The cultural troupes and contingents from 19 states and Abuja recently stormed Ebonyi State for the 28th National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST).
The event, which was hosted by the Ebonyi State government, showcased the rich cultural heritage of the country.This year’s event with the theme “Celebrating Nigeria at 100 – The Role of Culture as a Vehicle for National Unity” lasted for one week.
The event featured traditional wrestling, dance drama, storytelling by children, children’s painting and essay writing competition, traditional dance music, arts and crafts competition, traditional furnished apartment, traditional cuisine and cultural market.
It also featured demonstration exercises like Ayo Games, Langa, Archery, Catapulting and women traditional wrestling, NAFEST 2014 Colloquium/Book fair, among other events.
At the end of the event, Ebonyi state emerged tops by winning in six events, which included: Arts and craft, impressive documentary entry, traditional cuisine, essay writing, traditional storytelling and traditional wrestling.
Nineteen states participated in the festival with Niger and Akwa Ibom states placing overall second and third positions respectively while Benue, Bauchi and Anambra states were joint fourth place winners.
Ebonyi also won the hosting state gong award, thereby replicating Bayelsa’s feat in 2013 when the latter hosted and won the festival.
President Goodluck Jonathan while flagging off the ceremony at the Abakaliki Township Stadium urged Nigerians to tap and promote the virtues of cultural heritage which abhors violence and indolence, but encourages hard work, peaceful co-existence and national integration.
He noted that the festival affirmed that there was a lot from the cultures that bind the country together.
Jonathan who was represented by the Vice President, Mohammed Namadi Sambo, said that it was a collective duty to leverage on the festival for promoting oneness and uniqueness as Nigerians and as a way of moving the dreams of the founding fathers nearer to its realization.
“The Federal Government believes that a proper grasp of the people’s culture enhances understanding and smooth administration at all levels. We also believe that for tourism to make significant contribution to the GDP, it must be driven by the people’s culture and heritage.
“We are happy to note that the success of Nollywood that is giving Nigeria a good image in the international arena has also become a potent tool of national rebranding. This is attracting the desired global attention to our nation and its culture,” the president said.
He promised to make culture a vector for job creation and economic empowerment for the youths and women, as well as those living in the rural areas even as he commended Governor Martin Elechi for his untiring efforts at continuing with the delivery of good and purposeful governance in the state.
In his remarks, Governor Martin Elechi expressed gratitude for the choice of the state as the venue for NAFEST 2014 in spite of glaring inadequacies, saying that the confidence reposed in choosing the state for this year’s celebration was justified.
He said that culture and religion have become two great pillars of civilization, adding that they have become such partners in progress that some religions invoke the adoption of certain cultural observances in the reinforcement of religious beliefs and expressions.
“We in Ebonyi State, in recognition of the impact of culture in restoring discipline, peace, law and order in governance, embarked on the building of cultural centres across different cultural groups in the state as meeting points where culture is celebrated and conflicts are harmonized. The fact that our cultural practices received punches and battering from colonial masters, the fact that despite the effort to sideline them as barbaric and primitive without success, and the fact that the positive values of our cultural observances are being tapped to reinforce our religious beliefs and practices, all testify to the indestructibility of our cultural values.
“Though culture in itself always portrays the tendency to discriminate against people of different background, the sudden awareness of its relevance as a pillar of civilization and an emblem of identity has proved that it is also a unifying factor in our quest for national integration. Together we are a formidable force, together we represent the rich heritage of identity, together we have woven ourselves as one people unified and striving to be together,” he said.
Elechi speaking also during the closing ceremony of the festival said it lived up to its billing.
Hear him: “It is gratifying that the festival was a huge success despite the teething problems and uncertainty surrounding its exact date of commencement after the Ebola-induced postponement.”
He noted that Ebonyi and its people were witnesses to creativity and history, as all participants are winners in their own rights though winners of competitive events, would savour their victory.
The governor noted that like the International Olympic Movement which places premium on participation above laurels, the beauty of NAFEST was the provision of a unique platform for the celebration and renewal of the nation’s rich cultural heritage.
“Nigerians of diverse geo-cultural areas have come together in unity and brotherhood to celebrate our culture as the emblem of our identity and the showpiece of our tourist endowments.
He thanked the Minister of Culture and Tourism, National Council for Arts and Culture, among others, for bringing the unity forum to Ebonyi.
The Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation and Chairman, National Festival Committee (NAFEST) 2014, Chief Edem Duke observed that Ebonyi State commanded itself to the state of Nigeria’s economy with regards to Nigeria’s culture and its place in economic transformation, empowerment and national development.
He stated that the event was designed to serve as a veritable index for cultural exchange, forum marketing and promotion of ideas which has over the years evolved as a creativity fair that unties the nation through the various manifestations of its rich and diverse culture.
Duke noted that NAFEST would continue to serve as an avenue for peace, unity and national transformation through the presentation of rich cultural diversity.
Also speaking, the Director General/CEO of National Council for Arts and Culture and Festival Director 2014, Mrs Dayo Keshi said that NAFEST was a veritable springboard for cultural exchange, and a tool for engineering creativity, job creation and economic empowerment.
She noted that over the years NAFEST had served as a bridge builder in promoting peace and cultural co-existence amongst the different ethnic groups in the country, stressing that it has opened opportunity for the promotion of domestic tourism and encouraged stakeholders to tap into the diverse and abundant resources to improve the quality of life of Nigerians.
(The Sun)
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