MINISTER of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu has been honoured with the title of Wey Sim Nok (The son that loves the Nok) by the District Head of Nok, His Royal Highness (HRH), Mr Banu Adamu.
Conferring the honour on him when the minister visited the Nok kingdom on an official visit during the week, Mr Adamu said the Nok people were impressed with the zeal and the passion on which the minister was promoting the African heritage of art and culture in a bid to stimulate national development.
This was contained in a statement issued and signed by Head, Press and Public Relations Unit of the ministry, Mr AbdulGaniyu Aminu, a copy of which was made available to TribuneOnline in Abuja, on Wednesday.
According to the statement, Dr Onu who visited the Nok community and the Nok museum thanked the Nok community for the honour and said his visit was to appreciate the creativity, ingenuity, skill and aesthetic quality and technological know-how of our forefathers.
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“My visit to Nok is to demonstrate the fact that our ancestors’ thousands of years ago utilised science and technology to enhance their living. The present generation owed it a duty to improve upon the legacies of our forebears to improve upon our artefacts through innovation. We cannot have a rich past without having a bright future,” the statement added.
The statement quoted the minister as assuring the community that the Federal Government would explore a new way to turn NOK into a tourist hub as a way of diversifying the economy.
While saying that culture is important to the life of the people, Dr Onu stressed the need to look at the larger picture of converting the cultural potentials to economic advantage, assuring the people that the museum in the community would be upgraded by the Federal Government to make it a source of wealth and advantage to the communities around the area.
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