The Attah Igala, Gabaidu Dr Matthew Alaji opaluwa-Akpa 11 has approved 30th and 31st December as dates for the celebration of this year’s ITALO festival. This approval follows d inauguration of a fifteen-man central planning committee to organise d festival which was last held on 2011.
The Italo festival is an annual assembly of all Igala sons and daughters at home and abroad involving traditional music and dances at Anyigba. It is the most celebrated festival among the Igala people in the early
nineties. During this festival, the Attah of Igala (the paramount ruler of the Igala Kingdom) makes a special address to his subjects Also tagged as IGALA NATIONAL DAY, OBSERVERSTIMES REPORT.
the Italo Festival serves as an avenue to uniting all and sundry of the Igala nation both home and abroad. It serves as rallying point where sociopolitical and economic problems that affects the Igala nation is being discussed and solutions found to ameliorate them. The gathering is also an
avenue where all personal grudges among the high profile Igala personalities are settled.
The Italo festival is a yearly festival, which holds on the last Saturday of every year in Igala land.
The most celebrated festival among the Igala people in the early nineties that often referred to as IGALA NATIONAL DAY with the motive of uniting all and sundry of Igala extraction in home and diaspora. Italo is a rally point where socio-political and economic problems that’s affecting the Igalaland and the people are tabled in order to ameliorate them.
The gathering is also an avenue where all personal grudges among the high profile Igala personalities are settled. But the euphoria that characterised the festival is gradually eluding.
Lately, Italo become more of a political jamboree among the Igala politicians instead of a
medium for solving the immediate and imbeding
problems facing Igala Nation. Hence Italo becomes a wrestle ground amongst various supporters and fans of Igala politicians.
The Igala Cultural and Development Association (ICDA) was vested with the authority to organise the Italo festival from onset but the then Attah Igala and Chairman Kogi State Council of Chief Alhaji (Dr.) Aliyu Obaje suspended the festival till further notice.
The suspension has become necessary because of the ugly scenario witnessed during the festival held on Monday December 31, 2007 at Anyigba. The celebration resulted in a clash between the supporters of the former Governor Abubakar Audu of blessed memory and that of Alh. Ibrahim Idris.
