Dance On His Grave, one of the creative contributions of the Executive Secretary of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, towards the development of theatre and culture in Nigeria, was on Monday, March 26, 2012, presented to the public by the NICO Cultural Troupe.

The play, which encourages the essence of peaceful co-existence and conflict resolution through dialogue, was presented during the formal inauguration of the Troupe at the Cyprian Ekwensi Cultural Centre, Area 10, Garki-Abuja, as part of activities marking the 2012 Internatıonal Theatre Day (ITD) celebrations.

Formally inaugurating the Troupe, the Executive Secretary expressed delight that in line with one of the Institute’s responsibilities of carrying out public enlightenment campaigns on the various facets of Nigerian culture, NICO Troupe will be an added platform to further intensify the campaign of creating awareness about our culture and deepen appreciation on evolving Nigerian cultural identities.

Hıs words: “The conceptualization of NICO Cultural Troupe, therefore, is to have an added medium through which the Institute’s programmes can be adequately interpreted through songs, drama and dance among others to serve as the official troupe of the Institute to harness staff potentials through drama, foster unity and cooperation among members, mentor and motivate the Institute’s Cultural Clubs in Schools.”

Expressing confidence in the production of Dance on His Grave by the Troupe to entertain and present lessons of immense benefit to individuals and the nation, Ayakoroma further disclosed that the idea behind the use of performances to promote culture is predicated on its invaluable impact on the people, as “there is no gainsaying the fact that people believe easily what they see or watch; so, to convince people easily to imbibe an idea, one has to cash in on the potentials of theatre for quick results and also reach out to greater number of people.”

Speaking earlier, the Coordinator of the Troupe, Mrs. Jane Anigala, said by the inauguration, the Institute has taken a bold step to explore theatre as a vehicle to emancipate, decolonize and awaken the consciousness of Nigerians towards a culture-oriented lifestyle.

She maintained that theatre, over the years, has been a veritable tool for cultural renaissance and it will not be out of place for a Cultural Orientation Institute, such as NICO, to have one to mentor Cultural Clubs ın Secondary Schools, stressing that it will also save the Institute the cost of hiring the services of theatre troupes.

Caleb Nor
Corporate Affairs