Entertainment
Minister Wants Incorporation Of Local Culture In Carnivals
The Minister of Tour
ism, Mr Edem Duke, last Monday urged organisers of carnivals in Nigeria to showcase local culture in their events.
The Minister gave the advice while speaking with newsmen at the Lagos Easter Carnival at the Tafawa Balewa Square.
He said that carnivals should be about celebration of indigenous culture rather than promotion of what belonged to other people.
The Minister commended organisers of the Lagos carnival but urged them to put some more local content into the event especially in the area of costumes.
“We don’t want to be criticised for maintaining only the Carribean style. We must enhance the local cultural content” he said.
Duke advocated the setting up of a carnival institute in Lagos where people could be trained on organising carnivals and making costumes.
He said the institute, apart from helping to empower young people, would also enhance the development of the state’s tourism sector.
The Minister said there was the need to promote leisure events and expand the entertainment industry in view of their great potential.
He said the Federal Government was incorporating others areas of the creative industry such as fashion and painting, into its tourism agenda to create opportunities.
Duke said the recent rebasing of the nation’s GDP had shown how important the creative industry was to the economy.
The Minister promised that the Federal Government would give the industry the necessary support to attain its full potential.
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.