Denoting their presence with a printed banner showcasing the purpose of their presence, the Esther Matthew Tonlagha Foundation, the K&Q Food Palace, the KFT Event Place are among other philanthropic and business brands that have taken up strategic spots in the venue of the Amaseikumor Festival holding in Oporoza Town, Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, from Friday, April 12 to Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

"With my observation, this is the most peaceful festival I have seen in my travels as compared to other cultural festival where conflicts sometimes arise," said Ebei Innocent, a supervisor in K&Q Food Palace, a food brand with head office at Ugolo near the Osubi Airport and having another branch office near Polokor Market in the city of Warri.

At its stand, young girls and men could be seen flocking round its premises seeking patronage of its offerings which cut across sardine bread and other bread varieties, pop corn, ice cream, snacks among others.

"At first what we propose to happen is not exactly as we predicted it," said K&Q supervisor while speaking on the level of patronage. "When we came in, actually the first item we brought, we proposed that the items will carry us for two days. But when we arrived, they could not last for even a day as we ran out of stock. So the patronage is quite encouraging," he confessed, in a statement that suggests that the level of patronage of its offerings were unexpectedly higher.

Just besides K&Q Food Palace is another brand, one that offers philanthropic services, the Esther Matthew Tonlagha (EMT) Foundation, which had secured the services of a medical consultant from the Mount Horeb Clinic and Dialysis Center situated off Airport Road in Warri.

The team of medical experts were led by Dr. Onyemekeihia Raphael, a consultant physician and a nephrologist (kidney expert). Lined up for the test exercise were middle and aged women with few young men and girls in the mix, some holding in their hands a report card that had been filled with information on the areas in which they are seeking medical attention.

"I have been doing medical outreach in so many places. But in this one, I am so impressed because there is a lot of revelations," said Dr. Onyemekeihia, who noted that the health cases of some, who had come for medical examination, are worrisome.

"She (Mrs. Esther Tonlagha) has paid us to do sugar test, diabetes, hepatitis test, hypertension, malaria and so on," said Dr. Onyemekeihia, who also noted that since the inception of the 2024 edition of the festival, his team of medical experts has received more than 300 patients.

The kidney expert appealed to inhabitants of the kingdom to go for medical check up regularly while he also advised that the sponsor (EMT), who had paid for the free test and drugs, should also extend the initiative to other communities in the creeks as he is certain that many are beyond the reach of medical facilities.

"It is a welcome development to the poor and the poorest because some people hardly have access to medical facilities due to their location in the creeks," said a male patient, Peresei Ebitebe who came for hepatitis test, sugar level, and diabetes. "On behalf of the patients that came here, I want to say thank you to Mrs. Esther Tonlagha for her support. If other people can be doing this, it would be a helping hand to the less privileged," he added.

At the KFT Event stand, fruit juices are served freely to thirsting guests at the festival that is attended by thousands of guests, particularly from other Ijaw Kingdoms. KFT Event with head office along Hospital Road in Ekpan near Warri is known for its decorative services for all classes of outdoor and indoor events.

Other private entrepreneurs offering foods, drinks, water, clothes.... and even financial service providers with their Point Of Sale (POS) mobile devices have stationed at strategic location, especially close to the Oporoza field where the Gbaramatu Youth Council (GYC) sponsored sporting activities are ongoing.

"The Amaseikumor festival is like an empowerment to the people and it has really helped us in our business to earn a lot. The patronage is very okay," said Mr Patrick Kosenen, founder of KosPatrick Enterprises, a business venture that offer varieties of services including finance.

"But to me, I want the organisers and even investors to look into the issue accommodation. As you can see, more of the people are suffering because they don’t have somewhere to sleep," he noted.

Mr Kosenen was however not alone in his observation. Earlier, at a food vendor stand where I took fried rice for lunch, I spotted a middle aged woman resting her head on her plastic table stand meant for her customers. When I enquired what the matter was, she disclosed to me that she hadn't slept all night as there was no available place especially as where she came from was very far.

However, despite the challenge of accommodation, for many, the quest to make money from their enterprise was a motivation such that the lack of accommodation would not deter them from setting up shop. Afterall, nothing good comes easy.

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