Umabor, Eha-Alumonah community in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State has commenced a week-long long activity aimed at discovering new talents and reviving good cultural practices.
The event being packaged by Umabor Unity Forum, in conjunction with Umabor Town Union, is being driven by Operation Eagle Umabor, a team made up of professionals and other stakeholders drawn from all parts of the community.
The Public Relations Officer of Operation Eagle Umabor, Pharm. Chidiebere Ugwu, in a press statement made available to journalists in Enugu on Thursday, said the programme had already commenced with an U-17 Youth Soccer Championship.
He mentioned some of the participating teams to include: Diamond FC, Omeogo FC, De Young FC, Ahor United FC, among others.
He said in the opening match of the tournament, Diamond FC snatched the all 3 points after defeating Omeogo FC by a lone goal.
Ugwu said, “we are in a society where a lot of untapped talents are wasting in the hinterland, and that is why we decided to put this tournament together.
“It is not a secret that so many great footballers of our time were products of street football, so, this is one of such tournaments through which intend to expose these young talents to the world.
“It is already a thrilling encounter and we are certain that some promising talents would emerge at the end of the day and we intend to market them after this tournament.”
On the other events lined up by the community, Ugwu said there was a yearning need not to let the people’s culture die.
“The culture is the identity of a people; once a people allows it to die, they die with it and we are not going to let that happen.
“So, on the 28th Day of December, which is the community’s cultural day, we are going to witness cultural displays, which include cultural dances and other activities by different villages, masquerade display/dance, wrestling competition, ‘iwo egara competition’, among others,” he stated.
“We are using this opportunity to invite all and sundry to our community on the 28th of December, come and have fun; this year has been a challenging year but we must all be grateful to God that we survived it. Be assured that COVID-19 protocols would be strictly observed.
“So, this is actually a time to wind down and celebrate God’s mercies, rejoice and prepare for the new year.”
He urged the indigenes of the community to also make themselves available for a general Town Union Meeting scheduled to hold on January 3, 2020, noting that “it would be an avenue to chart a new course for the community.”
