Opinion
Message to My Good People of Mbaise
By Dr jalarth Uche Opara
August is a sacred month in our lives. It is the month of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
For generations, the 15th of August has been our season of homecoming. It is celebrated with the same anticipation as Christmas and Easter. Families reunite, friendships are renewed, and the three Local Government Areas of Mbaise come together in one spirit to celebrate our heritage. That unity has always been the true beauty of Iri-Ji.
My intention is not to revisit the familiar history of how Iri-Ji Mbaise came to be celebrated on the 15th of August. Rather, I write today with a heart weighed down by sorrow.
How are the mighty fallen?
I have followed with great dismay the unfolding disagreement between Ndi Ezeji and Ezuruezu Mbaise. I keep asking myself: How did we get here? What exactly is the struggle for? Why have these respected institutions thrown caution to the wind?
Has Iri-Ji Mbaise suddenly become a honeycomb, where everyone is scrambling for the honey while forgetting the bees that produce it? Why are we attempting to destroy the very bees that make the honey everyone desires? If the bees perish, there will be no honey left for anyone.
The celebration of Iri-Ji Mbaise has always rested on three complementary pillars.
Ndi Ezeji preserve the soul of the yam.
Ndi Eze represent the mind of the celebration.
Ezuruezu Mbaise, our socio-cultural and political umbrella, embodies its body.
In every living thing, the soul is supreme. It is the soul that gives life. Remove the soul, and what remains is a lifeless body. Yet, the soul alone cannot accomplish its purpose without the mind to direct it and the body to express it. Likewise, the mind is powerless without the soul, and the body is useless without both.
For decades, this delicate balance and mutual respect produced an Iri-Ji festival admired across Igboland and beyond. Every party understood its role, respected the boundaries of others, and together they built a festival that became the pride of Mbaise.
What has changed?
Why should the mind and the body seek to exist without the soul? And why should the soul seek to stand alone without the mind and the body?
Imagine a body moving without a spirit. Imagine a spirit without a body through which to manifest itself. Imagine a mind directing a body without the breath of life. Such an existence is unnatural and incongruous. Sadly, that is exactly what the 2026 Iri-Ji Mbaise appears to have become.
My beloved people of Mbaise, shall we allow the primordial interests and personal ambitions of a few individuals to extinguish the dazzling light of our greatest cultural heritage?
The existence of two parallel venues for this year’s Iri-Ji celebration is not merely unfortunate; it is an affront to the collective identity and dignity of the Mbaise nation. Whoever is fueling this division should be called to order before irreparable damage is done.
The painful truth is that, with the fractured relationship among Ndi Ezeji, Ndi Eze, and Ezuruezu Mbaise, this year’s celebration risks becoming little more than a colourful gathering devoid of its true essence—a festival stripped of its spiritual depth, cultural legitimacy, and the revered blessings of Ndi Iche( Ancestors). Without the harmonious collaboration of these three institutions, what we celebrate may entertain the eyes, but it cannot truly nourish the soul of Mbaise.
To me, Mbaise will not truly be celebrating Iri-Ji this year with the full complement of its spirit, mind, and body.
Therefore, I humbly appeal to all parties.
Let Ndi Ezeji faithfully preserve the sacred responsibilities entrusted to them by tradition.
Let Ndi Eze continue to play their fatherly role with fairness, neutrality, and integrity, uninfluenced by partisanship or monetary inducement.
Let Ezuruezu Mbaise equally remain within the bounds of its constitutional responsibilities, avoiding unnecessary overreach while continuing to champion the collective interest of our people.
No individual or group is greater than Mbaise.
The festival existed before us. By God’s grace, it will outlive us.
History will not remember who won this needless contest. It will remember those who either preserved or destroyed the unity of Mbaise.
As I conclude, permit me to leave us with this thought:
“When the soul, the mind, and the body walk together, Mbaise stands tall. When they walk apart, Mbaise bleeds.”
May wisdom prevail over ego.
May dialogue triumph over division.
May reconciliation replace rivalry.
May the soul, the mind, and the body of Iri-Ji Mbaise once again become one, so that future generations will inherit not a fractured tradition, but a united heritage.
For in the end, a people do not lose their heritage in a single day; they lose it gradually whenever pride triumphs over purpose, ego over unity, and personal ambition over the common good. Mbaise deserves nothing less.
#Jarlath Uche Opara
A concerned bona fide son of Mbaise, who is pained by the shaninigans of few individuals, trying to rock the boat of ir-iji Mbaise festival.
He writes from Abuja
jarlathuche@gmail.com