NAFEST: the quest for cultural rendezvous
The National Festival of Arts and Culture, NAFEST; midwived by the National Council for Art and Culture, remains one forum at which the diversities, the thrills and the glamour of Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage find a common rendezvous. Even beyond this, NAFEST has always brought out the creative abilities of Nigerians. In the words of […]
The National Festival of Arts and Culture, NAFEST; midwived by the National Council for Art and Culture, remains one forum at which the diversities, the thrills and the glamour of Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage find a common rendezvous. Even beyond this, NAFEST has always brought out the creative abilities of Nigerians. In the words of the Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Abubakar Sadiq, NAFEST has evolved into a unifying platform through cultural activities amongst different groups in Nigeria.
The 24th edition of NAFEST ended in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital recently. Generally rated as a huge improvement upon the last edition which held in Minna, Niger state, some people still ask whether the theme of this year’s festival, which is, “Cultural Industries and Economic Empowerment”, has been appropriately interpreted. Witnesses to the four day event said that participating states were so outstanding in their presentations to the effect that picking a single state as the overall winner was a huge challenge to the judges at the event. Although the eventual winner, Nasarawa state remains undoubtedly the best, other states gave it a run for its dance steps.
It is on record, that, since it started twenty four years ago, every edition of the festival has continued to improve over the previous ones. The 2010 edition which also celebrated Nigeria’s golden jubilee was designed as a special package to complement the country’s search for economic prosperity through the promotion of cultural interaction amongst different cultures in the country. As an avenue where the country campaigns to fellow Africans to cherish and patronize their own arts and cultures, NAFEST has undoubtedly become the most consistent annual event in the county since its inception, and has tended to attract global attention, as Nigeria’s single largest cultural festival.
The National Council for Arts and Culture, NCAC, under which tutelage the festival has continued to thrive, has been focusing on different aspects of the Nigerian culture, and has been promoting same through the NAFEST. Crafts, Traditional Herbal drugs, Traditional Moonlight games, Cultural market and food fair, Traditional wrestling contests, amongst many other activities, that put Nigeria in positive light have remained consistent aspects of that drive. A unique addition to this year’s edition was the audio-visual documentation of certain aspects of the nation’s cultural industry.
The minister of Culture and Tourism, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq, while explaining this initiative said that, it was intended to encourage states to begin the multi-media documentation of their cultural endowments with a view to increasing the patronage of their crafts, arts and other cultural potentials, as may be found in each state. Another unique initiative of the 2010 edition of NAFEST was the children composite presentation of creative designs, solo music performances, as well as the colloquium book fair.
Each of the 36 States showcased the best of their music, dances, crafts, dress, and food alongside their creative potentials. As has been the practice, some participants were awarded prizes for their outstanding performances. The cheering development was that both those who won and those who were not too lucky this time around were agreed that NAFEST 2010, like others before it, gave each participant the opportunity to fully demonstrate their best. Like a tournament, NAFEST is the equivalence of the national sports Festival, at which each state struggles to be the best.
Before the next edition, the people of Akwa Ibom will savor the experiences, thrills and amusements of NAFEST 2010. Varieties were added to their own local cultural menu as they were treated to days of spectacular display of Nigeria’s diverse cultures including, dances, and arts and especially dresses. Many of the tourists all over the world that were privileged to be in the land of promise have been full of encomiums for the organizers of the event. To them, Africa is again alive to her known cultural endowments. But what the organizers of NAFEST 2010 are still asking is whether Nigerians fully appreciate the degree of threat to the African culture and whether the event in Uyo has sufficiently awakened their spirit of investments in the sector to move the culture industry beyond mere showcase of Nigerian culture into a veritable tool for economic empowerment..
Executive Director of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Mr. Maidugu Mwajim Malgwi while assessing the festival said that as the midwife of NAFEST, NCAC was fully satisfied that the theme has been fully justified. The festival according to him has since grown beyond just dance and entertainment, into a platform for national re-orientation, integration, identity and even sovereignty. The caliber of people who thronged Uyo for the event was an eloquent testimony of the fact that NAFEST has since transformed into a vehicle for national cohesion, a market place, a cultural rendezvous and a melting pot for cross ventilation of ideas. Maidugu maintained that the NAFEST has a good prospect as Nigeria’s new window for economic prosperity.
NAFEST 2010 may have its high marks, but it does not insulate the country from the grim reality that certain aspects of Nigerian cultures are under threat given their exposures to other more fancied Western lifestyles. Nigerians need to rediscover the beauty of indigenous arts and crafts, costumes and ornaments, music and dance, games and food as the only true demonstration of Nigerianism. The true Nigerian art, food, music, dance, fashion or game is that which concept, design, language, or raw materials can be traced to our local technologies..
NAFEST is intended to provoke that patriotic spirit which begins with the admonition of our values including culture. Having realized the threat posed to indigenous cultures, Nigeria’s focus in the years ahead will be to promote our indigenous cultures and bring it back into global reckoning, and to also reposition our tourism industry,so that Nigeria can remain the hub of Black civilization and make the theme of this year’s NAFEST, and future themes relevant.
Inuwa Bwala wrote from Abuja.