Igbo indigenes in Nigeria and overseas are welcoming the entry of the Igbo Excellence Awards, IEA, an annual cultural and social contemporary event, which will berth on Saturday, 1 February, 2014.
With developing the culture and people as a key value, IEA according to the organisers will celebrate and honour Igbo individuals, businesses, and corporate organisations with outstanding contributions towards sustaining and developing the essence, pride and image of the Igbo culture as well as the country Nigeria across the world.
The award initiator, Prince Onyekachukwu David, said: “our vision for the IEA is to be a global brand recognized for its genuine commitment to promoting the socio-economic and cultural values of Ndi Igbo through-out the world. We are poised to drive this vision to accomplishment by focusing a lot on the Igbo youths, with awards categories that allow young people to compete fairly for exposure and recognition.”
According to the organizers, Tobems Media Limited, the maiden edition of the awards ceremony will hold in Lagos. They claimed that the choice of a neutral venue is to emphasize the credibility of the awards and its determination to reach out to all Ndi Igbo simultaneously irrespective of their states, cultural, and political differences. They assured that subsequent editions will be hosted in different eastern states of the federation.
“We believe that starting with a successful execution of this forthcoming maiden edition, we would have started a journey towards accomplishing our vision within the next 5 years.” David said.
According to Tobems Media’s Principal Consultant, Mr. Obembe, “Ours is made up of a team of young Nigerians who have dedicated time and energy in research and consultation with Igbo elders and culture custodians to design the awards.
“We are glad to give Ndi Igbo something that will last a lifetime. This is more than just an award, it is a validation for our true heroes, and being a winner in any category is something to cherish”.
The #IgboExcellenceAwards which was formally presented to the Nigerian online community on Tuesday, December 3, is already generating heavy buzz and trending on social media as it was well received by many, especially the Igbo ethnic group from South-Eastern Nigeria.