It was much more than merrymaking at the end of the year. The most revered masquerades were about. The teeming crowd kicked up clouds of late December dust. Muscular, bare-chested cultural dancers thrilled with as much good music as breathtaking foot work. Local delicacies were also abundant. Yet, the Item Cultural Day was not just about eating and drinking. Nor of meeting dignitaries who, though, were not in short supply.
At the Jane Oteh Mini-Stadium, Amaokwe Item, Bende Local Government Area of Abia State, where the event held on December 30, Item community evaluated its progress over 12 months, addressed challenges and tired to peer into the future. Perhaps, the best part was the focus on youth development, on which the feast theme was based.
Not only indigenous people turned up. Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio was honoured on the day, as was host state Deputy Governor Chief Emeka Ananaba.
The day provided the opportunity not only to showcase a rich cultural heritage, but also for the people to take stock of their progress in the outgoing year, come to terms with their challenges, and, perhaps, proffer solutions.
The people saw huge gaps in growing their youths, and moved to fill them. For instance, it was noted that the community was not leveraging on the potentials of youths due to their lack of skills. How to correct this? Apart from their academic qualifications, Item people made a case for helping youths to acquire skills and become entrepreneurs. This will enable them to feed themselves and their families, employ indigenous people and develop their land.
Item natives who distinguished themselves were honoured. Apart from Dr. Alex Otti, former Managing Director, Diamond Bank, and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate in Abia, Rear Adimral Emeraku Ijioma (rtd), Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, former Deputy General Manage,r Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) and Hon. Mao Ohuabunwa were equally decorated for outstanding service.
The performance from various traditional dance groups, the entrance of Item masquerades into the venue of the event, shooting of fireworks at the event, made it even more interesting.
One of the unique things about the event was that it provided visitors the opportunity to enjoy the hospitality of the community and as well serve as a boost to the economic life of the people of the area as volume of trade increased by over 50% per cent. For instance, the reporter visited one of the local delicacy outlets with a view to sampling one. Sorry, the attendants said, everything has been eaten up. The reporter left disappointed.
The suya spot and bars were agog as connoisseurs inundated attendants with demands.
Many indigenous Item people especially those from the Diaspora who spoke with the reporter, said that the event offered them the opportunity to meet their loved ones and also appreciate their culture which they hoped to pass on to the next generation.
Commending the organisers for organising the programme and choosing the theme: Youth as Enduring Asset in Community Development, they expressed the hope that the programme would be sustained and youth activities incorporated to make it more colourful and attractive.
In his address, the President General of Item Development Association (IDA), Bishop Sunday Ndukwo Onuoha said the programme, which holds every December 30 since its inception in 2007, serves as a unique platform for the community to celebrate God’s goodness in the affairs of Item people in the outgoing year. Equally important was the imperatives of taking stock and ascertain the progress the community made in the outgoing year as well as plan for the New Year.
Onuoha thanking Governor Theodore Orji for getting contractors back to site to complete the Akanu and Okai Item roads. He also lauded the efforts and contributions of their sons and daughters who used their positions to attract development to the community.
The cleric described the community as one of the most peaceful in Abia State and promised that they will continue to work with the police and other security agencies to maintain peace in the community appealing to well spirited individuals to assist the officers and men of the police force in the area to work optimally by providing them with logistics.
He also used the opportunity to appeal to Governor Orji to reconstruct the Alayi-Item-Nkporo roads as a parting gift to the community, recalling that many parts of the road especially the Amukabi, Amaokwe Item and Iyechi-Ugwu School Amaeke sections have failed.
The Methodist Bishop also called on the federal government to provide the community with potable water, and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to ensure the speedy completion of the Amaokwe-Akanu-Okai and Okoko road projects.
On the award to be given to some individuals the IDA president said “I must draw the attention of the awardees of today, that IDA as a cultural and non-political organisation; her awards are designed to recognize tangible and verifiable contributions of the recipients to social and economic progress of our community and Nigeria at large, the ultimate aim being to encourage them to do even more. Most of those honoured under this platform in the past seven years, have always vindicated us their further superlative performance in service to humanity. So we urge all our awardees of today to know that we are throwing them up for greater service to humanity and additional recognition and elevation in future”.
A guest lecturer, Dr. Emole Oteh in a paper which discussed the youth as an enduring asset to community development, described them as the most vibrant segment of every population with vast potentials that need to be harnessed. He said that by getting them involved in developmental efforts in the community, they will contribute meaningfully towards attaining the goals and aspirations of the community.
Oteh identified some of the challenges facing the participation of youths in community development efforts in Nigeria to include insufficient training, lack of encouragement by chiefs and elders of the community, intermittent change of government and selfishness among youth leaders opined “As a way forward, it is hereby suggested that adequate awareness programmes should be put in place to encourage youths participate more in community development projects.
“Outside the formal educational system, the youths should be encouraged and assisted to acquire skills that will enable them to be self-reliant. This could take the form of sponsoring them to undergo training in various vocations, with the view to equipping them to become entrepreneurs. Their energy should be channeled into productive ventures. They should not be abused. Parents should under no circumstance allow their children to be used as thugs by politicians seeking elective posts”.
In his remarks, former MD of Diamond Bank thanked the Item community for deeming it to recognize them, stressing that the recognition would spur him and others to do more in their different capacities.
Otti however used the opportunity to urge youths in the state and the country at large to reject being used to cause breach of peace or political thugs, reminding them that as leaders of tomorrow and ambassadors of their various homes, they should be conscious of their actions and avoid anything that would tarnish the image of their families, communities and country at large.
He also prayed that 2015 elections in the state and country would be fruitful.
