Endurance trek, others to spice up African Drums Festival in Abeokuta
AS the third edition of African Drums Festival scheduled to hold on April 19 and 20, 2018, draws near, Ogun State Government has stated that it would introduce endurance trek, road show and other side attractions to spice up the festival. Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Basorun Muyiwa Oladipo, who made this known in his office while fielding questions from journalists said the festival the third edition was already looking like an event in its 10th year. He ascribed the achieve- ment to the state government’s resolve at making the festival the best it can possibly be.
“We’ve been having improvement yearly,” he told journalists. “The festival is just three years old and is already like it is 10 years old. This year, we are going to have a road show and build up activities to the main event. We intend to have pre-shows in the two other Senatorial Districts. We will bring in Angelique Kidjo to Ijebu Ode and another Yoruba music star to Ilaro. We are also going to have a road show on the day of the open- ing ceremony, which is on April 19, 2018.
“We plan to have an endurance trek from the Cultural Centre to Olumo Rock. You know, we have very good road network in Abeokuta. Olumo Rock is the centre of attraction for tourists and, of course, we need to showcase our state to the outside world.”
Oladipo stated that about 24 African countries would take part in the festival, adding that Moroccan national television would be on ground to cover the event and showcase it to the rest of the world.
“Morocco has keyed into our vision,” he said joyfully. “Moroccan national television will be coming to cover the event. We are going to have representatives from more African countries. We had about 12 countries at the last edition. We are expecting about 24 this year. We intend making a mark, an improvement on what we’ve had in the last two editions.”
Oladipo expressed the determination of Ogun State Government to nurture the festival to maturity so that subsequent governments would also preserve the legacies of the festival, thereby making it a flagship for cultural activities in the state and the country at large.