The newly activated NICO Gombe State Office, aside carrying out the mandate of replicating the programmes of the Institute in Gombe and
the neighbouring states in the North-East geo-political zone, has demonstrated its preparedness to document the rich cultural festivals Gombe State is endowed with, as the Research and Documentation Unit has graced, for the first time, the 5th Kamo Cultural Festival of Kamo/Awak people of Kaltungo Local Government Area of Gombe State.
The aim of the Kamo Cultural Festival, which is an annual event celebrated before the rainy season every year, around April and May, by the Kamo and Awak ethnic groups of Kaltungo Local Government Area, is to unite the sons and daughters the two ethnic groups.
The 2013 
edition, like the previous ones, was well attended by Kamo/Awak sons and daughters, who came from far and near, bearing in mind the importance they attach to the festival as the vehicle for unity and the preservation and transmission of their rich cultural heritage from the older to the younger generation, who are the leaders of tomorrow.
There were cultural displays by different groups, ranging from the young, the able bodied, the elderly and the wom
en folk, who entertained guests with superb dances to the admiration of all present at the festival.
Speaking at the occasion, the Deputy Governor of Gombe State, His Excellency Tha’anda Rubainu, who graced the occasion, appreciated the efforts of Kamo and Awak ethnic groups for their unrelenting efforts to preserve their cultural heritage for posterity and implored the younger ones to take pride in their culture as it is their identity.
Thomas Anongu
NICO Gombe State Office