FIVE communities in Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State recently witnessed a spectacle.It was a beauty pageant organises by a non-governmental organisation;ELEPHANT TOWN ENTERTAINMENT, to bring unity and love to the people of the area.
The event,which was witness by a large crowd,had in attendance the First Executive Governor of Anambra State,DR CHUKWUEMEKA EZEIFE(OKWADIKE).
The five communities that participated at the event were Akwaihedi,Ebenator, Ezinifite, Osumenyi and Utuh. The quintet makes up MBANESE in Nnewi South Local Government Area.
Chief Executive Officer of Elephant Town Entertainment, MR.JOVITA MELOLO-MELATA JNR.OGBOLOAGHA,said the beauty pageant was intended to produce MISS/ADA MBANESE from the FIVE communities that featured in the inaugural contest.
DAILY SUN gathered that,as part of the pre-pageant activities, the participants were camped at Odiri Social Club of Nigeria,Osumenyi.Thereafter,They and the sponsors were taken on a tour of notable and exciting locations within the communities in Mbanese clan.
Some of the interesting places they visited included:Ulasi River Ezinifite which serves as a natural boundary between Anambra and Imo state,and Aboudughudu,the great palm wine tappers statue.They also visited Ebenator Lake,Ofala River,Ebenator and Utuh gully erosion site.
The participants thereafter paid a courtesy visit to former Ebenator Town Union President,Mr.Esomonu who gave them lectures on the clan and also spoke on other issues about the area.
In his Remarks,Dr Ezeife ,who was the Special Guest of Honour,Commended the Organizers for putting together the Showpiece,adding that they needed to be emulated and encouraged.He said that the initiative would help to promote the cultural heritage of the communities and would serve as a binding factor for sustainable peace and unity among rural and urban dwellers from the area.The pageant,he said was one of the ways of keeping the youths busy,thus setting their minds to thinking about positive and progressive ventures.

Dr.Ezeife advised Ndigbo to always hold fast to their culture and resist any attempt to be over -influenced by Western culture.He also called on them to always promote their cultural heritage at family,community and even Diaspora Levels at all times.
Chairman on the Occasion, who was the immediate past Chairman of Nnewi South Transition Committee, Mr.Felix Odimegwu,In his address ,commended the Organizers of the beauty pageant ,noting that the effort had succeeded in bringing youths,especially young women,together in healthy competition. He commended MELOLO-MELATA JNR.for doing a wonderful job in bringing th youths together for them to exhibit their competitive prowess.
One of the Keynote Speakers was DR.ISAAC E.UFONDU,an author and publisher.
Melata Jnr.,in brief address, said the entertainment outfit was a Lagos based company established in 2009 with speciality in event promotion and training of artistes of all categories.
He said that the MISS/ADA MBANESE BEAUTY PAGEANT was meant to enhance self a empowerment among girls and to enable the youths to conduct themselves along the lines of acceptable social norms.He predicted that the programme would help them to make a positive impacts on the lives of upcoming youths through their ambassadorial responsibilities, pet projects and literacy campaign efforts.
He said:Queen Chinyere Maria Okparauzoma from Ezinifite,who is a final year student of University of Calabar,emerged winner of MISS ADA MBANESE 2018,while miss Rebecca Ikpo from Ezinifite, also a final year student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University-Awka,emerged as the first runner-up.
In that order, Miss Dara Amara from Akwaihedi, a graduate of computer Science from Nnamdi Azikiwe University,Awka,emerged as the second runner-up.Miss Cynthia Ezike,from Utuh,who was the youngest among the contestants,became Miss/Ada Mbanese Model.

Credit: DAILY SUN NEWSPAPER 31 JAN.2018 PG 30-31