Drums, not just for Entertainment – Amosun
The Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, at the just concluded 4th edition of the African Drum Festival, said drum was not about entertainment alone, but a cultural way of bringing orderliness to the society.
Senator Amosun, speaking at the closing ceremony in Abeokuta, said, ‘’ drumming is not just for entertainment, it has gone beyond that, drums does a lot of things, it brings orderliness, in times of pain, war, mourning and celebration, so drumming is big business, if it is well harnessed’’.
He urged participants and the Drummers to take all what they had learnt to their various abode, continue learning more about Drums and pass the tradition and culture to the younger and unborn generations.
” Please, don’t let us end it here, when we get to our various states, various countries, please let us remember all we have seen during this festival, so that when next we are called, we would have improved and be better informed about the importance and significance of drums”, he said.
Also speaking at the grand finale, the Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, described the Festival as world class, which was not only promoting African indigenous cultural heritage, but also remained one of the best, in terms of venue and costumes.
At the end of the event, winners were grouped into five categories, which included; the African, Individual, State, Independent and Special categories.
In the State category, Gombe, Kwara and Ondo States took first, second and third position and went home with N2m, N1m and N500,000 respectively, while in the African category, Ghana, Chad and Benin Republic came first, second and third respectively, going home with 5,000, 3,000 and 2,000 Dollars respectively,
For individual foreign category, Morocco, Cote d’ivoire and South Africa came first, second and third respectively, going home with 3,000, 2,000 and 1,000 Dollars, while the independent category saw Ekemini, Yaato and Foye Troupes taking first, second and third positions, with N2m, N1m and N500,00 cash prizes.
Ten countries from the international terrain were in the fifth category special awards and got one thousand Dollars each, while the Ogun State Cultural Troupe and nine others also got special prizes.
The countries that went home with special awards included; Cote d’ivoire, Algeria, Togo, Mali, Haiti, Morocco, Cameron, Senegal, Congo and Tunisia, while the likes of Musiliu Haruna Ishola, Eni afede, Pa Adewole Oniluola, Ijo Dee Foundation, Ara (Thunder), Ayanyinka Olowogangan, Unique Fingers, Adisa Ogundele and Abideen Olatunji, completed the pack.
