Eko NAFEST of glamour •As Mama NAFEST shows children cultural hospitality

The future of every nation depends greatly on not only the youth alone, but also how they are being nurtured and mentored with the right opportunities to positively be a change agent and a game changer for the country.

However, most countries that are seen as role model in terms of economic growth and stabilities, human capital and capacity building are two key factors that have continued to be the bedrock of their success.

This scenario played out at the recently held National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) hosted by Lagos State and organised by the National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC) led by the Director-General, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe.

The cultural fiesta which many participants proudly referred to as a signature event because of the unique outing every edition has recorded in the last six years, has made NAFEST not only a unifying brand, but also a platform that showcases to the world that what unifies Nigerians are stronger and more alluring than what divides them.

The 35th edition of NAFEST held in Lagos State from November 7 to 13, was a masterpiece with many experiences and different cultural parting gifts for contingents who soaked themselves in the euphoria of peaceful co-existence for over a week; in an environment that promotes togetherness.

Also, the festival was a new window to re-align with binding cultural spirit as a nation with diverse cultural norms and values, which have many comparative advantages to take the country to the next level.

The theme of the 2022 NAFEST; Culture and Peaceful Coexistence was not only timely, but also a well-crafted and deliberate theme to bring all and sundry back to the right consciousness of who we are as people and why we should see culture as the only unifying force and a tool to keep the country together for a progressive future.

 

Catch-them-young

NAFEST was strategically remodelled to give children an ample space to display their talent as well as to encourage and engage them for a better future.

In this regards, the catch-them-young mantra played out in every category of the programme as the children were not left out but seriously engaged to entertain guests at the venue allotted to different competition. This, according to NACA boss, Chief Runsewe made it clear that it was deliberate to prepare the children to take over from the old ones as they are the future of Nigeria.

 

Mama NAFEST big gift for children

The introduction of the Mama NAFEST personality was a deliberate effort to expose the children to the seat of government as a way of encouraging them to be committed to whatever they are doing. It also showed them that culture is a strong tool that can take children to any level in life if its norms and values are presented.

However, the Eko NAFEST was the mother of all NAFEST as the children from the 29 states which participated at the event got beautiful gifts from Mama NAFEST, the First Lady of Lagos State Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, who entertained and gifted the children with ipads, school packs and other items.

The treatment by Mama NAFEST to the children was a lifetime experience that will linger forever as she also took them on an historical and education tour.

 

Skill acquisition for all

Skill acquisition forms one of the many innovations the Runsewe’s NAFEST bid has introduced to make the event not just a jamboree but an agenda-driven event to not only reduce unemployment gap in the country but also to build new crop of employers of labour by increasing the entrepreneurship capacity of the SMES in Nigeria.

For the Eko NAFEST, it was a harvest of new entrepreneurs as the skill acquisition session brought a new lease of life to the participants drawn from different spheres of life. The skill acquisition session, which ran through the period of the festival, was an aspect of the fiesta that added more value to the festival as it imparted in many creative skills for a better tomorrow.

Participants at the skill centre were taken through different entrepreneurship trades from soap making, hairstyling and makeup, waste to wealth skills and other arts and crafts souvenirs.

 

Craft market

Nigeria is beautiful and the people cannot be separated from what makes them thick, which is their culture;  this was displayed at the art and craft market where talent met creativity, with different creative designs of arts and crafts made from different local content which showcased the richness of Nigeria if well packaged and marketed through the right channel to the world.

 

Show of colour

Nigeria is a beautiful country and this is shown in the display of colour in the parade of attires from the 29 states that participated at the 2022 edition of Eko NAFEST of show. These colours were not only showcased in the attires but also in the arts and crafts, food and presentation at the festival.

 

Everyone is a winner

NAFEST, a socio-cultural festival is well designed to have different feature which bring and engage people in their numbers and this single reason also made it to be a MICE event with great emphasis on incentive that is tied around the competition in all the categories of the events put together to entertain guests at the festival. However, one good thing that made it more uniting is the notion that everyone is a winner. No one goes home without a gift or being celebrated, which is the major philosophy behind the theme of the 2022 edition; Culture and Peaceful Coexistence.