CBAAC marks FESTAC’s 45th anniversary

The Center for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC) recently celebrated the 45th anniversary of the Second Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC 77) with a conference themed “Cultural Diversity and Integration on Nation Building in Africa and the Diaspora: 45 Years later on .’

The Director General of the CBAAC, Ms. Olubunmi Amao, Professor Stella Omonigho of the Department of Foreign Languages, University of Benin, and Dr. Adebayo Ogunlewe of the Department of English, University of Lagos, were the leading interlocutors. They shared their views on how cultural artifacts can be better managed, widely accepted and promoted across the continent.

Amao explained the purpose of the meeting and described FESTAC as a revival of the hopes and aspirations of blacks and Africans. “In the face of a world where blacks and Africans are generally treated without respect, dignity and recognition, FESTAC rekindled the hopes of Africans. CBAAC has devised the 45th anniversary of FESTAC to further reenact the hopes and aspirations of Africans,” she said.

Amao said Nigeria’s acceptance of hosting FESTAC was greatly influenced by the need to remember, record and document the contributions of Africa and people of African descent around the world to human civilization.

“FESTAC was indeed a groundbreaking event that revived the hopes and aspirations of Black and African people in a world where they were treated without respect, dignity and recognition. FESTAC also took place to project African cultures to the world and strengthen the historical bond and relationship between Africa and the diaspora. Unfortunately, 45 years after FESTAC, most African countries still struggle with the challenges of integration and nation-building caused by the marked diversity that characterizes their societies. These pertinent issues are being discussed at this conference,” she said.

Amao further noted that the conference would examine factors inhibiting Africa’s growth and development and hopes to find effective ways to manage cultural diversity to create and bring about progressive change in Africa and the diaspora.

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In her presentation, Professor Omonigho urged Nigerians to value their culture and not view it as a curse. “It is unfair that colonization and Westernization have distorted our culture. Our culture should not be seen as a curse. We must come together to exploit and commercialize the enormous potential in our culture, this is what the Western world has done, and we imitate them. Using human hair and wearing Western clothing enriches the economy of the West at the expense of our economy.

“If our culture is put to good use, we will be the envy of the world. Our culture in music, arts, crafts and literature needs to be focused on growth,” she said

Omonigho added that African culture should be embraced for self-realization, development of moral values, acquisition of knowledge, stability and discipline.

“African culture dwells on moral values, how a woman should behave. It teaches women to close their laps and cross their legs while sitting, but we now see women sitting carelessly. This is a derailment of African culture. It gives native intelligence that no school can provide. It has been observed that children raised in the villages are more intelligent than those in the city,” she said.

Omonigho said that to deal with youth recalcitrance, the government should organize ongoing cultural competitions between schools.

Earlier, Dr. Ogunlewe criticized the decline in readership of Nigerian literature, an aspect of African culture. He urged Nigerians to consciously set aside enough time to read African literature for knowledge-gathering.

Sam Agbi, Theater Arts Department Director, National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), also contributed, urging the government to go a step further in creating a market for locally produced cultural products.

Agbi noted that the government could stimulate demand for cultural products such as local fabrics when schools are required to use them as uniforms. He said organizations can also patronize local products such as works of art when acquiring them for use in offices and individual homes.

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