Yemisi Izuora
The Federal Government has offered its unalloyed support for the
government of Ogun State in its efforts to take the African Drum
Festival to a higher level.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, gave the
assurance at the opening of the 3rd edition of the festival in
Abeokuta, Ogun State.
”We will continue to support this festival by making all our media
platforms available to create awareness for it. We will also ensure
that it is included in our national calendar of festivals, when the
calendar, which we are working on now, is ready.
”The drum festival keys into our objective of turning the creative
industry into a thriving industry, one that provides jobs and boosts
the economy, and that’s why we will continue to support it. I will
also like to appeal to the corporate world to partner with Ogun State
and to support this festival through sponsorship,” he said.
Alhaji Mohammed commended the Ogun State government for ”this
brilliant and intellectual addition” to the festival, in reference to
the decision to convene a conference and an exhibition as part of the
festival this year.
He said the annual drum festival is very important because ”it
provides an avenue for us to showcase our rich cultural heritage and
to attract global tourists to our country.”
”The festival also plays a critical role in not just recognising the
development and curation of the art form of indigenous drum poetry
but, more importantly, the preservation of drum culture for future
generations,” the Minister said
He used the occasion to announce that Nigeria will be hosting the 61st
Meeting of the United Nations World Tourism
Organization (UNWTO)/Commission for Africa (CAF) in Abuja from 4-6
June 2018, and that Tourism Ministers from 51 African countries, top
executives of the UNWTO and tourism stakeholders are expected
to attend the event.,
”We want to sincerely thank the Ogun State government for agreeing to
partner with us in our quest to host a successful meeting, which will
be used to showcase our rich cultural heritage and tourism
destinations. As you are aware, culture and tourism are intertwined,”
Alhaji Mohammed said.