Anlo Hogbetsotso Festival Is Back

The prevailing peace in the historic town of Anloga and its environs is bringing back the colourful Hogbetsotso Festival of the people of Anlo in the Volta Region, after a decade’s absence.

For this reason, the town has been set agog with paraphernalia and other decorations to welcome home, thousands of Anlo citizens, friends, well-wishers and tourists who will troop to the area, to witness this memorable occasion which promises magnificent display of magical powers and pure voodoo by traditional priests .

Traditional drumming and dancing, reconciliation processes, durbar of schools in the 36 states, games and recreational activities have been put in motion to herald the grand durbar of chiefs and people of the Anlo Traditional Area on Saturday, November 5, at the Hogbe grounds in Anloga.

The Anlo people have failed to celebrate the festival for over a decade now, due to protracted chieftaincy dispute over the legitimate heir to the throne, following the death of Togbui Adeladza II, the immediate past Awoamefia of Anlo.

A couple of months ago, the people of Anlo decided to put the past behind them and installed a new Awoamefia under the stool name, Togbui Sri III.

The festival which is on the theme:”Reconciliation, Peace, Unity and Development, The Way Forward” is significant in many ways, not for the Anlo people alone, but the nation at large and the ancestral home of the Anlos—Togo and Benin.

The importance of festivals in the promotion of national cohesion and socio-economic advancement of nations cannot be overemphasized, and the people are leaving no chance to have this manifest. And to make this a reality, the chiefs from the 36 states of Anlo met at Keta, where it was resolved to open a new chapter in the state’s development efforts, giving priority attention to education.

They expressed grave concerns about the fallen standards of education in the area, and fashioned ways of addressing that disturbing development.

Dumega Francis Segbedzi, an Anlo elder has announced that this year’s Hogbetsotso festival is going to be special because “all the Anlos including those in the Diaspora are excited that the festival is here again.”

He said the festival, which commenced since last week, would be used mainly to foster unity and reconcile the whole Anlo State to enable it regain its position among the very revered traditional areas nation-wide.

“Unity and development towards nation building is what we cherish. The festival will not be for fun-fare only but for general reconciliation,” Dumega Segbedzi said.

The Chairman of the Hogbe Planning Committee, Togbui Addo VIII, Fiaga of Klikor traced the history of the Anlo people to the ancestral home of Notsie under King Agorkoli.

He said there was now absolute peace in the area, after a protracted chieftaincy which lasted for years, stressing that “what we need now is reconciliation”.

Mr. Kobby Agbeli Fiagbe, an Anlo Youth Activist, was of the view that the festival should advance from the remembrance of the exodus of the Anlos to their present abode to inviting people from all over the world to witness and invest in the potential of the area and the people.

He said with the exploration of oil and gas in the Keta basin, the area would now be opened to investors, and urged the youth to take advantage of the opportunity by taking their education seriously.

Togbui Amuzu, a herbalist, said the innate potential of the Anlos would be on display at Anlo on November 5, and urged all Anlos to patronize the festival that had eluded them for decades.

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