Urede community with many participants especially youths as well as cultural enthusiasts from within and outside the kingdom in attendance.
Addressing newsmen during the turn of Erovie community, as co-host of the cultural event, CSP Igometi who was full of joy at the arena said, “As a cultural enthusiast, I want to call on Uwheru people, both home and abroad and all cultural lovers and promoters across the country to help promote the yearly Ade wrestling festival of the great Uwheru people.
“The Ade wrestling festival is as old as the people and it’s a kind of wrestling contest amongst virile and energetic youths. The festival is a very popular one among the Urhobo people and also in the Niger-Delta region. It’s full of fun and other cultural activities like cultural dances by the young and the old, visitation to friends and family members, cooking of delicious Urhobo delicacies like Ukodo and Oghwo and many other socio-cultural activities.
“Another important area we should look is the Ade traditional society. It’s a society of respected and responsible men in the community. Once you are a member of this Ade traditional society, then you are recognized and addressed as a traditional chief in Uwheru kingdom. Before now in the entire Uwheru kingdom, only those that were members of this sacred society were the people that could be called Ilorogun and no other people. But today, there are changes to this very system as the power to confer chieftaincy titles on deserving indigenes is now in the hands of traditional rulers.”
Going down memory lane, the security expert, who is also the immediate past DPO of ‘A’ Division of Ughelli Police Station, said, “During the time of the defunct Mid-Western and Bendel states, there was an annual sports and cultural festivals competition among different ethnic groups and communities in the state organized by the ministry of sports development every year at Benin City, the state capital then.
“In those sports competitions, the Uwheru traditional wrestling featured prominently as one of the traditional sports. In the 70s and 80s, a very prominent and powerful wrestler in Uwheru here, late Chief Jonah Igwe of blessed memory had brought great honour and respect to Uwheru land by winning many medals and also declared overall winner in many of the competitions. Today, wrestling is one of the fascinating and money making sports in the world.
“However, the tempo of that festival is gradually dying from our youths to participate and also promote this festival. Many of today’s youths are not as interested as those of us in those days in participating in the festival again. The reason for this is the kind of Christianity we are practicing today. We have branded this rich cultural festival as idol worshiping and participating in it is an expressway to hell fire. This is why many of the youths are running away from participating in the festival.
“For me, I want to call on all Uwheru people, wherever they are around the world to contribute to the promotion and protection of this cultural festival. If we refuse to do this, then we are just helping to send this festival to extinction. We are today recognized as a people because of this cultural festival and not because of the number of churches we have in Uwheru kingdom. Secondly, I also want to call on the Delta State government to start organizing annual competitions on cultural festivals among the different ethnic groups and communities in the state. It’s a way of protecting and promoting our own culture from extinction. The government should think of this in its annual budgets. This will definitely help to reduce crime amongst the youths of the state,” he said.
The Ade wrestling festival is a traditional wrestling contest among the youths of Uwheru kingdom and is co-hosted by the major communities of the kingdom, which are Urede, Ehere, Erovie, Egbo and Ohoror communities, in rotational order.
The festival is celebrated annually at the beginning of the rains to honour one of the eponymous deity of the Uwheru people called ‘Onidjor’ which means, ‘Mother of all gods,’ with a yearly sacrifice to her by the chief priest and the Ade traditional chiefs (Ilorogun).
