Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa has stressed the need to preserve cultural heritage in the state to prevent it from going into extinction.
The governor said this during the Gitta 2021 Cultural Festival, held in Wamba Local Government Area of the state on Sunday.
Sule, who was represented by his Special adviser on Youth and Sports Development, Mr Yakubu Kwanta, described cultural festival as a unifying force capable of creating a bond among the diverse ethnic groups in the state.
He commended Gitta district for organising the festival to showcase its rich cultural heritage to the outside world.
The governor promised that his administration had plans to site more projects in the community and Wamba Local Government Area in general.
“It’s quite interesting here today because what binds our people together is culture. We will continue to support you, as some of the illustrious sons and daughters of this community are part of the success story of this administration,” he said.
The Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Dogo Shammah, described the cultural festival as an annual event, instituted to showcase the cultural heritage and serve as platform to revive the culture and value, and prevent them from going into extinction.
Shammah disclosed that his ministry had planned to organise the 2021 state cultural festival that would showcase the rich cultural heritage and values of the state to the outside world.
“When we came on board, we organised a week cultural festival, where we showcased the cultural values that abound in the state.
“Though the pandemic disrupted the plan for the festival in 2020, plans are underway to hold that of 2021.
“We believe that this can revive our cultures and values, and also create an avenue to improve the state’s internally-generated revenue.
“Our plan, as a ministry, is to meet with all the leaders of cultural groups in the state so that they can be given reorientation and sensitisation on the need to revive our cultures,” he said.
The member, representing the Wamba constituency in the House of Assembly, Mr Aliyu Dogara, called on youths to get involved in the promotion of the cultural heritage and values in order to preserve.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the festival, which showcased various cultural displays, accompanied by masqueraders and presentation of different local dishes, was witnessed by people from all walks of life.
