Thousands turned out on Sunday, September 28, for the ‘New Yam Festival’ by the Ior Jemgbagh Development Association in Gboko, the administrative headquarters of the Tiv nation.
A spectacular procession by the Wheelbarrow and Truck Pushers Association, Gboko, preceded the arrival of Fr. Hyacinth Alia, Executive Governor of Benue State. The governor was accompanied by the APC National Woman Leader, members of the State Executive Council and other Very Important Persons (VIPs) to the festival.
Although a new yam ritual is not new in the Tiv socio-cultural milieu, there has been a clamour for the public celebration of the yam festival by the Tiv. The argument is that since the Tiv are the major producers of yams, yams should be made a national festival by the Tiv.
Traditionally, households celebrate the yams festival with the killing of a cock. The “ruam u iyov mbi hev” (new yams pounded yams) is prepared when all members of the family are around or when it is abundantly clear that a member may not be around, no matter the wait time.
At the event in Gboko, the Pushers were chanting: “No Alia no Benue,” indicating, in the words of Prof. Kohol Shadrach Iornem, that “Fr. Alia has done well, so no vacancy in Makurdi Government House in 2027,” as the pushers marched on to JS Tarka Stadium, venue of the festival.
The elated Fr. Alia indicated that the festival will become a yearly event, with the first week of September designated as the New Yam Festival day.
Fr. Alia, who enumerated his achievements in office over the last two years, including improvements in roads and streets, healthcare services, education manpower, and schools’ infrastructure, as well as the welfare of civil servants and pensioners, told the people that more projects are forthcoming.
He invited the people to continue to support the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) administration and his re-election, as the governor received a clean bill of health to run for a second term.
Chairman of the planning committee for the festival, Prof. Bem Angwe, thanked Fr. Alia for making it the first Governor of the state to grace a New Yam Festival in Tiv land.”
He thanked God for a “bountiful yam harvest,” describing the festival as “historic” and an opportunity to celebrate the rich cultural heritage and unity that bind the Tiv people.
“All over the world, the Tiv nation and Jemgbagh are acknowledged as yam farmers, with pounded yam being the staple food of the Tiv man.
“At this occasion, we must acknowledge and commend the dedication of our farmers to hard work, which has yielded this year’s abundant harvest. We, by this occasion, seek to honour and institutionalise the long-practised tradition of our ancestors sharing meals: ‘Ya na Angbian.’ Our ancestors instilled in us the importance of communal living, gratitude and celebrating new yams with family members and relations,” Prof. Angwe told the attendees.
While in Gboko, Fr. Alia first paid homage to His Eminence Prof. James Ortese Iorzua Ayatse, Tor Tiv, before proceeding to eat the new yams with the Jemgbagh Traditional Council, concluding at the JS Tarka Stadium, the venue of the event proper.
