Why Ozoro’s Festival Abuse Demands Justice, And Honest Leadership -By Isaac Asabor

There is a dangerous pattern that society has tolerated for far too long: the steady distortion of meaningful cultural and religious celebrations into reckless displays of irresponsibility, excess, and, in extreme cases, outright criminality. What recently unfolded in Ozoro, Delta State, under the guise of the Alue-Do festival, is not just a cultural embarrassment, it is a moral crisis, a failure of leadership, and a crime that demands both justice and honesty.

Let us not mince words: what happened is not culture. It is not tradition. It is not heritage. It is criminality cloaked in cultural disguise.

For generations, festivals across Nigerian communities have carried deep spiritual and social significance. They were designed to promote unity, reflection, renewal, and communal blessings. Whether religious celebrations like Christmas and Easter or indigenous festivals like Alue-Do, the essence has always been rooted in values that uplift society. Yet, over time, a growing number of youths have reduced these sacred occasions to mere opportunities for indulgence, drinking excessively, engaging in reckless behavior, and abandoning all sense of moral restraint. What happened in Ozoro represents the most disturbing extreme of that trend.

A festival traditionally meant to celebrate fertility and bring blessings to married couples was reportedly hijacked and twisted into an avenue for the harassment, and allegedly, assault, of women. That is not a minor deviation; it is a complete desecration of culture. Any attempt to defend or downplay such actions under the umbrella of tradition is both dishonest and dangerous.

The youth involved must be punished, firmly and without compromise. There is a long-standing tendency to excuse bad behavior among young people as “youthful exuberance.” That excuse has expired. Harassment is a crime. Assault is a crime. These acts do not become acceptable simply because they occur during a festival. If anything, they become even more reprehensible because they violate both human dignity and cultural sanctity simultaneously. Justice, in this case, is non-negotiable.

However, beyond the actions of the youths, another troubling dimension has emerged: the response of some community leaders. In what appears to be an attempt to protect the image of Ozoro Kingdom, certain leaders have publicly denied reports describing the incident as a “rape festival,” insisting instead that the situation involved only the harassment of two women and that no rape occurred.

On the surface, this may seem like an effort to defend cultural integrity. In reality, it risks creating a far more dangerous problem. Leadership is not about image management, it is about truth, responsibility, and courage.

Even if the leaders’ claims are accurate, that the incident involved harassment rather than rape, the instinct to outrightly dismiss widespread public concern as “false and misleading” sends the wrong message. When video evidence circulates on social media and public outrage follows, the appropriate response is not defensive denial, but transparent engagement. Leaders must be forthright. They must be firm. And they must be intentional in addressing the issue. Anything less is dangerous.

Why? Because denial, whether partial or complete, creates room for impunity. It signals to perpetrators that their actions can be softened, reframed, or even dismissed altogether. It discourages victims from speaking out. And it erodes public trust in both traditional institutions and community leadership.

A community that prioritizes its image over justice risks losing both. To be clear, acknowledging wrongdoing does not tarnish a culture; it protects it. What truly damages cultural heritage is the refusal to confront abuse when it occurs. Culture is not fragile; it does not collapse because its flaws are exposed. It collapses when those flaws are ignored.

The statement by community leaders rightly acknowledged that some youths “misinterpreted and misapplied” aspects of the festival, leading to unacceptable behavior. That admission is important, but it is not enough. It must be matched with decisive action, transparency, and a clear commitment to accountability. Anything short of that will be seen, rightly or wrongly, as an attempt to downplay a serious issue.

At the same time, this situation exposes a deeper, long-standing problem: the growing disconnect between young people and the true meaning of cultural practices.

Many youths today participate in festivals without understanding their significance. To them, these events are simply annual gatherings for excitement, socialization, and indulgence. The spiritual and cultural foundations have been lost, replaced by a shallow, often reckless interpretation of tradition.That vacuum of understanding is what allows abuse to thrive.

This is where custodians of culture, traditional rulers, elders, and community leaders, must step up. It is no longer enough to preserve traditions in silence and assume younger generations will understand them. That assumption has clearly failed. There must be deliberate, aggressive, and sustained education.

Communities that celebrate festivals like Alue-Do must take ownership of their narratives. This means organizing continuous awareness campaigns, not just before festivals, but throughout the year. Town hall meetings, youth engagement sessions, school outreach programs, and even social media platforms should be used to clearly communicate: The true purpose of the festival, the acceptable forms of participation, the boundaries that must not be crossed and the consequences of violating those boundaries. There must be zero ambiguity.

In addition to education, there must be enforcement. Festivals cannot be allowed to operate as lawless environments where anything goes. Community structures must be put in place to monitor activities, maintain order, and protect participants, especially women.

Security presence, community vigilante groups, and organized supervision should be standard, not optional. Anyone who engages in misconduct should be immediately apprehended and handed over to law enforcement. Culture must never be an excuse for chaos.

Another critical issue is peer influence among youths. Many young people engage in reckless behavior not out of conviction, but out of pressure to conform. When wrongdoing becomes normalized within a group, resisting it becomes difficult.

This is why reorientation must go beyond individuals and target group behavior. Youth leaders, influencers, and respected figures within the community must take a stand. Silence, in this context, is complicity.

Parents, too, have a role to play. Moral upbringing does not begin at festivals, it begins at home. A society that neglects values cannot expect discipline in public spaces.

The decision to ban the festival, while understandable in the immediate aftermath, should not be seen as a long-term solution. Culture should not be discarded because it has been abused. Instead, it should be reformed, strengthened, and protected.

If the Alue-Do festival is to return in the future, it must do so under a new framework, one built on clarity, education, accountability, and strict enforcement.

Most importantly, it must be guided by honest leadership. Because at the heart of this issue lies a simple truth: you cannot fix what you refuse to fully acknowledge.

What happened in Ozoro is not just about a festival. It is about the choices a community makes when confronted with wrongdoing. It is about whether leaders choose comfort over truth, image over justice, and denial over responsibility.

The path forward is clear: Hold offenders accountable without hesitation. Demand honesty and transparency from community leaders.  Educate the youth relentlessly. Strengthening oversight and enforcement and restore the true meaning of cultural practices Anything less is a disservice, not only to the victims, but to the very culture that leaders claim to protect.

If culture must endure, it must be defended with truth. And if it must be defended with truth, then denial has no place in the conversation.

Because in the end, the greatest threat to any culture is not criticism, it is silence in the face of wrongdoing.