By Osa Mbonu-Amadi
Kidnapping, terrorism and banditry formed the dominant themes in the Drama Competition segment of the ongoing National Festival of Arts & Culture staged on Tuesday at the Civic Centre Arts Theatre.
Both Delta and Lagos states staged plays whose themes centered on insecurity, mirroring the unfortunate conditions in the country. Even the Niger State troupe whose own drama didn’t necessarily dwell on insecurity as theme, nonetheless explored wide ranging human misery, reflective of the prevailing conditions of life in Nigeria.
Bayelsa State explored the theme of disunity, hatred and greed for one another which are all banes of Nigeria and malaises afflicting the country.
Speaking before the stage dramas commenced, Director General of National Council for Arts & Culture, Otunba Segun Runsewe, informed the audience that 18, out of the 36 states of the country, are competing at the ongoing 2021 NAFEST in celebration of Nigeria’s culture.
“In the last 20 years,” Runsewe said, “our youths have imbibed foreign cultures. So, this is a platform for reawakening our people to tell them that we are rich and well endowed.
Runsewe also said in the last 24 hours, a number of significant things have happened in Ekiti State as a result of the ongoing NAFEST. “I am very exited that one of them is empowering the people of Ekiti State. All the hotels in Ado-Ekiti are fully booked. People have had to be sharing rooms. It may interest you to know that the same thing happened in Canada – they had an event, but they didn’t have enough rooms. They had to build more hotels. So, we are now begging Ekiti people and saying to them: “Before we come back (for another NAFEST), please build more hotels.”
Winners of the Drama Competition will be announced at the closing ceremony of the event on Saturday, November 20.
