Festivals are often dismissed as mere rituals-colorful, symbolic, but with little impact beyond the drums and dances. In Obudu, however, the New Yam Festival is being transformed into something far more consequential. Under the leadership of the Local Government Chairman, Hon. (Amb.) Peter Undiandeye, the 2025 festival is not just about breaking yam and pouring libation, it is about thanksgiving and politics, side by side.
The grand finale of the festival, set for Saturday, September 6, carries its traditional theme of gratitude to God for life, peace, and abundance. But what makes this year different is the Chairman’s bold decision to dedicate the eve of the festival, Friday, September 5, to a political declaration of loyalty to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Governor Bassey Otu, and Deputy Governor Peter Odey.
This is not business as usual, it is political creativity at its best.
By roping in the highest levels of leadership into a cultural celebration, Hon. Undiandeye has done three important things: he has given Obudu visibility, he has strengthened the bond between the people and their leaders, and he has turned a festival that could have been a one-day ritual into a two-day statement of identity and allegiance.
Some will grumble, of course. The purists will say politics has no place in culture. But let’s be honest, culture and politics have never been strangers. The village square has always been both a place of dance and a place of decision. The yam festival has always been about more than food; it has been about unity, direction, and leadership.
What Hon. Undiandeye has done is to recognize this truth and act on it. He has shown that festivals can do more than entertain, they can inspire, mobilize, and send a clear political message.
For this, he deserves not just applause but admiration. In one stroke, he has ensured that Obudu’s New Yam Festival is no longer just another cultural pageant but a powerful symbol of gratitude and political solidarity.
Hon. Peter Undiandeye has raised the stakes. He has taken a local festival and turned it into a national statement. And that, without doubt, is leadership worth celebrating.
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