By Comfort Isaac
At the South-South stakeholders’ meeting of APC in Benin in July, the star attraction was not the beautiful speeches of the governors or the flamboyant costumes of the politicians. The main allure of the event turned out to be a 20-minute cultural entertainment offered by a group of children from Akwa Ibom State known as Ekemini Theatre Troupe. Aged between five and 12, these children are known for their fascinating cultural performances; dances and dexterity in playing different cultural instruments; and they have been doing so in and out of the country in the past 30 years. The audience at the Benin event stood still and watch in disbelief as they played and danced and sang. At the end of the 20 minutes allowed them, Senator Godswill Akpabio announced a donation of N20 million to the troupe.
Ekemini has redefined the boundaries of musical expression and captivated audiences worldwide with their groundbreaking performances which in-turn earned them several awards, prizes and recognition. Their deftness with the drums, xylophones and other instruments, and the focus, energy and every sense of determination they exhibit on stage have continued to amaze and hold their audience spell bound. The symphony of their rhythmic beats is a testament of several months of intensive training and grooming by their tutors.
Executive Director of the troupe, Prince Patrick Idiong says the focus is to discover and develop talents in children from vulnerable homes in Akwa Ibom communities to give them a better life. Apart from their age; what sets Ekemini troupe apart and keep the audience on their toes is their daring exploration of sound, seamlessly blending diverse musical styles into a harmonious symphony that resonates with the soul. Each member brings a unique flair, but together, they create magic. With brilliantly arranged music using several traditional instruments such as xylophones, membrane drums, wooden drums, gongs and sekeres, the children produce music that can only be described as being extremely powerful. Says Idiong in his office in Uyo: “In addition to the amazing young male performers, the young female dancers (some not more than 5 years of age) add kinetic drama to the performance of their male counterparts. The girls also exhibit their talents when playing the instruments”.
The history of the troupe dates back to 1991 when Mayryam Babangida, wife of then Head of State, established a trust fund for the Nigerian child. The launch of the Trust Fund was preceded by a concert competition in music, dances and drama. It was only open to children of 12 years of age or younger from the 21 States that existed then. Idiong said he was contacted by the then Akwa Ibom First Lady, Mrs Uduak Idongesit Nkanga to organize and train children from the state for the concert. As it turned out, Akwa Ibom State won the competition and hence, represented Nigeria at the International Children’s Festival in Marseille, France. He said Nigeria eventually won the competition globally.
On arrival back to Akwa Ibom, the need to maintain the group led to the formal establishment of Ekemini Theatre Troupe on February 3, 1992 with over 26 standing members and over 15 choreographed dancers.
The troupe had since achieved national acclaim featured in numerous National and International Festivals such as the International Children Festival, Paris France in 1991, The International Children’s Festival, Sillstra, Bulgaria, 1994, The Pan-African Music Festival, Brazzaville Congo, August 1996, The 3rd Pan-African Historical Theatre Festival, Cape Coast, Ghana, August to September 1997, D8 Countries Music & Dance Festival, Islamabad, Pakistan, 1997, National Summit of African Washington DC, February and so on. They also performed at African Super Cup 2003: Official Reception for CAF officials and Eyimba International F.C. of Aba February 21, 2004; Launching of Black History Month Festival, Lagos Hotel, Ikeja, February 25, 2005; Akwa Ibom State Festival for Arts and Culture (AKFEST) Uyo, October 5-7, 2005, 6th Biennial Conference of African Broadcasters Conference (AFRICAST) – Abuja, Nigeria, OCTOBER 30 – November 2, 2006; Calabar Carnival, Cross River State, December 2007, Abuja Carnival – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008.
They won the first prize at the UNESCO “2013 African Week” in France.
The troupe has also won many awards, some of which are the ECOWAS Children’s Festival Gold Award on Development of Children by LEISURELAND, Lagos, 1993; Certificate of Merit, Promotion of Culture and Excellence NAAKISS, Uniuyo, 1994; Artiste of the Year, 1995 from Episcopal Harvest of the Catholic Diocese of Uyo, 1995; Certificate of Excellence on Culture Development by UNESCO 1996. Others are: Merit Award on Social Development by SOSSA, Uniuyo, November, 1997; Excellence Award on Promotion of Culture by Akwa Ibom State Council of Radio, Television and Theatre Workers’ Union RATTAWU, October 1999; 2nd Prize- Niger Delta Cultural Festival, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, 2023 October 21st; Ibom Festival of Dances 25th September, 2024- Cultural Impact Award.
Visit to the Facility
I visited Ekemini Theater Troupe facility located at 271 Nwaniba road, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The troupe runs an academy were the children are enrolled for conventional education. The school runs primary and junior secondary school with qualified teachers and counselors who guide the children in their career paths since they are meant to exit the troupe after age 15 with good exit plan.
I met with about 15 children below the age of 10 at the academy. Idiong says he has over 30 children living with him, and that he f feeds, cloths, takes care of their medicals and education, but some of them had gone on holiday and would come back when school resumes.
Most of the children are from less privileged homes The troupe sponsors the artists on free Education, free Medical Services, feed them throughout the duration of their development and also motivate them through gift items. Some parents or guardians do bring their wards and after each screening or audition, we recruit. “Our members must live with us in the hostel while non members of the troupe are entitled to go home after school because sometimes our rehearsals may be at night depending on the nature of event we have’’, he said, and added that the academy’s curriculum is focused on raising an independent person. ‘’That is why we engaged the services of career counselors to guide them in their subject choices and also sponsor some of them in trade and scholarships.”
On attending international events, Idiong says the invitation must pass through the Akwa Ibom State government who would give them clearance to attend after doing a background check and relevant authorities such as NAPTIP would be informed to give them pass too. “You know we are dealing with minors – peoples’ children – so you have to be cautious and ensure you get approval from the state government, NAPTIP and other relevant agencies before embarking on any trip so that you won’t be charged for trafficking or any criminal activity’’.
“We have trained more than 326 artists, right from the time of establishment of the group. Most of the people we trained are doing well in their different endeavors, some have gotten married and have their own families, few who did not want to go when they clock 15 and are very good in what they do can still be retained to train younger ones.
”The patronage from public and governments have been quite impressive but we need more because it’s from the patronage and the goodwill of people that we use in paying workers, taking care of the children and having allowances for staff”, he concluded.
