•••Says Remedy to Climate Change is to Return To Agriculture
By Kamsi Anayo, Awka
A Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr Augustine Obiagbaosogu, has that the new yam festival being celebrated across Igbo land is not fetish.
The priest who spoke during his new yam festival, held in the Diocesan Secretariat hall, the new yam festival was Christmas in traditional societies, to thank God for the plenty farm produce harvested.
He said that as a priest who found his destiny in agriculture, he uses the new yam festival as an avenue to glorify God.
“It is in agriculture that I found my destiny. I cultivate cassava, cocoyam, among others, and as a famer, I use new yam festival to thank God for His mercy by in providing the plenty farm produce that we harvest yearly.
“My birthday day party is Aug. 3rd, but I celebrate it with the new yam festival yearly, it is four years that I started it. It is because of the love that I have in Igbo tradition.”
The cleric, who said he grew in the village as a farmer, became more interested in farming when he returned from Ghana, hinting that, it was then that he started enjoying Igbo, (African ), culture and tradition.
Obiagbaosogu attributed the problem of climate change to deforestation and killing of animals supposed to be friendly and accommodated.
The cleric who is the Diocesan Health Coordinator and Entrepreneur, Catholic Diocesan Secretariat, Okwuani, Nnewi, Anambra state, reiterated on Monday that people abandoned agriculture for white collar jobs, forgetting that God blessed his people through agriculture, which has to do with land.
“It is unfortunate that what assist agriculture like trees and animals have been cut and killed by us. His Holiness, Pope Francis, in his book, condemned the cutting of trees without subsequent replacement and killing of animals that we are supposed to protect.
According to him, “Pope regretted in his book that we have spoilt the world by killing animals that are our brothers and sisters .We are suppose to protect trees and replace them when we cut them. That is why we are suffering from climate change”.
The cleric, who also lectures on Igbo tradition and culture at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, also disagreed with the speculation in some quarters that Igbo culture and tradition are going into extinction.
He added that rather it is in high breed, as it is being generally performed via unification.
He said that Igbo do their tradition together, Yoruba does hers and so also Hausa.
Obiagbaosogu, revealed that land is a deity that gives birth, protects and nurishes its products, and that it is an abomination to steal yam in Igbo land.
