The National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) has pledged its support for the Abuja Chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) over projects, aimed at moulding change by inculcating the culture of peace among Nigerians.
The Executive Director/CEO of the Council, Mr. M. M. Maidugu, who made this known Thursday, March 27, 2014, in his capacity as Guest Speaker, at the 2014 World Theatre Day event, organized by NANTAP at the Silver Bird Galleria, Abuja, implored artists to take seriously, the task of carving the right psychology towards supporting a culture of peace among Nigerians.
Represented by the Director of Performing Arts Department, Mr. Dotun Osunsanya, Maidugu commended theatre practitioners on the choice of theme for this year’s celebration and charged them to use the day to engage in sober review of their role and that of the arts in the society.
His words: “Theatre represents the highest form of spiritual mirror. Theatre, whether live or in the media like television and film, has the capacity to appeal to all our senses simultaneously. It therefore has the capacity to engage us totally, and in the process, mould both our conscious and sub-conscious. Moreover, it has the capacity not only to reflect us and our circumstances as they are but also hint at how they should be.”
Speaking in the same vein, the Director-General, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Dr. Joseph Golwa, who was chairman to the occasion, also affirmed that indeed, artists have always mirrored the society through their performances, saying, “By their presence, artists have always cajoled their leaders where they think such leaders are going wrong and the essence is to make them do the right thing through ensuring that justice and fair-play exists because in reality, issues of injustice and marginalization are the very issues that are always at the cause and bedrock of every conflict.”
Golwa also called on them to use the celebration as a forum to enable them reflect on the relationship between peace and theatre and see how best to continue to use the role of artists in sustaining this relationship and ability to manage our diversities.
Highlights of the event were dance performances from the Abuja Council for Arts and Culture, the Black Bones Theatre Company, Abuja, as well as a drama by the Arojah Theatre, Abuja.
Other Dignitaries present at the occasion were the Executive Secretary of National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma who was accompanied by the Acting Director of Orientation & Cultural Affairs, Mr. Alex Omijie; a former Director with the Niger Delta Ministry, Alhaji Abdulrahman Shehu; the Director, Korean Cultural Centre, Mr. Kwon Young-Ik; the Director, Abuja Council for Arts & Culture, Hajiya Nana Tsokwa; the Deputy Director of Arts & Culture, Social Development Secretariat, Abuja, Mr. Danjuma Kuyembo, the President, International Federation of Women Lawyers, Barr. Amina Agbaje, and former President of NANTAP, Abuja Chapter, Mr. Tunji Fatilewa, amongst others.
Caleb Nor
Corporate Affairs
NICO, Abuja