Cultural festival to spotlight Owerri arts, dialect, cuisine, music and traditions on October 10
LAGOS, NIGERIA — Mezie Owerri, Lagos, has announced the maiden edition of Oduezhi 2026, a major cultural and social gathering aimed at promoting, preserving and revitalising the rich cultural heritage of the Owerri people.
The event is scheduled to hold on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at the newly constructed Eko Amore Event Centre, Lekki, Lagos.
According to the organisers, Oduezhi 2026 is conceived not merely as a festival but as the beginning of a broader and sustained cultural revival campaign designed to reconnect Owerri people, particularly younger generations, with their ancestral heritage.
The initiative will place emphasis on the preservation and promotion of traditional arts and crafts, Owerri cuisine, dialect, music, dance, communal values and other forms of cultural expression.
CULTURAL REVIVAL FOR A NEW GENERATION
The President of Mezie Owerri, Lagos, Dr. Chidi Chukwueke, said the need to deliberately preserve Owerri cultural identity has become increasingly urgent in an era of urbanisation, migration and globalisation.
He noted that many children of Owerri origin are growing up outside their ancestral communities and, in some cases, outside Nigeria, making it necessary to create platforms through which they can reconnect with their roots.
Dr. Chukwueke described Oduezhi 2026 as a modest beginning of what he envisages as a larger cultural project.
He stressed that cultural preservation must go beyond speeches and occasional ceremonies, arguing that younger generations need opportunities to experience, understand and participate in their heritage.
COLLOQUIUM ON ART, DIALECT AND IDENTITY
A major highlight of Oduezhi 2026 will be a cultural colloquium examining the history, artistic expressions and contemporary identity of the Owerri people.
The colloquium will be held under the theme:
“Art, Dialect and Identity: Re-interrogating the Arts and Culture of the Owerri People in Igbo Land, Nigeria.”
The keynote address will be delivered by renowned public intellectual Dr. Sam Amadi.
The organisers said the colloquium will provide an intellectual platform to examine issues surrounding language, cultural identity, traditional knowledge, cultural transmission and the responsibility of younger generations in preserving indigenous heritage.
ARTS, CUISINE AND DIALECT
Oduezhi 2026 will showcase aspects of Owerri culture that the organisers believe require renewed attention and deliberate preservation.
Traditional cuisine, indigenous expressions, arts and crafts, music, dance and other cultural practices will feature prominently during the event.
The organisers also expect cultural groups representing different Owerri communities and town unions in Lagos to participate, providing an opportunity to celebrate the diversity and shared identity of the Owerri people.
MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT
The festival will combine traditional cultural performances with contemporary entertainment in an effort to appeal to audiences across generations.
Musical performances will include Legit/Cjay, described by the organisers as a contemporary guitar sensation in Owerri, and Chimuanya, the artiste behind the “Ayakata Bongo” sound.
Cultural dance groups drawn from different Owerri Town Unions in Lagos are also expected to perform.
PROMINENT PERSONALITIES EXPECTED
The organisers said Oduezhi 2026 is expected to attract prominent personalities from Owerri, Imo State, Lagos and other parts of Nigeria.
The Chairman of the Central Planning Committee, Sir Dom Nkwopara, disclosed that special guests from the four local government areas associated with the wider Owerri area — Owerri North, Owerri West, Owerri Municipal and Ngor Okpala — are expected to attend.
The event is expected to be chaired by Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho, prominent Owerri son and former Minister of Internal Affairs.
The Chairman of Zinox Computers, Chief Leo Stan Eke, is expected to serve as Special Guest of Honour.
The Royal Father of the Day is expected to be Eze Nnanna Oparachaekwe, the Ebubedike of Ulakwo.
The organisers also said the Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma, and the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, are expected to grace the occasion.
STRENGTHENING THE OWERRI DIASPORA
Mezie Owerri said the festival is also intended to strengthen relationships among Owerri people living in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria and the diaspora.
According to the organisation, Lagos has become home to a significant population of people of Owerri origin, making it an important centre for cultural engagement and intergenerational connection.
Oduezhi is therefore designed as a meeting point where older generations can transmit knowledge and traditions while younger people develop a deeper appreciation of their heritage.
ODUEZHI MAY RETURN TO OWERRI
The Chairman of the Central Planning Committee, Sir Dom Nkwopara, also disclosed that the organisers are considering taking a future edition of Oduezhi to Owerri, the ancestral home of the people whose heritage the initiative seeks to promote.
If realised, the move could expand Oduezhi from a Lagos-based cultural gathering into a broader cultural platform connecting Owerri communities at home with those living across Nigeria and around the world.
A LONG-TERM CULTURAL VISION
Mezie Owerri said the ultimate objective of Oduezhi is to establish a sustainable cultural revival programme rather than a one-day celebration.
The organisation believes that preserving indigenous culture requires deliberate efforts to document traditions, encourage intergenerational learning, promote indigenous language and cuisine, support cultural creativity and create opportunities for young people to participate in their heritage.
Dr. Chukwueke described the 2026 edition as “the beginning of a larger project,” signalling the organisation’s intention to build on the initiative in subsequent years.
Mezie Owerri therefore invites Owerri people, friends of Owerri, cultural enthusiasts, traditional institutions, community leaders, professionals and members of the general public to participate in Oduezhi 2026 and support the renewed effort to preserve and celebrate Owerri cultural identity.
EVENT DETAILS
Event: Oduezhi 2026
Organiser: Mezie Owerri, Lagos
Date: Saturday, October 10, 2026
Venue: Eko Amore Event Centre, Lekki, Lagos
Colloquium Theme:
“Art, Dialect and Identity: Re-interrogating the Arts and Culture of the Owerri People in Igbo Land, Nigeria.”
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Sam Amadi
