Queen Retina Ashibekong – Face of Obudu Culture
Queen Retina Ashibekong, Face of Obudu Culture Queen International has said that “it’s a big shame that I am from the community of the State Governor, the Queen of Obudu Culture and I’m trekking after pledging a car for the winner during the contest.”
Queen Retina Ashibekong expressed her displeasure recently in an exclusive interview with CrossRiverWatch.
She said, “If government doesn’t want to do anything about it, I’m not bothered but it will be of great benefit if they support me. I just feel that if I am not given a car today someday somewhere I will be given something better than a car.”
The beauty Queen went on to reveal that “I had organized a debate two months after been crowned on the topic ‘Effect of Modernization on our Tradition’. It was for 10 secondary schools, one per political ward, unanimously chosen through balloting.
“Though at the end of the day only about 6 showed up. The winners got lots of writing materials and some financial assistance to help them in their academics. The essence was to draw the attention of the youths back to the way our culture used to be in time past. I felt fulfilled, many were calling back to say it was great and they had not witnessed such before,” she said.
The graduate of Cross River University of Technology who risked missing a final year examination for the contest recounted the hard choice she had to make.
“I have passion for pageantry that I don’t see anything too important compared to it, I missed my exams for the crown because I felt through this I can achieve a lot in touching lives and if I fail the exams it’s just a carry over and that’s it.”
Furthermore, as part of her plans to promote and protect the Obudu culture, she revealed that she’s currently working on a project for the physically challenged.
Her words: “I am planning a capacity building program for the physically challenged people in Obudu by teaching them some vocational skills that can put food on their table and with other materials to enable them go through their daily lives with ease. Apart from this, more programs are coming.”
Concluding, Queen Retina called on Governor Ayade to “look into the prizes of the Obudu Face of Culture contest which Mountain Cinema has been organizing for 6 years now, it is so bad that the Queen from the Governor’s village is not given that standard which he has been giving to other Queens not from here even before becoming the Governor, this will bring down the standard and stands as false to most of his gestures because charity begins at home.”
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