Our partners, BUSH HOUSE NIGERIA, an all-media firm run by our columnist, Michael BUSH, recently played host in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state to United Kingdom-based Ned Archibong. The encounter is something you should love. Please enjoy it.
Son of the soil, Ned Archibong, who has come from afar afield as the United Kingdom, many thanks for joining us.
Mr BUSH, it’s so nice to be with you here … so great to be with you.
Every time you come to Nigeria, we always have an interview or two. I remember one or two years back in time when you were here, we talked on a number of radio station. How have you been between then and now?
Oh, it has been fantastic … It’s been great. These last 12 months have been particularly busy. I started a new role for UK city of culture in Bradford. I work for Bradford UK City of Culture 2025. I’m an heritage producer for the organisation.
Nigeria is also your country: yes, but what has brought you here; why are you in Nigeria this time round?
I’m actually on holiday from my job. I could not think of a better place to spend my annual leave than to come to Nigeria to spend time with my family and reconnect with friends and yeah, I’m a son of the soil. I love being back on this soil.
Absolutely! So, you came straight from the UK?
Yes, but via Lagos. I was a special guest at Lagos Fringe Festival which is a beautiful event, a five day event; multidisciplinary arts event, very busy, funded by the British Council. The director of the festival, Kenneth Uphopho, is a fantastic gentleman. It is a great event. There is a lot of theatre, a lot of film, dance and a lot of Nollywood people mingling, a lot of international creative industry people and it’s a really good gateway to the Lagos creative scene.
But you didn’t come here straight from the UK? You didn’t fly to Nigeria directly from Heathrow, did you?
NED: No, I came from Gatwick. I flew AirPeace
.
Oh, Gatwick? Owned by a Nigerian, right?
Then AirPeace, Nigerian too! Yeah, it was a beautiful, beautiful flight. I felt good. It was just that I wanted to support Nigeria because, yeah, it’s such a big feat to have an airline. Such a big company, AirPeace, from Nigeria and consistent for such a long time. It was great being able to fly direct from Gatwick to Lagos. Great experience.
Just to be sure, did you just come into Nigeria straight or you came through … You went to another African country first?
Yeah, I went to Kenya. But, Kenya wasn’t part of the same trip. The reason I went to Kenya was part of my role in UK City of Culture. Next year is 2025. That’s when Bradford, which is a city I am from in The UK, which is in the north of England, plans something with Kenya along with British Council. There’s a strategy in place to do some interesting UK/Kenya projects in Bradford as its British Council UK/Kenya season also in 2025. So, a colleague and I went to Kenya to scope, which is to view different possibilities that we could potentially bring to Bradford. And, that was the first time I had been to East Africa. It was absolutely amazing.
How long were you there?
I was in Kenya for five days. It was jampacked. Nairobi was fun.
Did you go to another city, another part of the country?
No, just Nairobi. But, I really enjoyed it. Nairobi has the energy of Lagos. I feel though the people are relaxed like Akwaibomights.
(Laughter) What did you do in Nairobi?
Ah! I went to the National Theatre to see some cultural displays. I went to see an amazing technology company called Fallohide Africa amongst other amazing things. It was jampacked. Every single minute there was something going on. We went to see one of the national parks in the city centre and also an amazing festival, which is what we are working on bringing to Bradford.
It was a great trip. No dull moment. The itinerary was crazy.
Now, this is something that troubles me as a Nigerian. I have noticed that you in the West prefer Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, even Angola to Nigeria. What’s happening to Nigeria, your homeland? Why would you take delight in flying from the UK to Kenya, go there, do stuff and then not come to Nigeria to do the same thing?
There’s a partnership with UK and Kenya for arts. The same thing happened in Nigeria in 2015/2016. I think they do it in seasons.
Oh, so, they move around?
Yeah, it moves around. Hopefully, Nigeria’s season will come back again. I’d love to be involved. I think Nigeria’s season was 10 years ago. I think it was 2016.
2016 was some eight years ago.
Yeah, some eight years ago. Hopefully, it comes around again. This year, the focus is Kenya, Brazil, and I think Poland as well. Those are the countries we’re working with in Bradford through British Council.
But then, there’s a lot of Nigerians in Bradford, basically, and there is going to be some interesting projects in the diaspora with Nigerians and also everybody’s free to come and visit Bradford. The Great and good of Akwa Ibom and Nigeria are free to come to Bradford and visit the UK City of Culture 2025. Bradford is a place that is open to people coming to visit. We definitely want Nigerians to come. I’m Nigerian myself, and there’s a big Nigerian population, and we’d love more Nigerians to come and visit.
Still staying on Kenya. What were the takeaways for you after spending five days?
What I took away was its vibrancy. It’s got a young population. It’s very open to business. And, I felt like the culture sector was bouncing. I felt like the music scene is itching to blow and also, when you meet Kenyan musicians, they really look up to Nigerian musicians, which is quite interesting because Nigerian music has been able to penetrate Western markets. Kenyans really embrace Nigerian music as well.
Oh, Nigerian music in Kenya?
Yeah, in Kenya. Obviously, I went there representing a UK city, but I could not help but be the Nigerian man I am.
Absolutely. Did you listen to any particular Nigerian songs out there?
Yes. Rema. They love all the popular artistes like Wizkid. People love Wizkid, Rema. But, also, there were many really interesting Kenyan artistes as well who are doing their thing, and hopefully they can break out of the country and have bigger careers.
In terms of the focus of your trip, the things that took you from the UK to Kenya, did you meet target?
Yes. But, there’s one main thing that remains to be finished. We’re working on the deal at the moment. I can’t speak about it yet.
The main reason we went there was to find projects that we can bring to Bradford and present to the Bradford audience.
Did you find them?
Yes, we found some … We found a very interesting festivals which we’re planning to bring but as with everything in life, it’s about the money, about the finance. We’re working on the deals at the moment.
You’re working on the nitty gritty.
Yes, that is it. The nitty gritty is what we’re working on.
We can’t discuss that now?
I’m afraid we can’t. Not in full. It’s a great festival and I’m hoping that we’d be ready to announce early next year that the partnership has gone through.
Is there something else? Other highpoints, some highlights of the trip to Kenya that you would like to touch before we move from Kenya?
The trip was amazing. I saw a lot of interesting things. I felt like it was a beautiful thing and hopefully we can land what we went out there for, which is bringing the project back to Bradford. And then, what’s interesting with Bradford and Kenya is Bradford’s got a very big South Asian population. South Asian places such as India, Pakistan, very big populations in Bradford. Over 38% of Bradford are people of colour which is really interesting and then Kenya has a very big Indian history. There are a lot of Indians in Kenya. Kenyans actually see Indians as a tribe in Kenya. Their 44th tribe. It’s really interesting. Those are some of the things that are on my desk I’m working on to connect the dots between Bradford and Kenya
You flew Airpeace from Gatwick to Lagos and then Ibom Air to Uyo, surely?
Oh, of course!
How did you feel?
I love Ibom Air. It is such a beautiful feat. It is so good to see something that represents the state we’re from in the skies. It is such a beautiful project. It is smooth, one of the smoothest flights. I often board three flights from the UK to land in Akwa Ibom. The last one is always the smoothest.
Absolutely.
Ibom Air from Abuja or Lagos, to land in Akwa Ibom is so beautiful.
Just to rub that in, somewhat, how do you feel listening to your dialect being spoken in the air, on Ibom Air?
I love it … I love it … I love it so much. It’s a feeling of home before I arrive.
Do you still understand the dialect?
Of course.
How long, by the way, have you been in the UK?
I’ve been in the UK since I was eight. So, that’s over 25 years. I’m Nigerian from Akwa Ibom state. Ikot Inyang Idung is my village.
Ikot Inyang Idung is in which local government area?
Uyo.
Oh, that’s very close to my own local government area of Uruan.
But, I also have an affinity to the city of Bradford because when I was eight years old, my parents moved to Bradford in the UK, where my mum still works as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) at Bradford University. She’s loved and respected throughout the city and beyond.
Oh, she’s still there in Bradford!
Yeah, ….
And, your father?
My dad lives in Nigeria.
We’ve got a great connection to Bradford as a family. When the city of culture role became vacant, I was very intrigued and very interested because it is a city I’m from, and it’s somewhere that I really want to help the city succeed. So, it was a very big moment. It was great to get the role.
How long have you been in Uyo on this trip?
NED: On this trip, I’ve been here for about a week.
Oh! What have you been doing?
I went to Ikot Inyang Idung. I’ve got to go to the village. I’ve been making clothes, which is something I always do when I’m in Uyo. Akwa Ibom has many great tailors and dressmakers. I make clothes for different family members, especially in the UK. They always want me to come back with some clothes. Because Uyo is special for that.
Absolutely.
And, I’ve been taking it easy. I’ve been relaxing because I’m on holiday, but also going to places with my father as well, and also to see lots of relatives. I’m really enjoying Akwa Ibom, which is a very peaceful, beautiful place.
In terms of your work, are there some things you’re also looking at in Uyo or Akwa Ibom?
Not particularly, but you never know. Perhaps, long term. I’m always interested in the culture sector of Uyo. For example, last night I went to an Ikpa Udo event and it was fantastic.
Ikpa Udo is a great rapper and I get to listen to him a lot. At Bradford UK City of Culture, we’re big on briefs and everything has to be fitted to the city. For example, the projects I’m working on, somebody called Victor Wedderburn, a photographer. He came to Bradford in 1971. He’s an old man now, in his 70s but this is his first photography exhibition. What he did was in 1984/85, he took a load of pictures of the Caribbean community in Bradford. What’s interesting about the Caribbean community in Bradford, they came during the Windrush in UK. Windrush was the name of a ship that used to bring Caribbeans to the UK. That’s why they’re called the Windrush generation and the Caribbeans came to the UK in the 50s, 60s, 70s to fill labour gaps. It’s quite an interesting story but then the pictures he took, he was 28 at that time, he took pictures of his friends just lounging at the bar, playong football, putting on concerts, establishing businesses, very fashionable, very interesting. This is one of the projects that is getting a lot of attention in the city. Another project I’m lead producing is called The Big Brass Blowout. This one is about brass heritage in the city. There’s a history of mills in Bradford, people who work in factories would create Brass bands in the old days. We will do a big celebration where all the Brass Bands come out and perform. Back to Akwa Ibom, I was at a funeral and there was a Brass Band playing and it got me thinking about the project I’m doing in the UK but unfortunately the budget is not there to fly the Brass Bands in Akwa Ibom to the UK. Maybe in the future, you never know.
You know, I’m also thinking now just listening to you. I don’t know… How many thespians, how many culture-related, how many people in the culture sector you’ve met here since visiting? Have you met anybody? I think you should meet my consultant, Mr Thomas Etuk. He’s a thespian and he’s so good. Both of you need to meet, because I mean: if Kenya could take advantage of what you’re doing in Bradford, why not Nigeria? Why not Akwa Ibom? I’m going to set up a meeting between ConsulTee and you so you can look at possibilities. You never know, you could go back to Bradford and boom! there’s a budget for Akwa Ibom state.
Of course. Yeah, definitely I’ll be interested in seeing what happens in Akwa Ibom state and definitely I’ll speak about that to my team in the UK. But, I caution that it’s very, very planned. Like most things are already in motion Because it’s already next year.
Absolutely. We all know how your system works. Everything is planned, long term.
But, then what’s interesting is the Bradford UK city of culture is about legacy so there could be connections that are made that it’s longer than just one year. The connections can still be made and it’s not necessarily that things are going to happen in 2025. There could be ways of connections. To go a lot further than 2025.
I get that. However, quite a while … Bradford this, Bradford that.
Yes. (Laughter)
Where is Bradford City Football Club?
Yes, yes, yes. They’re in league two. I’m a supporter of Bradford City Football club. I go to their games.
How can you support? … They’re not in premiership? What kind of support is that?
Well, English football is a lot deeper than just premiership. There are 92 professional clubs in England. The premiership is only 20. There’s premiership, there’s championship, there’s league one, league two and then there’s conference.
Absolutely.
Our Bradford City FC is in league two, for now. And, we have nearly 25,000 fans who come to watch, some games. Bradford are a very professional football club.
Meaning they still have money?
(Laughter) They still have money. Yeah. The CEO is a bouncy gentleman. I was actually there, not long ago, when Bradford played host to the FA Cup 1st round draw. The have a good team off the pitch.
Yeah, I saw you. I saw you pose with the FA cup. I saw that photo.
Yes, I was with the FA cup. Bradford played host to FA cup first round draw, which is a big occasion. It was live on BBC 2.
Did Arsenal come there?
No, no, Arsenal are to join the competition in round three. Round one involves all the clubs, but even before round one, people compete to be part of the FA Cup. Even non-league teams compete to be part of FA Cup. When it gets to round one and two, professionals join and then round three is when premier league sides join. So, that was the first round. It was a really good event. That was the first time FA cup had been to Bradford since there was a Bradford City fire in the 80s. One gentleman told me at the event that the FA cup came to the Bradford Cathedral after the disaster. Such a big deal. The were people wearing old school football ties at the event. Football is a real classic thing in the UK. It was a great occasion and Bradford City is still a strong club. I think they had some financial issues but they survived it. So they’re in a good, strong position. I think that’s normally the start of a good process is when they’re financially strong and they’re sturdy and then they can kick on up the league. That’s what it is in football, it’s about the business and then you can use that to kick on. I’m definitely like a Bradford good vibes person. I want to see Bradford do well. I wear the shirt often. There’s actually a Bradford UK city of culture and Bradford city football club collaboration as well.
Your father, a fantastic gentleman, Emmanuel Archibong, esq., a chief, who is also national president of AKECA, an acronym for Akwa Ibom Elderly Citizens Assembly, told me that you were so good at football. If you used to be a very good footballer, you should have some history. Why is football such delectable business in the UK and why is it impossible to replicate that in Nigeria, your homeland?
Football in the UK is a special, special thing because when you’re a young person in the UK, you play football in organised fashion from a young age. You have a school team. You have a local club team you play with from 8, 9, 10, 11 years old. Basically, you have a school team, you have club teams at young ages and all this is linked to the football pyramid. If you happen to be good, someone will tell someone and you’ll be playing at your local club. Football is so connected in the UK. People feel embarrassed if a player is from Bradford or say Leeds and goes to play for Manchester, people in Bradford or Leeds would feel embarrassed that they did not discover this talent. That’s how serious it is at a young age. It’s a very serious, serious thing. So, even when you play well for your school team, at the end of the game, there’s a lot of talk about you in the city. And that’s what I’d say. Maybe the main difference is the youth football. I think that’s what I’ve noticed, I feel like …
Feeder teams?
Exactly! It’s about the youth teams … Because of the structure. It’s not really the training. When I used to come to Nigeria when I was younger and play football, I used to go back to UK a better player. The level is amazing, obviously. I used to come here and I’d be playing with the boys in Udo street, playing with the boys in Ikot Inyang Idung. I’d go back to the UK and be dribbling everybody.
(General laughter)
But, the difference is just that the boys playing in Ikot Inyang Idung, if they were playing in the UK, they probably would be in the premiership or at least the football league.
Absolutely.
So, I feel like the main difference is the youth football structure.
Absolutely.
Because, in the UK, if you’re not in an academy by the time you’re 16, there’s a very low chance you’ll be a professional footballer. So it’s really about that like 11… UK right now is early 8, but I actually think it should be a bit later. I think it’s 11 to like that 16 is when you’ve got the opportunity to really make it happen. I think that probably more work needs to be done in Nigeria on youth football because that’s the key to having more professionals. And, another thing is I think football is really serious in the UK, but it’s also really serious in loads of different countries. When I used to go play music in Sweden (there’s a massive football industry there). There is a massive football industry in all European countries. Massive football industry in America, Saudi Arabia, China etc. I think with Nigeria developing a better football industry, there’s a lot of opportunity for young footballers to play in different parts of the world. And also such a big economic driver, like, look what the professional footballers have done in the country, like KANU foundation. There is an incentive to create more footballers, and I do think there’s a level of ability that we naturally have as Nigerians and a style of play, the way we play football, that we are very good at football.
You have kept saying Bradford, UK, Bradford, UK. I understand the country is England. When you move from that, it’s the UK, you move from that it’s Great Britain. Why then don’t you say Bradford, England? Why do you say Bradford, UK?
Because the country is the United Kingdom. England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland make up the United Kingdom. The city of culture is all of the United Kingdom so all the United Kingdom are invited to come to Bradford to celebrate culture. That’s what the task of the job is. There is a lot of national things and international things coming as well. The door is opened for all sorts. When we were in Kenya, we were saying that they should come to Bradford and visit and we can liaise on our different culture. There is going to be events that can definitely send an invite to Akwa Ibom dignitaries to come and also see what is happening there as well.
One of the stumbling blocks for Africans, for Nigerians, for Rwandans, for people from the black race, in the west, is racism.
How bad is that in Bradford, and indeed the UK?
Racism in the UK is a problem, but I think Bradford is a good case in point of social cohesion in the city and people being able to move somewhere and establish themselves and be accepted. I’ll give you an example. We’ve got a very big Pakistani community. If you come to Bradford, you see businesses, accounting firms, big houses, all sorts of business that are Asian-owned. The impact that the Nigerian community has made in the last two or three years in Bradford is exceptional as well. There’s Nigerian shops all around central Bradford.
Does Bradford have Nigerian food, Akwa Ibom food?
Of course, we’ve got Nigerian food. You get fresh okra, you get fresh everything.
Oh! So when next I’m in the UK, I should come to Bradford because food is always the problem I have in that country.
You’ll love Bradford, Mr BUSH. I think because also there’s an established Caribbean community that’s been there since the 50s or 60s, as I said earlier. I feel like, obviously, I’m not saying there’s zero problems, there is issues, there’s race issues in the UK, of course there is, but I feel like Bradford is a good case study as people come together and unite to build a very beautiful place. But, there is definitely race issues. I feel solutions to race issues in the UK is above my pay grade. I feel good in most cities in the UK.
However, have you ever been targeted?
When I was young, playing football, I had some very, very tough issues. I played one game where I had monkey chants, which wasn’t great at all. Yeah, I had issues when I was young, for sure. I had issues when I was young. And, you do have certain problems with the authorities as well as a black person.
Oh, that happens too in the UK? I thought it was only in the US?
I am afraid it happens in the UK as well. Racism is an issue still.
What about in football? I see that the authorities, the Premier League authorities, they are always fighting against and they send those signals cleatly before every match; players and officials and coaches take to the knee. As a black man and as a Bradford citizen, if you decide to are you allowed to go, for instance, to watch Arsenal?
Oh yeah, oh yeah. I feel like with football, but also music and arts, these are spaces where people are very forward thinking in terms of race relations. You see footballers play together, different races, different nationalities, all play together and there’s always a big education of the football watching public on race and on different matters. So yeah, you wouldn’t have any issues at all going to watch football in the UK, especially going to watch the big teams. If you’re going to watch Arsenal … Arsenal have a very diverse fanbase anyway, so you’re going to have a great time watching Arsenal and also I don’t want to make it seem like when you walk down the street in the UK you get racially abused, which is not the case. There’s a lot of nuance in racism as well. That’s some of the issues that we’re facing. And there’s also misinformation for example, what’s going on is migration figures have been coming out and I think there’s 900,000 net migration in the UK and that’s causing a massive uproar among the population in the UK but maybe more in certain parts of the media. But, there’s also failure to mention that there’s gaps in labour that is filled by Nigerians, by Indians. There’s a lot of positives with migration as well, sometimes that doesn’t get mentioned as well. I’m an immigrant in the UK. I’m an immigrant. My family, all of us are immigrants, but we’ve all added to society in the UK and I don’t know anyone else in my circle who are immigrants who’ve not added to the British society. So, I think sometimes, there’s misinformation and that sometimes leads to racism and it’s not good.
Have you naturalised as British?
Yeah, I’m a British citizen but I still class myself as a Nigerian man living in Britain. I’m definitely a British citizen and I’m happy to be a British citizen though.
Okay. I need also to talk to you about Arsenal.
Yes.
You’re not an Arsenal fan, are you?
I’m an Arsenal fan.
(General laughter)
Oh! you are? That’s so nice … I love Arsenal. When did you start supporting? From the days of Kanu Nwankwo or … ?
NED: Ian Wright
Oh, Ian Wright! That’s a long time ago.
A Long time ago. It was just, it was when I moved to the UK, my first club was Manchester United only because they kept winning trophies. But, then I used to watch Match of the Day and I still watch Match of the Day religiously and then Mr Ian Wright was always doing very cool celebrations.
He still does.
He still does when Arsenal score or win. …Yeah … He’s a legend. I got into Arsenal like that and I always used to like the swagger of Arsenal and they always had the cool players and then especially when Kanu joined. Henry was there.
Absolutely! Then came along this guy from Togo, Emmanuel Adebayor.
Yes and they’ve always had black players and those French guys, French dudes … there was always a cool team, Vieira. I’ve always, always gravitated towards Arsenal. But, these days with me in football is I’m an all-round football fanatic. I like Bradford City, I like Arsenal, I lived in Rennes, France when I was studying one year there. So I’m a Rennes FC fan. I’m an Akwa United fan too. There’s many clubs I like. When I went to Kenya, I also adopted a club.
Football is global and it’s such a good tool to connect. I think it’s just so enjoyable so I always like loads of football teams. Leicester FC as well, I studied in Leicester so I’ve got like a deep affinity for Leicester City and other clubs especially in the UK. Clubs reflect a place. I lived in Brighton and I remember when Brighton FC came up to the premier league and now they’re doing so well and there’s a confidence in the city based on the way the football team are playing. So, when it’s Saturday the whole city is alive, you see the scarfs everywhere. I really like the culture of football.
In terms of Akwa Ibom and Bradford, are there things you’re planning to do beyond your current work?
Yes, I’ve actually started a music studio. This is two years ago.
You sing?
No, no, no.
Okay, production.
Yeah, production. Music Production studio. I think a studio is like a trianing greound in football. I’m very interested in projects like that, music studios and also potentially looking at events as well. But not, not too aggressively because I’m very busy in my current role but I’ve always got an eye on talent here and if I can impact something, I always will do.
How long are you on the current job again?
I finish end of 2025.
And move on to something greater?
Hopefully.
By the grace of God.
Yeah! By the grace of God.
Is there something you wanted to share with me that you haven’t shared? Something you
wanted to talk about that I’ve not asked you? That time is now.
No, I think. I think I’ve spoken about most of the things I wanted to speak about. Yeah … My role at City of Culture is something that I’m learning a lot at. Being a producer is an interesting role because it’s about project management, it’s about making sure that everything is done. It’s not just the creative, it’s everything else that also connects the creatives and I’m really enjoying it. It’s a very interesting position. I’ve been able to accomplish quite a lot within this short period of time in the role. I’ve been instrumental in building, BBC introducing relationship with Bradford and linking them to a local venue called The Underground to be able to do a series of events in 2025. BBC introduction is about the way BBC finds talent and what was happening in Bradford was too many musicians felt like they weren’t getting the recognition from the BBC so being able to bring this event to Bradford will help musicians get more prominence on the BBC platform in the future hopefully. That’s one of the things I’ve been working on … I’m working on a project called Bassline Symphony and it’s the first time I’ve actually worked really closely with a big orchestra. I’m working with an orchestra called Opera North, which is the opera of the north, basically north of England … very, very archaic in a positive way.
Very ancient, very legendary.
Yeah, that’s the kind of vibes it is and I feel like I’m understanding British culture doing some of these jobs as well. So I’m connecting them to like a more modern thing which I know better. Baseline Symphony is a connection of some DJs which they do like an electronic music called Bassline, which is a popular music in Bradford. A lot of boys play in cars when they’re driving around and stuff and we’re bringing that to a symphony. A symphony is obviously like the classic sort of British style of music with strings and all that kind of stuff. It’s been interesting learning about that aspect. I wouldn’t rule out going down that route organising that kind of stuff because it’s very, very neat and tidy. It’s very relaxing. I find it very relaxing. I went to see a piano concert and I found that really relaxing and very interesting form of music. And then also when I was in Kenya, I found a young classical composer who is interested in bringing the classical world to the African vibe, which I found fascinating as well. And then what’s interesting, when I was in Lagos, I found a similar person. So, of course, I connected them on WhatsApp, just naturally. But yeah, I just think there’s lots of pathways in culture and the culture sector and, and I think especially in Nigeria with our young population, I think that’s definitely something that I feel like will grow with obviously what we’re seeing with music and we’re seeing with Nollywood. I feel like there’s definitely lots of culture opportunities and within my role at the moment. I’m learning so much about cultural jobs and different pathways. I’m definitely interested long term to do more projects in Nigeria.
Now, I’m wondering by virtue of your current job and also by virtue of even the way you sound … I’ve seen you carry yourself around here, you sound every inch like so some culture ambassador. Do you speak an Akwa Ibom dialect still? Do you speak your natural dialect?
Yeah, I speak … I speak Ibibio … I speak Ibibo, really well.
You do?
Yeah, I understand better than I speak, though. But, I speak really it well. I can understand everything you say in Ibibio.
Okay, let’s do it
(General laughter followed by some exchanges in Ibibio)
Ned Archibong of Bradford UK City of Culture, it was very nice talking with you. Looking forward to some more.
Yeah it was very nice talking with you too.
Many thanks, Ned. My name is Michael BUSH. Goodbye from Uyo, Nigeria.
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