By Lucky Efese
BENIN CITY – The Chairman of Akugbe Ventures, Comrade Tony Kabaka Adun, has called on all sons and daughters of the Benin Kingdom to fully participate in this year’s Ugie festival for the purposes of long life and prospetity.
Comrade Adun made his intention known to the Nigerian Observer, weekend, at his Benin City residence in preparation for the Ugie festival, which kick started, on Sunday.
He described Ugie festival as a medium of resurrerating our lost cultural and traditional values, which have remained a tunic for long life and abundant prosperity in the Kingdom.
He stressed that, Ugie festival was a cultural heritage of the people of Benin Kingdom, which needed to be embraced with utmost regard and frowned at those referring to Ugie festival as idolatry.
The youths mobilizer general in the state, however, applauded the Benin Monarch and the Chief custodian of culture and tradition in the Kingdom, Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa CFR, for using his God given talent to preserve and promote the culture of the people of Benin Kingdom which ultimately led to adjudging it as the citadel of culture and tradition in the world.
He noted that he was happy to come through Benin Kingdom to the world and that the pride of the people lies on the fatherly and spiritual disposition of the great monarch.
He urged all Benin sons and daughters to chart a new course of complementing the efforts of the Oba to take Ugie festival to greater heights.
He described the Oba as the God on earth and prayed for God’s and ancestors’ guidance upon the monarch and the entire royal families so that the people of Benin Kingdom will continue to celebrate subsequent Ugie festivals for the purposes of prosperity and long life and congratulated the good people of Benin Kingdom on this year’s Ugie festival, just as he had promised to take the campaign to embrace Ugie festival across the world.
