From South Africa to Awo-Omamma: Jeffrey Fidelis returns home with bold vision to transform youths through AWO-FEST
By Jotham Emenyonu
Founder of the Fidelis Ukebuo Foundation, Chief Executive Officer of Elicit Communications, and creator of AWO-FEST, Jeffrey Uzoma Fidelis has shared the vision behind what he describes as a grassroots movement to transform Awo-Omamma through creativity, culture, and youth empowerment.
Jeffrey, a filmmaker, creative strategist, entrepreneur, and community development advocate from Awo-Omamma in Oru East Local Government Area of Imo State, said his journey has taken him from Maiduguri, where he was born, to Lagos where he was raised, before spending many years in South Africa, where he built a successful career in entrepreneurship, media, branding, event production, and community-driven initiatives.
According to him, his years abroad convinced him that the greatest benefit of living outside Nigeria is returning home with knowledge, experience, and ideas capable of improving local communities.
“Through Elicit Communications and the Fidelis Ukebuo Foundation, I have dedicated myself to creating platforms that use creativity as a tool for youth empowerment, community development, and lasting social impact,” he said.
Jeffrey explained that his passion for community development was inspired by growing up among talented young people who had enormous potential but lacked structured opportunities to succeed. He also observed how music, film, culture, and community gatherings possess the unique ability to unite people in ways politics and formal institutions sometimes cannot.
He noted that Awo-Omamma has endured difficult narratives over the years, adding that prolonged neglect often weakens people’s confidence and hope. While government has an important responsibility, he believes communities must also take ownership of their own future.
“My passion is to use creativity not simply as entertainment but as a tool for empowerment, unity, opportunity, and community renewal,” he stated.
Drawing from his background as a filmmaker, creative strategist, and entrepreneur, Jeffrey said those experiences shaped the structure of AWO-FEST
“Filmmaking teaches you to think in narratives. Strategy teaches you to think in systems. Entrepreneurship teaches you to think in sustainability. AWO-FEST sits at the intersection of all three. It is not just a concert; it is a carefully designed experience with a long-term story, a governance structure, a funding model, a talent pipeline, and a community mission. If we want a festival that lasts, we must build an ecosystem, not just an event.”
He explained that the Fidelis Ukebuo Foundation serves as the project’s social-impact driver, focusing on community development, youth empowerment, and positive social transformation, while Elicit Communications created the AWO-FEST concept and owns its intellectual property, providing strategy, branding, partnerships, communications, and professional event production.
Describing AWO-FEST, Jeffrey said it is a three-day annual music, lifestyle, culture, and youth empowerment festival created for Awo-Omamma and the wider Oru East community.
“We believed our community deserved a platform that celebrates talent, creates opportunities, and gives young people something positive to aspire to. After recent challenges in the community, there was a clear need for a unifying project that could reset the narrative and bring people together around hope, culture, and progress.”
He said Awo-Omamma was deliberately chosen as the permanent home of the festival because of its rich cultural identity, vibrant youth population, strong diaspora community, and enormous untapped creative potential.
“Too often, major cultural investments happen elsewhere while communities like ours are only remembered during elections or holidays. We wanted to create something rooted in the town’s identity that can grow into a signature annual destination event.”
Jeffrey recalled that conversations with young people in the community convinced him that the festival had become necessary.
“They wanted visibility, opportunity, and a sense of belonging. That was the moment I realised AWO-FEST could become more than entertainment; it could become a community-building project.”
According to him, the festival seeks to address three major challenges facing many rural communities—youth disengagement, fragmented community identity, and the lack of structured opportunities.
“Many young people have talent but no platform. Many community stakeholders care deeply but rarely work from a shared framework. AWO-FEST creates a common space where talent, mentorship, culture, business, and community leadership can meet.”
Looking ahead, Jeffrey expressed optimism that the initiative would grow into one of Imo State’s leading cultural festivals.
“I want it to become the leading community-rooted festival in Imo State, a platform known for discovering talent, developing digital skills, attracting tourism, and generating economic activity. I want people to say that many of today’s successful artists, creators, and entrepreneurs first found their stage at AWO-FEST.”
He stressed that youth empowerment remains central to the festival’s mission because young people represent the largest and most active demographic in society.
“If we fail to invest in them now, we delay the progress of the entire community. AWO-FEST is designed to create opportunities where young people can discover their talents, acquire practical skills, build confidence, and connect with mentors and industries that can shape their future. Empowerment is not about giving temporary relief; it is about creating environments where people discover purpose, create value, and become contributors to society.”
Jeffrey also emphasized that the festival has been deliberately structured to belong to the entire community rather than any individual or organisation.
Although the concept was created by Elicit Communications and commissioned by the Fidelis Ukebuo Foundation, he said an AWO-FEST APEX Planning Committee comprising respected individuals from different sectors has been established to ensure broad community participation.
“No successful community project survives if it revolves around one person. We have established governance structures that allow respected leaders, young people, professionals, traditional institutions, and the diaspora to actively participate in shaping its future. The vision may have started with us, but the future of AWO-FEST belongs to the community.”
Responding to questions about politics, Jeffrey maintained that the festival is entirely community-driven.
AWO-FEST is not politically driven; it is community driven. Politics and non-profit organisations were both created to serve people, and while individuals may engage with either for different reasons, our focus remains unchanged—serving the community. We welcome support from anyone who genuinely shares that vision, regardless of political affiliation. People should judge leaders and initiatives not by labels or associations, but by their character, track record, and capacity to create meaningful impact.”
Delivering his final message, Jeffrey called on sons and daughters of rural communities to become active participants in development rather than waiting for change to come from elsewhere.
“I believe national development must begin at the grassroots. For too long, many of our rural communities have been left to confront the realities of underdevelopment, limited opportunities, and the cycle of poverty with little coordinated support. We cannot afford to wait for change—we must become active participants in creating it. When exposed, like-minded sons and daughters of our communities come together with genuine purpose, free from individual agendas, we can create lasting impact. We can change the narrative of our communities from pain to pride.”
