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It was the 24th
edition but there was really nothing new. Well, save one or two
innovations. There is the characteristic late commencement of the
opening ceremony, the last minute rush to put finishing touches to
venues and stands by states; and adjusting and re-adjusting the
schedule because things didn’t start promptly in the first instance.
The story of the nation’s festival of unity, the National Festival of
Arts and Culture (NAFEST) in recent memory hasn’t changed: sloppy
organisation.

The official
opening ceremony of the 2010 edition themed ‘Cultural Industries and
Economic Empowerment’ held on November 2 inside the Uyo Township
Stadium in Akwa Ibom State started, almost three hours late. Scheduled
for noon, the anchors occupied early arrivals by calling different
troupes to entertain them around 1.25pm. The show eventually got
underway around 2.40pm when the state governor, his deputy and the
Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation arrived.

The audience and
contingents from the 23 states which participated in the march past,
meanwhile, had no option than to content themselves watching the
entertainers and exchanging banters under tents provided on the marshy
ground made worse by an earlier light rain. Though the general
organisation was a tad sloppy, credit must be given to oragnisers for
making the effort to make waterlogged entrances to the stadium
accessible by getting a tractor to fill the areas with sand. But rather
than get to brass tacks immediately, members of the local organising
committe and the management team of NAFEST, all staff of the National
Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), were first presented to the
dignitaries and crowd. The march past subsequently began with each of
the states showcasing material and immaterial aspects of its culture
through its dressing, dances and music during the parade.

Papa Ajasco

While some like Edo
State had only about four people representing them because of the late
arrival of the main contingent after the opening, others like Kaduna
had up to 554 people. Akwa Ibom, rescuer of this year’s NAFEST after
Delta which had earlier been granted the hosting right demurred, also
had a large contingent. Interestingly, Delta threw shame to the wind
and featured in the parade.

Abiodun Ayoyinka,
aka Papa Ajasco, who marched with the Lagos State contingent, was
hailed by the crowd while Nasarawa State also had a unique procession.
The 300-people contingent included guilds like carvers, hunters,
tanners and solid minerals in its ranks. Apart from the states,
cultural associations, local governments and Ijo Vudu, a Canadian
group, also featured in the march past.The uniformed Real Brass Band of
the Akwa Ibom State Government which later ended the ceremony with some
local and foreign songs wasn’t left out of the display.

The speeches

The Minister of
Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Abubakar Sadiq Mohammed
touched on the relevance of culture and tourism as sources of revenue
in a speech at the occassion. He noted that “culture and tourism are
the emerging products that have great prospect of leading the global
economy in a near future.” Mohammed also commended organisers for
including a special project in this year’s programme to tally with the
theme. The special project focussed on audio-visual documentation and
physical exhibition of the unique aspects of the nation’s cultural
industries. Each State had its own presentation.

The president,
Goodluck Jonathan, whom Akpabio represented, also highligthed the
importance of tourism and culture to the nation’s economic development.
He said, “Much as we have the problem of youth unemployment, rural and
urban poverty in our land, which government policies gave been put in
place to tackle over the years, time is now ripe for the public and
private sector to explore the great prospects that abound in our
cultural industries in alleviating poverty and diversifying our revenue
base.”

The theme, he said,
was chosen to ensure that culture is used as an alternative to
diversify Nigeria’s mono cultural economy with a view to creating
wealth to empower the youth. He promised that the Federal Government
will continue to support NAFEST and other festivals as “an initiative
that will project the new role of culture in our national development.”

The colloquium

Like the ceremonial
part of the festival, the intellectual side, the colloquium also
started over two hours late at the auditorium inside the Indongesit
Nkanga State Secretariat, Uyo on Wednesday, November 3. It however
turned out to be a worthwhile session after the ceremonials had been
dispensed with. Chair, governing board of the NCAC, Ebenezer Babatope;
chair, senate committee on tourism, culture and national orientation,
Bako Gassol and chief executive of the NCAC, Mwajim Maidugu, all
justified its inclusion in the festival.

The Executive
Director, programmes of the NTA, Bello Sule, delivered the lead paper
titled ‘Cultural Industries and Economic Empowerment: The Role of
Documentation in Promoting Cultural Industries Products’ after Babatope
had presented a ‘Compendium of NAFEST Colloquium 2004-2009’. He
explained the role radio, film and television play in documenting
products of the country’s cultural industries and their merits and
demerits. He highlighted abundant archival materials and growth in the
number of professionals in radio, TV and film as two gains from
documenting products from Nigeria’s culture industry. The
disadvantages, according to Bello, include negative portrayal of
Nigeria’s cultural values and practices and obliteration of cultural
practices.Sule didn’t fail to touch on the modes of storing the
audio-visual documents and the problems with the modes including
celluloid, tape and compact disc.

Academic, Ben
Ekanem of the Department of Fine and Industrial Arts, University of
Uyo, who spoke on ‘Finishing, Packaging and Presentation of Nigeria’s
Cultural Products in a Global Village’ identified eight of such
tangible and intangible products. They are antiquities, art and craft,
performing art, Nigerian cuisine, traditional medicine, cultural
festivals and events, celebrities and places. To ensure that products
from Nigeria are well packaged and presented to a global audience,
Ekanem suggested training at all levels and workshops for art and craft
makers which curriculum must include finishing, packaging and
presentation. He said Nigerian fabrics can be promoted through fashion
shows and internet promotions while artists should benefit from
residency programmes by government. The lecturer recommended a hall of
fame to promote Nigerian celebrities.

An official of the
Nigerian Export Promotion Council also spoke briefly on the role of the
agency and how producers of cultural products can benefit from it.
Apart from the poor timekeeping and organisation, there was also
shortage of materials containing information about the festival
activities. Journalists didn’t get the brochure until Wednesday
evening, a day after the official opening.

Competitive and non-competitive activities including traditional
wrestling, food fair, traditional music, crafts and expo exhibition,
creative design and the special projects comprising DVD screenings
events were also held during this year’s NAFEST which ended yesterday.