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| Tinkoriko |
Edu Etukakpan|2 January 2020
Tinkoriko the socio-cultural youth organisation domiciled in Calabar the Cross River State capital took to the streets on Wednesday to de-emphasis against the worrisome trend of violence in the entire Niger Delta region.
This year’s theme is titled: ‘Say no to violence in the Niger Delta Region’. According to a community leader in Calabar metropolis Otuekong Orok Duke, the 26th edition of the Tinkoriko celebration is all about using the dancing culture to mobilise against the social vice of cultism and the concomitant violence. Duke added that the streets-long procession is a demonstration of taking responsibility for addressing deep-rooted sociological issues in the community.
‘Tinkoriko has been playing. This is the 26th year. Some of you were with us last year when we celebrated the 25 years of Tinkoriko where we honoured those who are not with us. But, we have always emphasised on the negativity of violence. Just like last year, this year is still saying no to violence, say no to cultism. And we are taking it to the Niger Delta.
‘This is what we are trying to do. Just like the mother millipede told the daughter how do I move on with so many legs? She said just put the first leg, others will follow. It not enough to all sit back and do nothing.
‘We are now utilising a tradition that has been on for 26 years in the fight against violence. Of course, we are all Calabar South, and in the recent times, we know about the killings in Calabar South by different groups. I don’t want to classify them by cultic. When they have differences they take it out themselves. They even go as far as murdering each other. We want to say no to it. We might not really scratch the surface, but that will not deter us. We will keep on trying, just to make that sit for once’, he said.
On why there was a resort to dancing culture to drive home the message. Duke disclosed that ‘Tinkoriko is a kids stuff. You know we sing and dance when we are sad, and happy. We are a dancing tribe and the culture is a dancing culture. So we want to locate this trait within certain sociopolitical pedestal and see how we can make it work.
‘For you to be able to mobilise properly, like they say it is easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar, you feed into what they like, what they prefer and sell your story within that matrix. So, what we are actually doing is, we have a play going on, we have such a followership, why don’t use them to sell our message. For us to key in and harvest that aspect of the youths is for us to be able to guarantee and perpetuate certain good traits of our community well into the future’.
He solicited stakeholders to subscribe into the movements by simply making crested t-shirts available. He said: ‘We always have the problem. We don’t need anything, we don’t need any money from anybody. You give them t-shirts. All these kids…they come play and go home. They don’t ask for anything. Let those stakeholders key in and sell the message.’
The route of the Tinkoriko procession peacefully explored Egerton Street, to Ekeng Ita Street bypassing Inyang Ewa Street then Chambley Street through Target Street to Mary Slessor Road, negotiating Marian Road to Barracks Road to the Eleven-Eleven Cenotaph to the relatively long stretch of Calabar Road to the Watt Market Round About back to Egerton.
