How NAFEST 2009 was turned into a trade fair

The event, which was flagged off by the wife of the President, Hajiya Turai Yar’adua, on Tuesday, no doubt, witnessed a remarkable representation of different cultures from almost all the states of the federation as they showcased their respective cultures in different colours and styles.   The opening ceremony, which was marked by a programme […]

The event, which was flagged off by the wife of the President, Hajiya Turai Yar’adua, on Tuesday, no doubt, witnessed a remarkable representation of different cultures from almost all the states of the federation as they showcased their respective cultures in different colours and styles.

  The opening ceremony, which was marked by a programme titled “Culture at its Best” was followed by the remarkable presence of the likes of Richard Mofe Damijo and the maestro herself Onyeka Onwenu who added colour to the festivity.  The next day witnessed a display of wares by people from various parts of the country at the UK Bello Art Theatre.

  Trading at the festival was so conspicuous that at first one would think it was a trade fare as makeshift stalls were packed with assorted goods mostly indigenous. Foreign items were also on display all over the premises of the theatre. As if they were in an organised market place, traders with similar wares formed clusters in a peaceful and team-like arrangement displaying from traditional to foreign item as participants and visitors mill around in their hundreds to shop.

Nigerian traders who made it to the festival venue could not hide their reasons for doing so. They said they did not have to allow that kind of opportunity to slip away as it allowed them perform the role of cultural ambassadors of their fatherland. They maintained that most of their goods reflected the Nigerian cultural heritage.

Items displayed at the festival venue were numerous. They ranged from the Benin people bronze sculptures to Bidda braze carvings, adire from the Yoruba kingdom to kaftan of assorted varieties from the Northern part of Nigeria .

Interestingly, the prices of the goods were cheap and their quality quite good making people shun the Minna main market as traders turned the place a sort of Mecca  for people who want good things at low prices.

One of the traders, Ekaette Jackson, expressed concern over the way customers were pricing goods, adding that traders could not because they had to pay some money for the open space they operated.  

Among the traders at the event was an herbal medicine practitioner from Kano who was operating a mobile shop. The shop attracted so much crowd as spectators were anxious to either feed their eyes or help themselves with some of the drugs handed displayed by the traditional doctor.

Yusuf Garba, participant at the event, told Sunday Trust that the presence of the traders  further added colour to the festivity, saying that they had brought in further attraction for people. He said that serious pressure would have been mounted in the hall or at the wrestling arena if there was no such happening around the theatre.

“I came here with my family to get the best views on this cultural exposition, but surprisingly our attention was taken away from NAFEST as this traditional medicine seller has been entertaining us for more than four hours with different interesting performance. It would have been hopeless to get into the main hall is full to capacity by spectators and performers. So I believe having other distractions here is a welcomed idea”, he said.