Following the successful hosting of the meeting of the Conference of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities in Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), staff and students of the Department of Theatre and Cultural Studies of the University organised a Cast Party to celebrate its historic participation.
The department, during the conference, staged Emmanuel Dandaura’s The Nation Builders, which dramatizes the security challenges facing Nigeria and suggests ways of building peace in the country, a performance that received a standing ovation from the Vice Chancellors.
The department also added colour to their performance, through a variety package that featured dance, poetry rendition, dance drama, and songs, for which the august visitors applauded the lecturers and students.
The VC, NSUK, Professor Shamsudeen O. Amali, who is a professor of Theatre Arts, was proud of the department for demonstrating that the theatre can address the challenges of the nation, saying elatedly, “I want to tell you that Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), has made history by hosting all the Vice-Chancellors in Nigerian Universities. It is an opportunity that rarely comes. It could take another long time to come again. It is a conference that any university is proud to host. The Department of Theatre and Cultural Studies of this University has shown us that theatre can pass on a strong message.”
Though it is a tradition in the theatre to have cast parties after successful theatre performances, this one by the department was quite unique and that informed why the venue was outside the campus, at Cross Road Resort, Along Nasarawa Road, Keffi, Nasarawa State.
The President, Theatre and Cultural Students Association (TACSA), the umbrella body of Theatre Arts students, NSUK, Hassan Usman Danjuma, said that much to Nico News, stressing that the production was one of the remarkable events the students have participated in.
Danjuma, who is also the Acting President of Nigerian Universities Theatre Arts Students Association (NUTASA), the umbrella body of Theatre Arts students in Nigerian Universities said: “Hosting of all Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities in NSUK is an honour to the University. It is a great opportunity for the students of the department to be part of it. That is why we are celebrating it in a big way. This cast party is a great event for us. That is why we insisted that all our lecturers will be part of it. We are proud of them. The knowledge they have been impacting on us was obvious during that performance. The Vice Chancellors saw that through our performance. Our VC acknowledged that. It is part of why we insisted that our lecturer, Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, who is the Executive Secretary, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), must be present. We are proud of him. We are proud of our HOD. We are proud of all our lecturers. This cast part is like appreciating and celebrating with them.”
Nwagbo Nnenyelike
Corporate Affairs