Festival Poetry Calabar 2017

Festival Poetry Calabar starts
tomorrow with a special "Calabar
Welcomes", the usual opener
showcasing

THE RICH CULTURE OF OGIDI FESTIVAL

According to history, Ogidi Community in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi West senatorial district of Kogi State is a Yoruba town and is known for its formations of igneous rock mountains and a traditional art industry.

It was believed that they migrated from Ile-Ife to settle down in present Ogidi.

It shares boundaries with Kabba in Kabba/Bunnu Local Government Area, and three towns in Ijumu Local Government Council namely, Ayere, Iyara the headquarters of Ijumu Local Government Council and Ogale.

The language spoken in Ogidi is the Okun dialect of Yoruba. The men are traditionally farmers and hunters, and the women are renowned for arts, craft and trading.

The traditional ruler of Ogidi community is His Royal Majesty Oba Rafiu Oladimeji Sule, the Ologidi of Ogidi Kogi State.

Parading the beauty of Nigeria’s diverse cultures

It is wide, colourful, multi, diverse, regal, and rustic. For the commentator who ran the closing ceremony commentaries, “the dances are vigorous and rigorous”. Those are the sum descriptions of the cultures of the people of Nigeria as showcased, exhibited, and paraded at the 2017 NAFEST hosted by Kaduna State Government

The opening ceremony which took place on Tuesday October 31 commenced with a state-by-state cultural parade and march past after the National Anthem had been sang: Borno State Cultural Troupe, Delta State, Jigawa, Kano State (with their breathtaking acrobatic displays and flexible dances), Lagos, Sokoto, Bayelsa, Rivers, Taraba, and then Kaduna, the host state. In all, 21 states and the FCT participated. The dominant feature of drums, music and dance make one to realise how huge music and dance are in the body of Nigerian cultures.

After the parades and displays, Otunba Runsewe performed the Calabash Opening ceremony, which he had innovated and unveiled at last AFAC Expo to replace tape cutting ceremonies. The calabash remained open, as long as the 5-day event lasted, climaxing on Saturday November 4, which witnessed another colourful parades, music, and dances as part of the closing ceremony.

Amaechi Okobi : Art is a huge part of who we are at Access Bank

Amaechi Okobi, Group Head, Corporate Communications, Access Bank Plc, is a man of many parts. His knowledge of art runs deep. In this interview with OSA AMADI, he lets us in on the aesthetically rich art gallery of Access Bank, shares his passion for art generally, and expresses his confidence in the prosperous future of Nigerian art. Enjoy the tour:

THE BLACK HERMIT : The burden of tribal politics in Ngugi Wa Thongo’s play.

Kenyan literary icon, the prolific writer and activist, James Ngugi Wa Thongo, decries the burden of tribalism in his play, The Black Hermit. The play was first produced in November, 1962 at the Ugandan National Theatre and published in 1968 by Heinemann Educational Books Ltd. The setting is a typical newly independent East African society, which grapples with a new form of oppression after the dethronement of colonialism through a fierce struggle for independence