By Japhet Alakam

THE rich cultural heritage of Isoko nation,the third largest ethnic group in Delta State will be on display as they celebrate the 2016 Isoko Day in Lagos.

Cultural performance by Isoko students

The high profile event which  will bring all the sons and daughters of Isoko nation together will feature Isoko songs, dress styles, cuisine, proverbs, anecdotes, riddles, cultural dance, raffle draw and other forms of entertainment is scheduled to hold on November 5, 2016 at the National Stadium, Surulere.

The event which is put together by Isoko Development Union, IDU, Lagos will  be graced by His Excellency, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta State, as the special guest of honour, while Mr Zebulon Ikokide will be the chairman of the day.

The Isoko Day celebration with the theme, The Niger-Delta Restiveness and the Way forward, will also feature paper presentations, the lead paper will be delivered by Professor Sam Aghalino of the University of Ilorin, with presentations by other eminent citizens of Isoko. Other major events of the day will include a match past by all the Isoko Clans in Lagos, cultural dance, raffle draw and entertainment.

In a well attended press briefing by the executives of IDU Lagos branch, the president, Comrade Frank Alordiah, announced that apart from the prestigious cultural fiesta, the forum will be used to address some of the challenges facing the 19 clans that made up Isoko. They include key developmental challenges in that part of the country, to strengthen existing relationships among Isoko people in Nigeria and Diaspora,  to encourage hard-working sons and daughters to continue to promote peace, love, unity and integrity, for which the Isoko people are well known, and to make I.D.U. in Lagos an enviable socio-cultural organization in Lagos that other similar organizations will want to emulate.

Alordiah also stated that the event will be used as a forum to fix the people especially youths by teaching skills in this period of recession so that they will not rely on government alone for jobs.

Other issue is the neglect of Isoko land as an oil producing area.