…Says there’s nexus between culture and development
By Prisca Sam-Duru
Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has assured Nigerians that Ekiti State will work hard to make the 2021 National Festival of Arts & Culture, NAFEST, an unforgettable experience. The governor said Ekiti, being one of the most peaceful and hospitable states in the country, is the most suitable to host such a national event of the size and stature as NAFEST.
Governor Fayemi spoke at the Government House, Ado Ekiti on Tuesday, during the inauguration of the Local Organising Committee, LOC, for the 2021 NAFEST. Last year, Ekiti State had won the bid to host the 2021 edition of the biggest Arts & Culture festival in Nigeria expected to hold between November 13 and 20, 2021.
The governor implored members of the LOC to work very hard, so as to write their names in gold: “Justify the confidence reposed in you. There is a nexus between culture and development,” he added.
Fayemi promised to give all necessary supports to members of the LOC, advising them to discharge their duty with commitment in order to achieve a NAFEST Ekiti people, Nigerians and the world generally would be proud of.
Responding, the Director General of National Council for Arts and Culture, NCAC, Otunba Segun Runsewe, commended Governor Fayemi for enthroning an excellent administrative structure which led to the formation and inauguration of the state LOC.
Otunba Runsewe promised that NCAC will work hand-in-hand with the state to ensure that the 2021 NAFEST in Ekiti will be one of distinction.
“Looking at the theme of the festival, “Celebrating National Unity in Diversity”, there is no better state and time to celebrate this diversity and strength of the country and her people,” Runsewe said.
Speaking also, the Ekiti State Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Tourism, Prof. Rasaki Ojo Bakare, described the inauguration as historic, given that it was the first time a LOC of a national event of that magnitude was inaugurated in the state.
In the last two years, said Prof. Bakare, culture and tourism sectors of the state have witnessed great and remarkable revolution. The right to host NAFEST this year is borne out of determination of the state to make Ekiti a beehive of socio-economic activities.
The Commissioner said the vision came with the consciousness to stimulate tourism activities and create prosperity for the local entrepreneurs and traders in Ekiti, saying it was a further testimony to the genuineness of government’s intention to eradicate poverty by attracting local and global investment opportunities to the state.
The NCAC D.G and cultural icon, Otunba Runsewe, presented gifts to Governor Fayemi, his wife and Prof. Bakare.
