All is set to host season 15 of Adandiigbo cultural pageant – Igbolands premier cultural non-swimwear pageant that shook the beauty pageant industry in 2005 when native language, cultural heritage and ethnic fashion became additional standards by which contestants were graded to choose the best amongst the best.
Adandiigbo pageant is expecting participants from Imo, Rivers, Enugu, Abia, Delta, Ebonyi and Anambra states on an interesting quest on who can learn and recall their heritage better.
This Season 15 is aptly themed “Our Daughters Our Future”.
The Igbo language was reported by UNESCO in 2006 as one of the endangered indigenous languages, however, they did not expect that our Igbo daughters are our future and with the introduction of Igbo cultural pageantry by Adandiigbo cultural pageant with emphasis on our languages, language preservation is a sure bet as it is once more fashionable to speak our language amongst our mothers of tomorrow.
A segment of the event would as usual witness awards to a select number of valuable Igbo youths, these people and institutions are being acknowledged for their keeping the ante and making the Igbo nation proud.
Speaking at the world headquarters of the Adandiigbo organization in Port Harcourt, the local organising committee opined that, “Our Igbo language would not be endangered in the near future. Our proactive steps in creating awareness for the last 15 years is bringing results.”
“Keeping the Igbo consciousness is not about radical warfare and riots, neither can the culture of our people be easily erased, if they remember and teach their children those values and oral tradition that has kept us going as a peace loving hospitable people, packaging this oral tradition in events, films, and records that would be there for our future generation”.
Some of the award recipients highlighted for the Akaraka awards at season 15 Adandiigbo pageant are: Mr Raw (Music act ); Klint the drunk (comedian ); Nonso Nkwa (educationist and OAP); Ugochi Oluigbo (News broadcaster ); Blossom Ozurumba (wikiigbo); Nneoma Ukpabi (actress); Izunna Agwuncha ( social activist); chief Imo (Actor ) and so many others in business and other fields.
In the last 15 years, Igbo pageantry is now common in almost every Igbo community and a consciousness of language and morals is reintroduced keeping in mind those aspects of Igbo culture that are worthy to be carried on.
The predictions UNESCO made may be true for so many other indigenous languages but the Igbo nation has taken steps to extricate itself from self pity and taken proactive steps from becoming extinc.
Keep a date with Adandiigbo pageant at All seasons hotel, Owerri, IMO state on Friday, 13th December, 2019 by 5 pm and help Nigerians learn to keep our culture for our future generation.
