Baba Gee reporting from Leeds
The Nigerian Community Leeds (NCL) was agog in the week leading to their fundraising Gala Dinner on Saturday 04 June 2022, toward the realisation of Nigeria House Leeds (NHL). The intense interest in the sold-out event, attended by over 200 guests dressed in all their finery, was because of the inability to hold the event in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The event, held at the Leeds Marriott Hotel, was graced by local dignitaries and the deputy Nigeria High Commissioner to the Court of St. James, Ambassador Suleiman Sani, who expressed his appreciation of the positive contributions of the Nigerian diaspora to their communities. He also enjoined all to be good ambassadors of Nigeria wherever and whatever capacity they found themselves. Mr John Ebo and Mr Jonah Ulebor, NCL Gala 2022 Committee chair, hosted the event.
The evening’s activities started with a soaring rendition of the Nigerian National anthem, followed by the British National anthem. In his opening address, the chair of the NCL Board of Trustees, Mr James Adesanlu, said, “it has been our collective dream for some time now to have a building in Leeds that we can call Nigeria House, a base for Excel@ncl, our Saturday supplementary school, a place to network, celebrate and meet, where we can help each other and handover to those coming after us. In doing so, they would know what it means to be part of this wonderful Nigerian community packed with knowledge, talent, skills, and achievements thriving in the City of Leeds.”
Dr Abiye Hector-Goma, a General Practitioner, gave an exciting speech titled “why Nigeria House Leeds?” suffused with a history of the Nigeria House Leeds project. The first annual NCL Gala Dinner took place on 25 April 2015 with the primary aim of raising funds toward the realisation of the long-held dream of having a Nigeria House Leeds, where the community members can have meetings and social activities and nurture the next generation. Since then, the community has made significant strides and acquired some funds through personal contributions and donations, but it still has some way to go before the dream becomes a reality, hopefully soon. The community welcomes your gifts/donations towards realising this dream by scanning this QR Code:
The guests were raring to go, and entertainment was not in short supply. First off the block was the Yoruba Heritage Group Yorkshire dance troupe, led by Mrs Phebia Oyelade, with an exhilarating display of drumming, singing, and dancing to enthusiastic applause.
The subsequent entertainment was a fashion show sponsored by Mrs Bolaji Ayeni, proprietress of Ike Choice Couture African & International Fashion Tailoring Centre based in Leeds. A variety of freelance and volunteer models strutted their stuff on the catwalk in a manner that put professional models to shame.
A raffle draw was held with various prizes for the lucky winners. Fundraising for the Nigeria House Leeds project was also held, generating significant money.
A highlight of the evening was the Nigerian Community Annual Awards 2022 to:
Dr Edet Esara – Outstanding Male Volunteer Award
Nekpen Uwuilekhue – Outstanding Female Volunteer Award
Anne Olaleye – Outstanding Youth Volunteer Award
Mr Samuel Leigh – Entrepreneur and Business Award
Dr Babatunde Gbolade – Outstanding Contributions Legacy Award
The event was topped off with a variety of funky music that left guests dancing enthusiastically late into the night. Overall, a successful and enjoyable night out for all.
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