Thousands of Akwa
'Ibomites' and other guests from all over the world converged on the Uyo
Township Stadium, Akwa Ibom State, on Saturday as the state
government held the ninth edition of its annual Christmas Carols Festival,
sponsored by Globacom, reports ITRealms.
It was a night of
uncommon grandeur and celebration as the people of Akwa Ibom rose in unison
above the tragic event of the previous week, which threatened to put a dampener
on Christmas festivities in the 29-year-old state.
The State Governor,
Emmanuel Udom, in an emotional opening speech called the Christmas Carols
Festival an expression of perfect submission to the will of God and a demonstration
of the resilience of the state to pick itself up and trudge on with faith and
hope in a better future each time it is beset by mind-numbing set-backs.
Udom declared to the
capacity crowd including top government officials, members of the diplomatic
corps, clerics, international artistes, tourists from across the world and
citizens that in spite of the tragedy “our love for God is sacrosanct.”
He said Christmas is the
celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, whose teachings made it clear that
death is not the end of man, adding that therefore, the state would not be
cowed, and will not succumb to evil.
He thanked everyone who
supported the state in its time of tribulation and also the sponsors, including
Globacom, who committed their resources to ensuring that millions of Akwa
Ibomites sing songs of joy again through the carols.
He then ushered in the
world renowned American gospel artiste, Don Moen, whom he called adopted son of
Akwa Ibom to lift up the spirits of thousands of people gathered in the arena
in worship of God. Moen launched into a string of occasion-suiting numbers such
as ‘Thank You, Lord’, ‘Father forgive us’, ‘God will make a way’, among
others.
The Uyo Girls Choir,
consisting of girls under 10, joined Moen on stage to give a beautiful
rendition of ‘Lord, make us instrument of your peace’ to wild applause. They
were followed by the Kayamba African Orchestra from South Africa who
rendered ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ and ‘Noel’ in quick succession. Earlier, the
young girls had released a pigeon each to represent all the local government
areas in the state, signifying the flight of peace and tranquility across Akwa
Ibom State.
The arrival of Esther
Edoho sent the arena into wild excitement, underscoring her immense popularity
among the local audience. Actively supported by enthusiastic sing-along crowd,
she delivered ‘Ukara Jesus’ (Rain of Jesus), ‘Abasi afon ubok eno’ (God is good
in giving) and ‘Emenere, emenere’ (Lift Him [Jesus] higher’ among others. A
number of other local artistes that were to later achieve similar or even
higher level of acclamation and appreciation from the crowd, also performed.
Other artistes who
entertained the gathering at the event that lasted till the small hours of Sunday include
PRM Band from the UK, Akwa Ibom Choir, who provided excellent back up to all
the artistes including Don Moen, Buchi, Elijah Oyelade, Julius Nglass, Fr.
Patrick Edet, Steve Crown, Perfecta Ekpo who rendered a flawless National
Anthem, Sammy Okposo and the Kenyan Boys, among others.
In the night's inaugural
speech, Permanent secretary, Special Services Department, Akwa Ibom, Aniekpeno
Mkpanang, who coordinated the event, had lauded Globacom and other sponsors for
showing solid commitment to the prosperity of the state. He implored them to
continue to show support for the project which will enter its tenth year in
2017.
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