Abia First Lady, Mrs Nkechi Ikpeazu Friday charged Abia women to strengthen, promote and protect Abia’s cultural identity.
Addressing Abia women during the 2022 Abia cultural event held in Umuahia, Mrs Ikpeazu said the Abia cultural event termed “Ejiri Mara Abia” engenders women’s cultural identity in the state.
She noted that the Ejiri Mara Abia event was put together to celebrate the end of the year 2022.
According to her, “It has become a regular feature to bring together women from all parts of the state, by this time of the year to celebrate and promote our rich cultural heritage.
“This will be the last Ejiri Mara I will be celebrating with you as First Lady.”
Two days ago, the women held a prayer summit to thank God for granting the Abia woman life in 2022 and they committed the affairs of next year into His hands, stating, “Next year will be challenging especially because of the elections. However, we should not worry because God has already written how it is going to happen.
“Our own role is to show faith by going out to cast our vote for our party and our candidates.
“As we enjoy the cultural exhibitions, and traditional displays let us remember that the purpose of this event is to strengthen our culture and promote and protect our cultural identity.
“If we lose our culture, we will lose our society. Our culture also demonstrates peaceful nature as Ndi Abia, so we want to emphasize that.”
She pleaded with Abians, “please remember the poor and the needy as you celebrate.”
Earlier in her opening remarks, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Deaconess Rose Urenta Nna said Mrs Ikpeazu established the cultural event “to hold Abia women together.”
She further informed, “This is Abia women’s culture which showcases the real tradition of the Abia woman who is known for proper and decent dressing.
“The Abia woman is good in local delicacies which are also showcased, including farming prowess.”
She urged the Abia woman to continue to teach their children their dialect and culture for posterity and identity.
The event showcased display and sales of farm products, local delicacies, cultural displays and a health talk on detecting breast cancer lumps by Princess Uloma Anosike.
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