Official Photos From African Drums Festival #africandrumsfestival
The second edition of the African Drums Festival kicked off in Abeokuta, the Ogun State on Thursday evening with pomp and pageantry. The glamour that marked the event was exciting to watch. The first edition was held on Tuesday, April 19, 2016, and referred to as “Nigerian Drums Festival.”
Among the dignitaries that graced the occassion, held at the premises of the June 12 Cultural Centre were, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi; the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo; Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Lai Mohammed and Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson.
The three-day event witnessed performances from over 50 cultural troupes.The foreign troupes were, the Association of intersection Haiti, Association Toffondji of Togo, Leydis Bernal Suarez of Cuba, Faso Djarabi of Burkina Faso, La Campagnie N’tsamini, Afro Media, USA, Gwari troupe, Ghana, Nikki Spooner from the city of Dallas, USA.The Monarch who spoke in Yoruba, said: “The African Drums Festival is a tourism haven and a boost to our unity as a people in Yorubaland and Nigeria in particular. Drums have continued to unite and add glamour to our lifestyle from time immemorial.
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, who also spoke in Yoruba, said: “What we are doing here today is very important in Yorubaland. Drum is a very important item in Yoruba culture. I read a lot of books and I have travelled far and wide and in all the places I have been to, I have never seen a talking drum except in Yorubaland.
Among the dignitaries that graced the occassion, held at the premises of the June 12 Cultural Centre were, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi; the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo; Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Lai Mohammed and Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson.
The three-day event witnessed performances from over 50 cultural troupes.The foreign troupes were, the Association of intersection Haiti, Association Toffondji of Togo, Leydis Bernal Suarez of Cuba, Faso Djarabi of Burkina Faso, La Campagnie N’tsamini, Afro Media, USA, Gwari troupe, Ghana, Nikki Spooner from the city of Dallas, USA.The Monarch who spoke in Yoruba, said: “The African Drums Festival is a tourism haven and a boost to our unity as a people in Yorubaland and Nigeria in particular. Drums have continued to unite and add glamour to our lifestyle from time immemorial.
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, who also spoke in Yoruba, said: “What we are doing here today is very important in Yorubaland. Drum is a very important item in Yoruba culture. I read a lot of books and I have travelled far and wide and in all the places I have been to, I have never seen a talking drum except in Yorubaland.
Senator Ibikunle Amosun in his address noted that the festival would further strengthen the bond among states in Nigeria, and Africa in general.
“This festival serves as a veritable platform for drummers, dancers and singers, not only from Nigeria, but from Africa to showcase their cultural heritage to the world. Drum is a strong weapon of communication. It has been described as the first telephone. Even before the advent of modern technology for communication, Africans have been using drums to communicate to one another,” he said.
Amosun disclosed that the state would write to the Federal Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism to declare April 20 to 22 of every year as the official dates of the festival.
The Ogun State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Chief Muyiwa Oladipo noted that African history is incomplete without drums because the social and entertainment life of Africans is centred on it.
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