The Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC) says it will hold the commemoration of the Festival of Black Arts and Culture of 1977 at 45 (FESTAC ’77 @ 45) by using culture to revamp the nation’s economy.
The Director-General of CBAAC, Mrs Oluwabunmi Amao, said this on Sunday in while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
FESTAC ’77 @ 45, organised by CBAAC, will hold in Abuja from Dec. 5 to 11, to showcase to the world African music, fine arts, literature, drama, dance and religion.
Amao added that FESTAC ’77 @ 45 also aimed at reviving culture to contribute its quota in diversifying the nation’s economy from oil earnings.
“Our children and youths need to know what culture is actually all about. To me, tourism and culture can revive our economy.
“We should not only just sit down and say oil and petroleum. Now, how much are they selling petrol? There is need to revive our culture, farming and agriculture.
“Let us start thinking of what will revamp our economy. I know culture is one of what we are talking about,” CBAAC chief said.
She said that after the FESTAC of 1977, the centre deemed fit to start putting what it did in 1977 should be doing every year.
“Let all the other countries come together to showcase their culture in terms of foods, fashion and a lot of things that have to do with culture.
“The event will attract all the African blacks all over the world. I mean blacks in America, Brazil, Cuba, Ethiopia and others.
“But what we are doing this time around because of COVID-19, we are using their community here in Nigeria. All of them, they have embassies.
“Ambassadors have already agreed to be part of this occasion. We are going to use their community to showcase something similar to FESTAC ’77.
“Instead of bringing them from their main countries, there is no money to do that now but we can achieve the same thing by using their communities here in Nigeria,” she said.
According to her, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs is involving in what we are doing. That encourages all the embassies to participate and to be part of what we are doing.
“We are going to have exhibition stands for all people who want to showcase their arts work and handcrafts, especially people that are doing Aso, Adire and Kete from Ghana, they are coming to showcase.”
FESTAC ’77, also known as the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, was a major international festival held in Lagos, from Jan. 15 to Feb. 12, 1977.
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