The traditional ruler of Asaba Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Asagba Prof Epiphany Azinge, SAN, OON; has said the historic Asaba Day celebration has come to stay as an annual event.
The Asagba, who was speaking at the grand finale of the celebration on Saturday, December 27, congratulated sons and daughters of Asaba on the success of the programme, which he noted greatly showcased the community spirit.
He said the two-day event, which started with an economic summit, was designed to add value to the socioeconomic life of the community, expressing delight that Asaba people were able to delve into an area considered to be the exclusive preserve of government and corporate organisations.
Asagba Prof Azinge added that the Asaba Christmas carnival was impressive, massive and of international standard, and commended all who made the activities possible and successful, especially Chief Afam Obiago and his team for the Economic Summit, and Ogbueshi Paul Oliko and Ogbueshi Ephraim Ngozi Okocha for the carnival.
The highly revered Monarch described the cultural dances put together to round off the Asaba Day celebration as very colourful entertaining and revealing, explaining that he observed that some of the dance groups were formed as platforms for survival in the midst of hardship.
He identified poverty alleviation as a key area the Economic Summit did not address, stressing that there must be deliberate efforts to recycle wealth in the community in order to lift as many people as possible out of poverty.
The forward-looking First Class traditional ruler said though the Economic Summit deliberated issues that had to do with projections for the future, wealth creation and poverty alleviation remained crucial to the life of the people and should be urgently addressed.
Beyond that, the Asagba said he felt fulfilled by the success of the Asaba Day, which he maintained had been initiated, inaugurated and had come to stay, declaring that Asaba people would henceforth gather every 27th December to discuss issues affecting the community and the way forward.
In his welcome address, the Chairman, Asaba Day Committee, Chief Paul Oliko; said the Committee was charged with the mandate to design and deliver a celebration that would truly reflect the aspirations, culture and pride of Asaba people, and went about that with an Economic Summit, a Christmas carnival procession, colourful cultural dances and exhibition.
Chief Oliko thanked Asagba Prof Azinge for the opportunity given the Committee members to serve the community, noting that the enlightened and visionary leadership of the Asagba had continued to record remarkable progress across various sectors, while his unwavering commitment to the peace, unity, security and welfare of the people was evident in every aspect of communal life.
The event featured cultural displays by over 25 dance groups, arts and rich traditional cuisines exhibition and presentation of cash prizes for environmental cleanliness to the five Ebos (Quarters) of Asaba.
Umuaji was adjudged to be the cleanest, followed by Umuagu, Umuezei, Umuonaje and lastly Ugbomanta, which is the Asagba’s quarters.
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