Fegge Community To Resuscitate Masquerade Carnival This Year
By Julie Sylvia, Onitsha
In its bid to restore the lost cultural heritage of Onitsha South Local Government Area, Anambra State, the council mayor, Hon.Chief Emeka Orji, has reiterated his readiness to revive the masquerade carnival in the area as it was in the 80s and 90s.
Orji who made the disclosure during the Onitsha South Communities meeting held at Woliwo community also stated that the carnival is such that has never happened anywhere before, going by the way it is being planned.
According to him, “Those in Onitsha in those years could remember that such was held at Zik’s Avenue and we want to bring it back in a grand style, not the way it used to be.
“Every Community in Onitsha South, Onitsha North, Okpoko,:others should come with their masquerades, dance troups and would purchase forms for participants who would like to sell drinks, dry meat and other eatables, drinkables, music , others and we have formed a screening committee to checkmate the participants’ aims to know if they are the same with ours.
” Prizes for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions for communities who their masquerades have performed creditably, we are considering the week probably after the Igwe Achebe’s Ofala festival so that it would be a culture in Onitsha South which normally happens a week after the Igwe Achebe Ofala’s festival.
“Those purchased portions would be for drinks, dry meat, music etc and would increase our GDP and it would be ended inside the stadium where the Governor would present prizes to the winners”.he said.
Speaking further, Chief Orji reiterated that one of his aims of the community tour is to bring all the Presidents General, PGs of these four communities together, so that when they all agree on something, it would be intact and this happens when there is peace”, he further explained.
On sanitation, he admonished the constituents to desist from littering the roads and gutters with refuse even as he advised them to bag such refuse and wait for the refuse disposable vehicles for evacuation, warning that the defaulters would be fined #50,000 each.
He disclosed further that the evacuation of refuse was given to local government unexpected lamenting that it cost them a huge sum.
In their separate remarks, the President Generals of Fegge, Housing Estate, Odoakpu and Woliwo, Hon. Okwudili Obinwune, Hon Afam Udeogalanya, Hon. Okey Ojiudu and Chief Ifeanyi Onwuegbuchunam respectively thanked the Mayor for bringing them together for the development of the area, noting that it has never happened before and pledged their unalloyed support to him and for the progress of Ndi Onitsha South.
One of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA stakeholders in the area, Chief Sir. Peter Madueke lauded the Mayor for ensuring that peace returned in Woliwo community and pledged that with their togetherness they would have the highest voters as usual for reelection of the Governor come November 8th gubernatorial election.
The APGA Chairman of Fegge 7 Woliwo, Chief Joachin Ifenatuora stated that Woliwo is doing well under the platform of APGA and disclosed that they have already mobilized 400 persons, and still counting,even as he informed the unregistered ones to do the needful.
Hon Grace Orakwe, JP, Board of Trustees, Woliwo Welfare Association, lauded the mayor’s style of leadership which she said reassembles that of the Westerners that is based on human capital development noting that non of his predecessors has done that and pledged their unalloyed support to the re-election of Governor Charles Soludo for his infrastructural developments that are littered all over the place.
Others that contributed to the meeting were the Councillor Fegge 7,Woliwo, Hon Kelvin Obi, the Director, Woliwo community, Chief Charles Umeokonkwo, the Onitsha South Administrative Secretary, Chief Patrick Machie, and Woliwo Youths Leader, Hon.Augustine Nnopu.
The highpoint of the event was the presentation of an award of “Nwajiofor Nna Ya N’Isuofia, Dikediebube N’ Onitsha South, Oba Armani of Onitsha South and Obataobie of Onitsha South”, to the Mayor by the PGs of Fegge Communities, while presentation and cutting of cake was done by Woliwo Women Wings, flanked by the Mayor.
Present at the meeting included, the former Chairman Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, Anambra State, Chief Emeka Udodeme, Deputy Mayor, Hon.Onyebuchi Obi, Chief Sylvester Okafor, Siwo Paints, the Legal Counsel to Onitsha South Local Government, Barr Stanley Okafor, Vice Chairman, Fegge Landlords Association, Barr.Noel Udeoji, Special Adviser to the Council Mayor on political matters, Comrade Dunu Chiadikobi, among others.
