Less than 72 hours to 5th September, 2020 which is the day when all Igede people around the globe will roll out the drums to celebrate Igede Agba 2020. We have reasons to thank God for life. Many waters have passed under the bridge; even in this year when we were made to believe that it will bring to an end many uncomfortable situations because of the long anticipated vision 2020. At least we can say in the midst of these that- we have survived COVID 19. With permission from NCDC, they should understand my ignorance and declaration of faith- this is post COVID Igede Agba. I wish all happy Igede Agba and God’s blessings as we do the finishing touches- dotting the “i” and crossing the “t”. the reality is that, even in all the excitements some Igede people believe it is not worth celebrating because it is a cultural festival associated with Akpang, some few feel it is not written in the Bible and so not good for Christians. Some others ironically desire that Akpang should only handle the issues around witches/wizards and should not be allowed to control yams. Some will bluntly tell you that our church or pastor says ‘we should not participate’. Others celebrating did not want to be careful about all these opinions, for them it is a day for ‘flexing’ and God will not send them to hell even if it is a sin and so on and so forth. Looking at all the opinions, it is more of a religious reason and so how do we explain and build a theology that is Biblical in relation to Igede Agba celebration. How do we bring to focus the position of the Bible as far as Igede Agba is concern, and what are the likely struggles we will face in applying doctrinal issues to this cultural festival and its harmony with other cultural festivals recorded in the Bible? How do we react to the festival of our fathers that was passed down to us and our found faith in Christ? The easiest route out of this situation may be to allow those that are celebrating to continue and those that have issues with it to go to blazes with their opinions as they are minorities, or to say after all, all those that refuse to celebrate are involved in other sins that will still take them to hell fire, or on a flipside – even if it is wrong, our God is merciful and will not send us to hell on that sole account; ‘after all it is my yam and I have not done any rituals’. My point of concern is, issues like that can be liken to a snow ball, it rolls and gather more snows with time. People that are termed minority today may after ten years become majority and the glamor of the celebration will go. So let’s get it fixed, because how pleasant it will be when all of us are involved in the celebration. As good people, it will be funny to celebrate/not to celebrate when reasons are not grounded on correct fact or concrete Biblical evidences, especially now that the skepticism is linked with religion. I feel answering the following questions may help in fixing the problem surrounding the Igede Agba celebration or serve as a guide in appropriate response as Christians.
What is the history of Igede Agba and is original intention?
What is the history of Akpang and what relation has it with yam festival or what brought Akpang at all with yam?
Do the two arrived at the same time in Igede land? Are they from the same source? If not, what brought the authority of one on another?
Can we liken it to any festival in the Bible?
Do Bible really forbids participation in traditional ceremonies? Are all traditional practices wrong?
If it is allowed, when does such participation become compromised?
Do the Gentile Christians have issues about such celebrations and what was the response of the Apostles as the message of the gospel grows in the Gentile world?
Is it right as Christians to wave off a celebration without thorough investigation and what advantage/disadvantage has that to the propagation/acceptance of the gospel among the inhabitants?
IGEDE IHYOO!!! We have enough time after the celebration to answer these questions.
According to Sophocles “Quick decisions are unsafe decision, and how dreadful knowledge of the truth can be when there is no help in truth”.
For those celebrating ‘big time’-accept my happy Igede Agba. My consolation as one of the celebrant is from Romans 14:1-10 “Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with — even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently. 2 For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume all Christians should be vegetarians and eat accordingly. 3 But since both are guests at Christ’s table, wouldn’t it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn’t eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. 4 Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God’s welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help. 5 Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience. 6 What’s important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God’s sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you’re a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. 7 None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. 8 It’s God we are answerable to — all the way from life to death and everything in between — not each other. 9 That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other. 10 So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother? And where does that leave you when you condescend to a sister? I’d say it leaves you looking pretty silly — or worse. Eventually, we’re all going to end up kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God. Your critical and condescending ways aren’t going to improve your position there one bit.” (THE MESSAGE BIBLE)
See you on the other side of Igede Agba.
Dated: 3rd September, 2020.
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