From Kenneth Udeh
Eminent Entrepreneur and Politician Chimaobi Anyaso on Friday commended the sustenance of the Igbere Cultural Festival held annually in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State sponsored by the OUK Foundation founded by Abia-North Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.
Anyaso commended the former Abia Governor for constantly supporting the Festival which he said promotes the cultural heritages of Igbere people reliving the ancestral practices of the thirteen villages of each community in their unique, Folklore, language nuances, traditional cuisines, dances, hospitality, attire, and other cultural aspects.
Fielding questions from newsmen Anyaso who joined the celebration at Amaiyi village urged Government and private sectors to emulate Senator Kalu by increasing investments in the culture and tourism sectors of the economy, emphasising that Nigeria’s culture is rich enough to provide huge returns on investment.
He harped on the essence of Traditional culture ; “It’s a very good initiative to promote the culture of our forefathers most especially the positive ones and I commend what Senator Orji Uzor Kalu is doing.
“This is a huge sacrifice coming back to bring the people together to celebrate our culture, your culture is everything a lot of us like where we’re coming from there are some stories that we were told that I’ve never heard of before so what he’s doing is very commendable”. “This is a good thing and people should emulate it.
The two day event of the 4th Edition of the commenced on Thursday and has held simultaneously across the 13 Igbere villages of; Agbo, Eziama, Amaukwu,Amakpo, Amankalu,Ibinanta, Amaofufu,Ibinaukwu, Umunsi,Okafia ,Ohumola, Amaoji and Amaiyi.
The cultural Festival showcased an array of fun-packed Traditional activities such as local food and its processing, Local Wrestling, Drama, Folklore, Poetry, Lecture, Dancing, Beauty contest among others.
It also had the attendance of visiting foreign tourists from the Republic of China who were well treated to a well-secured ambiance of pleasant weather, warm hospitality of Igbere People and the aesthetic hilly topographic areas.
Kalu in an earlier statement harped on the unity, peace and social interaction advantages of the Festival, he said;
“The cultural splendour of the 13 villages of Igbere was again reinvigorated in full colours and it created a lasting impression for us to continue to tell our historical existence and the protection of our precious cultural heritage.
“Aside from the fanfare the festival promotes unity , social interaction and reconnection and above all peace coexistence.