The Governor of Plateau, Mr Simon Lalong, says the Plateau State Festival for Art and Culture (PLAFEST) will revive cultural heritage of the state.
Lalong said this in Jos on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of PLAFEST.
He said “our diverse languages are eroding and now going into extinction.
“Parents have failed to transmit their languages and culture from one generation to the other.
“I enjoin all the ethnic nations of Plateau to make it a duty to inculcate in our children the habit of speaking our native dialect so that we would preserve it”.
The governor also said that “culture is key in the creation of potential of every society and the art of the people..
“Cultural production is clearly an important area of investment and a means of boosting cultural identity”.
Lalong said that the state had put in place establishment of a vibrant institutional framework towards strengthening the cultural sector.
“The best of culture, dances and arts of the 53 ethnic groups in Plateau will be on display at the festival,” he said.
The governor who commended the theme of the Festival “Cultural Heritage: A tool for curbing insecurity”, said that with the state’s tourism policy, a lot of activities for cultural heritage and reawakening would come up, including the setting up of Jos carnival commission.
In a keynote address, Director- General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Segun Runsewe, said that the governor’s passion for culture and tourism had upscaled the potential of the state in taking its rightful place as Nigeria’s home of peace, tourism and hospitality.
He recalled the hosting of the National Festival for Arts and Culture NAFEST 2020 which had become a reference point for not only Africa but the world in hosting large events successfully.
Commissioner for Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Cecilia Yilkora said that the festival was another window of opportunity guaranteed to showcase the state’s cultural potential in terms of traditional dances, traditional music, games, cuisines and exhibitions.
She said that the festival would equally showcase exhibition of arts, crafts, artifacts and antiquities of various cultures and products of cultural industries such as the traditional farm implements and farm produce.
Chairman of the Plateau Council of Traditional Rulers Gyang Buba described the event as a landmark that “gives an opportunity for people to see Plateau from a wider perspective to appreciate the diversity of the culture and people of the state”.(NAN)
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