Anambra targets tourism growth with ‘Onwa Dezemba’ Christmas brand

Chukwuma Soludo, Governor of Anambra

The Anambra State Government has unveiled ‘Onwa Dezemba’, a newly branded Christmas and end-of-year fiesta designed to project Igbo culture, deepen communal bonding and reposition the state as a major tourism, entertainment and cultural destination in Nigeria’s South-East.

According to Law Mefor, the Anambra State commissioner for information, Christmas in Igboland transcends religious celebration, serving as a period of homecoming, stocktaking and pilgrimage for Ndi Igbo across the world.

“The yuletide goes beyond Christmas celebration, for Ndigbo generally. It serves as a tourism hub and a time for stocktaking, as well as a pilgrimage destination,” Mefor said. “Igbo people return from all over the world to join with family and friends at home in auspicious celebrations that last for about two to three weeks on average in and around the communities across Igbo land.”

He noted that in many Igbo communities, burials are suspended from mid-December to allow for uninterrupted festivities.

“In most Igbo communities, burials are typically banned from mid-December to make way for joyous Christmas celebrations and resume in the first week of the New Year,” he said.

Mefor explained that while December, Onwa Dezemba in Igbo parlance, has always held cultural significance, what is new is Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo’s decision to deliberately brand, unify and institutionalise the season as a state-wide celebration.

“What is new is that Solution Governor Chukwuma Soludo wants it fully branded, unified, and celebrated annually in Anambra State, possibly on a grander scale than Detty December in Lagos [and] the Calabar Carnival,” he said.

Describing the initiative as bold and ambitious, Mefor said Onwa Dezemba is poised to become a global gathering, attracting Ndi Anambra from the diaspora and across Nigeria.

“It promises to be a global gathering. The Diaspora is flocking to Anambra State. Sons and daughters of Anambra State are poised to make the annual Yuletide journey back to their homeland from all parts of Nigeria,” he said, adding, “Call it ‘Onwa Dezemba’, and Ndi Anambra will bow!”

He stressed that the festival is family-friendly and culturally rooted, dismissing any comparison with unwholesome celebrations elsewhere. According to him, Soludo, through Onwa Dezemba, is fulfilling his pledge to build “a peaceful and pleasurable homeland that stands tall as a destination choice, rather than a departure lounge.”

Drawing from literary symbolism, Mefor cited the words of Chinua Achebe, Anambra’s famous son, to underscore the communal essence of the festival. “A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving… We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so,” Achebe wrote in Things Fall Apart.

Mefor said Onwa Dezemba officially began on December 10 with the lighting of the Christmas tree at Solution Fun City, marking the commencement of festivities that will run until January 2026.

“‘Onwa Dezemba’, arguably Africa’s grandest communal party, has officially commenced and will continue in full swing until January 2026,” he said.

He disclosed that the inaugural 2025 edition features nine major events across Awka, Ekwulobia and Onitsha, with other towns across the state fully integrated into the celebration.

Read also: How governor soludo convinced telcos to flood Anambra with broadband in record time

“Key highlights include the Solution FunCity Christmas Cantata, the Masquerade Festival at Ezechima Primary School in Onitsha, the Christmas Day Children’s Carnival at Solution FunCity, and the Masquerade Festival at Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka,” Mefor said, adding that another masquerade festival will follow at Township Stadium, Ekwulobia.

Other attractions include the LOL (Laugh Out Loud) Anambra event, Walk-for-Life, the All-White Old School Night, and MegaFest 2.0, featuring “elite performing artists anchored by Flavour na Abania & Friends.”

Mefor described Onwa Dezemba as a strategic platform to promote Anambra as “the cultural, entertainment, and tourism hub of the Southeast,” noting that it offers safe, well-organised events, supports creatives and MSMEs, and boosts investment prospects through extensive media coverage and livestreaming.

“There is no greater branding masterpiece than the 2025 ‘Onwa Dezemba’, and it holds a powerful promise of surpassing similar efforts in due time,” he said.

Taofeek Oyedokun is a correspondent at BusinessDay with years of experience reporting on political economy, public policy, migration, environment/climate change, and social justice. A graduate of Political Science from the University of Lagos, he has also earned multiple professional certificates in journalism and media-related training. Known for his clear, data-driven reporting, Oyedokun covers a wide range of national and international socioeconomic issues, bringing depth, balance, and public-interest focus to his work.

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