Cultural promotion: We have put legislation in place – Culture Commissioner

Ogun State government says it has put in place, a legislation to aid the continuous hosting of the African Drums Festival and also has assured that other cultural exchange programmes like Miss Culture had come to stay.

Disclosing this at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, venue of the season two of “Miss Culture”, the State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr Muyiwa Oladipo, affirmed that, culture and tourism through the Drum Festival had brought pride and international recognition to the State.

According to him, ‘’the Drums Festival, has come to stay in Ogun State and in Nigeria, it is about the best cultural event in 2016, 2017 and even 2018, so, without doubt, successive governments will surely uphold and continue to host the flagship festival(African Drums Festival) and other festivals we have partnerships with. We are making a legislation to ensure that they outlive us.

“Today, we are having the season two of “Miss Culture”, the essence of it is to continue to promote culture, in line with Yoruba fabrics.  You know culture is very wide, and promoting our culture through fashion in OgunState is one of the few things we can do to teach our young ladies about being fashionable without them showing off their bodies’’, the Commissioner stated.

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In his welcome address, the promoter of the festival, Mr Olusesi Ayorinde, said the essence of the programme was to ensure that the richness embedded in Yoruba culture, tradition and heritage was protected from extinction.

He urged young ladies to patronise various Yoruba fabrics to beautify their bodies and do away with indecent dressings.

In their separate remarks, the Alake and Paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, represented by Oluwo-Ake, Mr J.O Sodipe and Aare Oona Kakaunfo, Otunba Gani Adams, represented by Alhaji Bayo Dada, praised the efforts of the organiser, pledging their firm support for the next edition.

At the end of the competition, Miss Mufutau Odunayo came third, and Miss Shobo Omolabake coming second, while Miss Abdul Bukola  Morenikeji came first, with the winners going home with a cheque of 50,000, 150,000 and 500,000 naira respectively.