When Lokoja natives showcased culture through boat regatta

The culture and tradition of the people of Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State, were recently on display, when the people of the community staged the first ever boat regatta competition among seven districts of the ancient town.

The event, which took place on the river Niger penultimate Saturday, saw the people of various ethnic groups that make up the community trooping out enthusiastically to particpate in the programme that many viewed as being capable of fostering unity and understanding among the people. It was a gathering of royalties, politicians, the youths and people of various backgrounds, who came together to, once again, show that such competition could be used to unite the multi-ethnic Nigeria.

Although, the event was slated for the afternoon of the day, participants and their supporters had started preparation since the morning, with many of them putting finishing touches to decoration of their boats to ensure that they were in good order for the much anticipated event that was put together by the Lokoja Forum of Patriots (LPF).

The chairman of the Forum, Alhaji Idris Babaango, while speaking on the reasons for organising the event, said that the organisation decided to leverage on the traditional festival to further promote unity and understanding among the various ethnic groups in the Local Government Area. According to him, the group noted that such an event would project the unique position of Lokoja in Nigeria and use its creative resources to attract local and foreign tourists.

Babaango, who lauded the people for embracing the festival enthusiastically, promised that concerted efforts would be made to sustain it and ensure that subsequent editions were staged with more pomp and pageantry to further strategically place Lokoja on the world map of tourism.

The chairman of the maiden edition of the Lokoja Boat Regatta Festival, who is also the Walin of Lokoja, Rear Admiral Ibrahim Idris (rtd), lamented that governments at both the federal and state levels had abandoned tourism that would have been a money spinner to further boost the economic base of the country. He said that the sector had been left undeveloped for too long to the detriment of the country’s economic development.

The royal father, therefore, tasked the federal and state governments to pay more attention to the development of the tourism sector in order to create jobs for the youths in the country. He was of the view that the country has a lot to gain from the tourism sector because of its job creation and foreign exchange earning potentials.

He said that tourism be accorded the same attention being given to agriculture by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to further widen the internally generated revenue base of the country.

The chairman, who commended the LFP for resuscitating the boat regatta festival which he described as the traditional festival of the indigenous people of Lokoja, said the move would further enable Lokoja, the first capital of Nigeria,  to assume its rightful position in the history of the country.

Adding his voice to the issue, the administrator of Lokoja Local Government Area, Alhaji Shiru Lawal, said that he had initiated a move with the state government to develop the tourism sites in the council area.

Lawal, who was the chief host of the event, said the sites that had already been slated for development were the confluence of River Niger and River Benue, mount patti, Lord Luggard’s resting place, iron of liberty, World war cenotaph, saying the identified locations in the state capital would be developed to standards to enable them attract tourists across the globe.

The administrator noted that the forum’s disposition towards relaunching the ancient town into the world map of tourism and cultural development would attract as well as encourage the government at all levels to invest in Lokoja Local Government Area.

He noted that the introduction of Boat Regatta in Lokoja would further project the name of the town, in addition to the historical relics and tourists attraction that abound in the area. According to the local government boss, if the artifacts were properly harnessed, they would woo a lot of investors and tourists and this would boost the revenue base of the local government and state in general.

Shiru, who added that the council was working in collaboration with the state government to modify the Annual Danko Fishing Festival to attain international standards, appealed to the organisers to work hard to protect the giant strides recorded by the forum.

The event featured swimming and rowing competitions among seven districts while trophies and prizes were distributed to winners by the Roggan of Eggan, Alhaji Alhassan Idris, who was the royal father of the day.

However, in a bid to completely revive tourism potentials of the town, the chairman of Danko Development Forum, Alhaji Bama Mudi, promised to partner with Lokoja Forum of Patriots to move Lokoja Local Government Area to the highest pedestal of development. Mudi said the revival of boat regatta by the patriots was commendable, noting that Lokoja Local Government Area, with cultural potentials should not be allowed to die.

“We have a lot of cultural values and traditions which united us before now, one of which is swimming competition and canoe race. With the revival of this cultural heritage by Lokoja Forum of Patriots, our younger generation are put on track and I pray they will maintain it,” he concluded.

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