Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade last weekend joined
participants at the maiden African Food festival Calabar to commend
Dangote Industries Ltd for sponsoring the event.
The Governor represented by his wife, Dr. Linda Ayade who declared the
food festival open lauded the exemplary attitude of Dangote Group in
sponsoring events especially the now rested Children’s Carnival.
With the African Food festival replacing the Children’s Carnival, she said
that Dangote Group stepped in as the pioneer sponsor of the event proving
that the Group is truly committed in partnering all stakeholders for a
better Nigeria.
Dr. Ayade said that the food festival is to bring together different
cuisines in Africa as the continent is very rich in tasty cuisines. She
added that through the partnership of the sponsors, cuisines from
different nations have been gathered in Calabar and urged all present to
savour the taste of the cuisines available.
In her welcome, the convener of African Food festival, Calabar, Senator
Florence Ita-Giwa, said the food festival aims to unite all tribes in
continental Africa through their respective cuisines. She said that the
maiden food festival is to showcase African dishes and culinary skills
adding Cross River State is very rich in dishes.
Giving an insight on how the food festival evolved, she said “In Calabar
we have our cuisine, you go to Ibo they have their cuisine, you go to
Yoruba they have their cuisine, in Hausa, they have their cuisine” the
idea of having all of these under one roof was sold to Governor Ben Ayade
whom is open to ideas and He bought it and fused it to the Calabar
festival Calendar.
Ita-Giwa commended Dangote Group for its partnership which enabled the
food festival to become a reality. She said that since the cessation of
Children’s Carnival, Dangote Group stopped participating in Calabar
Carnival but with the introduction of Food festival, the Group is back.
She described Dangote Group as a leader in the food industry with
subsidiaries as Dangote Flour, Dangote Sugar, NASCON and Dansa as proven
leaders in their respective sectors.
The Convener also called on industries and investors to take advantage of
the abundance of food and cuisines in Cross River and invest in the state.
Investing in the state according to her will add values and create more
jobs. Particularly, she called for investors to invest in food processing
and preservative plants as the raw materials are readily available.
Participants in the food festival included the Republic of Benin and
Ghana, Hausa, Ibo, Yoruba, Market Women, Cross River State and she
promised the event will get better as the years go.
Leader of Igbo Women Association, Calabar, Dr. Franca Odigwe described the
food festival as the first of its kind and innovative. She commended the
sponsors and Ita-Giwa for conceiving the idea and enabling different
tribes to showcase their culinary skills. The Igbo women prepared bitter
leaf soup, ugba, ofe oha and other dishes which they gave participants to
sample.
Mrs. Ajoke Oyeleye, President, Yoruba Women Association Calabar said the
event has reawakened interest in traditional dishes and expressed
readiness to participate in the next edition. On display at the Yoruba
women stand included amala, ewedu,alibo, gbegiri as well as traditional
dancers.
Hajia Fatima Abullahi, leader of the Hausa Women also commended the
concept of African Food festival, saying it has given everyone a sense of
participation in the Calabar festival.