It was quite a thrilling experience with the manifestation of the sociocultural heritage of the Ijaws of Gbaramatu Kingdom on display at the 16th edition of the Amasuo-Ugeh Festival that held on Friday, December 22, 2023, in the oil-rich Kokodiagbene community, situated in the Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State.

The name 'Amasuo-Ugeh' which literally means 'a social get-together ceremony', is observed by the people of Kokodiagbene near every year end with the sole aim of encouraging interaction among the people and also creating opportunities for community growth and development.

The year 2023 festival which is the 16th edition in a row featured various sociocultural activities that include a boat regatta display, cultural dance competition, masquerade display, street procession (Ogele), a prayer session, and in addition a football competition. Another popular exercise, tug of war, that has always featured in other edition failed to hold.

Before the kick-off of the festival proper on Monday, a football encounter between the teams of the host, Kokodiagbene, and their invited guest, Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Kingdom, held in the morning at the community's Ebiabu primary school field. The fierce football encounter saw the Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Kingdom FC going home with the 1st prize of N50,000 while the runners-up, Kokodiagbene FC went home with N30,000k consolatory prize.

The football encounter was followed at noon day by a boat regatta display. However, only one colourfully decorated canoe housing a couple of women dancers participated in the water display exercise with a co-competitor from a nearby community, absent. The exercise saw the entertainers in the boat regatta performed some overtures in front of the first concrete jetty at the waterfront while spectators that consist of community chiefs, women and youths, applauded the show.

The crowd of spectators thereafter moved from the concrete jetty to the decorated venue where decorated canopies and chairs have been put in place for the next series of activities which began with a special prayer session for the overall growth and development of the community. The prayer which was observed in group began with the youths, then followed by the elders (men) and the women, with the renowned Reverend Emmanuel Imeleye of the Foursquare Gospel Church sealing up the prayer exercise.

And then came the exciting cultural dance display with the Fire Dancers, a dance troupe in Kokodiagbene community, performing to the admiration of guests. To make the cultural dance more exciting, dancers from a neighbouring community, Benikrukru, locked horns with those of Kokodiagbene, host of the festival.

At the end of the dance competition, the five member panel of judges led by Apst. Emery Bekenawei and the Toimelemo-ere of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Chief (Mrs.) Ebidoumene Ojogun, awarded the sum of N50,000k to Benikrukru dancers while those of Kokodiagbene received N30,000k.

A group, the Kokodiagbene Urban women, performed a military-march exercise to cap up the dance session after the masquerade dancers have had their fill of acrobatic display to the admiration of the spectators in attendance.

But if there is one group that stole the show in the course of the dance exercise, it was the Golden Ladies of Kokodiagbene, whose fashion style and dance steps captivated the audience. They would later, in the climax of their entertainment, gift the chairman of Kokodiagbene, Comr. Pedro Bekenawei, with a portrait photo.

Other activities include a general dance exercise as part of the celebration of the festival. Various women groups such as the Warri-Beke Group of Friends, Top Ladies of Gbaramatu, Kokodiagbene Mieyenpenamo Eyoro Abu (KOMIE), among others participated by showing off their dance skills.

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