Why Kaduna for NAFEST 2017
Kaduna’s rich history since the amalgamation of Nigeria 103 years ago is a reason it was chosen as the destination for the annual cultural fête, National Festival for Arts and Culture (NAFEST).
Explaining further, the Director General of the National council for Arts and Culture, (NCAC) Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, said, “Kaduna as a whole has a lot of significance in Nigeria’s history. It is home to one of Lord Lugard’s residences and is also the location where seize fire was declared in 1970 to end the Nigerian Civil War.
“It is home to the famous Nok archaeological sites and is also the origin of the Afan festival in Kagoro. Kaduna has very enviable cultural history which is why we chose to hold this year’s NAFEST there so that it is a benchmark for future editions.”
Asides from its unique history, the choice of Kaduna for NAFEST is a stepping stone to reducing hate speech and some of the crisis Nigeria is experiencing, Runsewe explained.
The DG also invited Nigerians to exploit the opportunity the festival presents to have free medical services as they did at the September Arts and Crafts Expo in Abuja.
Adding that: “We are also taking the skills acquisition exercise to NAFEST so that beyond patronising the goods and services that form NAFEST, guests will also take some tangible knowledge away with which they can better themselves. They will be exposed to variety of skills and technologies which they can use.”
Runsewe when it was announced that Kaduna State had accepted to host the fiesta said, “During my tenure in the Council, our focus would be on how to effectively tap into the hidden goldmine and economic potentials of our Cultural Heritage to improve the Nation’s GDP, wealth creation and decent living of our Artiste(s), as well as serving as a panacea for Peace, Unity and Diplomacy.”
He also said the NCAC would henceforth give priority to accelerating the commercial and economic contents of cultural assets identifiable to each state of the Federation, look at developing and improving on our festival format, which today remains one of the fastest growing forms of tourism activities.
The festival will hold from October 14th to 21th.