Greetings, everyone!
Come closer and hear me talk about my Prestigious Hometown called uyai Akwa Ibom State, which is in the South-South region of Nigeria. I am an indigene of this place and I am so proud to be one of the daughters of my hometown.
Akwa Ibom State is known to have a rich culture, traditions, hospitable people, and other rich resources. One particular thing about my people is how caring they are to welcome visitors and make them feel at home and serve them with delicious delicacies.
However, another thing that makes me proud of my hometown is our dialect. We have different unique dialects but I am a typical Ibibio girl. It's always when I see my people around, and then I express myself by using my dialect to communicate or have a conversation, and we tend to have fun through the use of it. The distinctive features in our dialects make it unique and crafted for the purpose of culture or regional expression. Two weeks ago, I was able to represent southern Nigeria in my church during the Southern Sunday celebration by wearing our cultural attire. I was so excited when I was able to write and read my native language for the church announcement to show that I am proud of my hometown.
Meanwhile, my name carries a typical Ibibio girl as my father's name is Ini Effiong, my first name is an English name as Peace Ini Effiong, so people get so connected to me by middle and surname. By the time I mention my name, people will know I am from Akwa Ibom and they will also hear it from my accent.
Our cultural dance is so superb, when it's displayed during a festival, cultural day, or other events that might need the traditional display.
Nevertheless, our local delicacies is top notch. We have afang soup, edikanko, akpannkwukwu, asa iwa, editan soup, efere uson ibon, afia afere, atama soup, etidot, and many more to mention. This is one of the things that makes us unique. Some people from other tribes would always want to taste our delicacies because of how delicious they are.
One of the biggest perks of being an Akwa Ibomite is the sense of belonging, especially when I see my people in Kaduna State, and we tend to exchange pleasantries using our dialect, which makes me feel at home, and there's always this connection. There was a time, I returned from the salon, and in the street I saw women working together and they were speaking Ibibio and I stopped and went to them to greet them with our dialect and they were wondering where they had met me and I told them that I had heard Ibibio spoken, and I decided to say hi to them. They were so excited to see that expression from me, and I told them that I was mobilized to Kaduna to serve as a corps member, and after service, I decided to stay back here. They were so happy. I felt so connected with my dialect, food, and culture.
Therefore, one of the ways to make Akwa Ibom a better place to be is to provide employment opportunities for our youths. Renovating hospitals, schools, and well-equipped with standard equipment.
This is my response to the Hivelearners featured contest week 243 episode 2
I love, I care, and I forgive