June 12: How South East was denied opportunity to perform at Democracy Day celebration

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June 12: How South East was denied opportunity to perform at Democracy Day celebration

 

The South East region was not given the opportunity to perform during the cultural display at the National Democracy Day on Wednesday.

While the South West, North and South-South regions all showcased their cultural values, the South East was left.

The Yoruba of the South West were the first to showcase their cultural display to the gathering while the Fulanis of the North stepped in.

This was followed by the South-South which displayed their fishermen traditional dance steps.

However, we observed that as the South East prepared to take the stage with their masquerades and dancers, the guest of honour, President Muhammadu Buhari was ushered in for his inaugural speech.

One of the dancers, who spoke to us but in condition of anonymity, expressed disappointment, lamenting the time and resources she had invested into practising and rehearsing for the event.

Asked on how she felt about not coming out to perform, she said, “Well, at this point, there’s nothing I can do about it.

“There were four regions that prepared for the traditional dances in this event but I wonder why the Southeast was subsumed into the South-South.

“Maybe they were running out of time, I can’t tell.”

While the South-South dancers were performing, the moderator had said, “People of the South East and South South are mostly fishermen. Fishing is a tradition in the regions.”

The event host stated this when the Igbo dancers were still seen hanging around waiting to be called on stage.

 

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