Entertainment
Participant Hails NAFEST 2018
The National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST) 2018 themed “Our Festivals, Our Heritage’ which was held from the 21st to 27th of October 2018 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State was indeed an exciting festival.
Speaking with the Delta State Head of Performing Arts Department, Mrs Akani Siri stated that NAFEST was a unity festival with the aim of bringing the various cultures of Nigeria together.
Mrs Siri shed more light on what the NAFEST festival was all about, stating that NAFEST has both competitive and non-competitive events, which the states participate in, saying also that different states usually pick the events they would participate in after the syllabus has been sent to them.
Mrs Siri who said the festival was made up of different types of events like, dance drama; traditional wrestling ;traditional cuisines which is particular to each state; craft expo; and also tales by moonlight by children which was added to the events this year, has said that all these depend on what the national council wants, with different centers for these events.
She said that NAFEST was an annual festival, with the sole motive of bringing Nigerian cultures together, saying the festival unites our heritage and our ‘fast dying cultures’, which we do not want to go into extinction.
She stated that NAFEST aims at promoting national development, harnessing our culture, bringing them from their raw state, polishing and working on them, and see if they can be a source of income by exporting some of these cultural values.
Siri went further to explain that if a festival like NAFEST was not held, then some of our cultures would just be stories to tell to our children. “It’s preserving, promoting and documenting our culture that is what NAFEST is all about”, she said.
The commissioner of Arts and Tourism Delta state, Mr Emmanuel Chinye also spoke on NAFEST being a means of uniting every culture within Nigeria, saying that NAFEST is the biggest festival in Nigeria.
Speaking on the reason most states didn’t attend as on Thursday, the commissioner said it was due to some logistics, “sometimes some logistics might warrant this, especially during an election period.”
At the closing/Award ceremony of NAFEST 2018, which was held at the Port Harcourt Sharks Stadium in Rivers State, so many exciting cultural activities were displayed and wonderful awards were given to deserving states.
The participating states which were twenty four(24) in attendance included Abia; Anambra; Bayelsa;Benue; Delta;Ebonyi;Edo; Enugu; Gombe; Jigawa; Kaduna; Kano; Katsina; Kogi; Kwara; Lagos; Niger; Ogun; Ondo; Osun; Rivers (host); Sokoto; Taraba; and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja.
Gideon Victory
R&B star, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has recounted the early-career challenges she faced, revealing that she was once booed out of the stage while performing at a school event.
Speaking in an interview with Newsmen, the Crazy Tings crooner shared that she wasn’t only booed but was also harassed with plastic bottles.
“I remember one time I was going to perform at my school as an up-and-coming singer and I thought I was going to receiving a standing ovation.
“But I got booed. They even threw plastic bottles at me,” she recalled.
Tems explained that despite the embarrassing incident and other such rejections, she remained determined to pursue a career in music.
The Tide Entertainment reports that Tems admitted that some of the initial rejections she faced could be due to her conviction to stick to her originality instead of doing covers or familiar sounds like most of her peers.
The Grammy-winning singer said looking back now, she is glad that she didn’t compromise her style despite the initial pressures.
A close associate of late singer Mohbad, Primeboy, has appealed for the artiste’s burial nearly three years after his death.
According to him, Mohbad’s body remains in the mortuary since September 12, 2023, pending burial arrangements.
The Tide Entertainment reports that in a statement Primeboy urged the family, public, and government to permit the burial, stating, “It’s been almost three years since Mohbad left us. His body is still in the mortuary. I’m begging the family, I’m begging the public, I’m begging the government, please let’s bury our brother. He deserves a befitting burial.”
It would be recalled that Mohbad’s death sparked public outrage, protests, and investigations. Ongoing autopsy examinations, police inquiries, and legal proceedings have delayed burial arrangements amid family disagreements and public scrutiny.
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