By Musa Ude
Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital will be agog between Thursday, April 19 and Saturday, April 21, as Drummers from 20 African countries and 20 states of the federation will participate in the third edition of the African Drum Festival.
Introduced by Governor Ibikunle Amosun-led administration in 2016, the festival aims at showcasing African culture. Last year’s edition attracted 14 African countries.
The theme of the Festival is, “Drumming to Advancement” with subtheme: Drumming for socio economic development.
Nobel Laurette, Professor Wole Soyinka is one of the prominent personalities to feature at the festival. Others include a 91-year old and a teenage drummer.
Soyinka, a consultant to the festival who spoke through his representative Mr. Jahman Amikulapo, at the ceremony where the logo of the festival was unveiled, said: “Drum is not only for entertainment, it’s also used for cultural and socio-economic promotion. Drums and drumming are important features of the African culture. “There is nowhere that you don’t have one type of drum or the other and if we are to revive our ideals and ideas as a continent, we must start with a culture that cuts across, which is drumming,’’ he said.
Amosun before he unveiled disclosed that his administration has fixed third week of April of every year to hold the festival. According to him, this year’s festival would be spiced with a workshop and exhibition.
His words: “The Festival will not just be centralised, we will be going to other Senatorial Districts and other states, and this time around we will spiced it up with workshop and exhibition. We will also be having giants who are lovers of culture at the festival. We are Africans and the African Drums Festival is to showcase the beauty of our cultures, it will also reawaken consciousness in our people that Africa is great.
Apart from the 20 African countries that have confirmed their participation, the governor said Jamaica, Cuba and non other African countries have agreed to participate.
The festival, unlike those held in previous years’ is to be marked with a lot of activities among at the historic Olumo Rock, Abeokuta.
Soyinka said measures had been taken to add intellectual flavour to the character of the Festival. “The main objective is to begin to position the festival as a tool for education, socialisation, cultural and economic advancement.”
Resource persons expected at the conference and workshop are Sylvanus Kwashie Kuwor, a master drummer, music and dance practitioner, and also a lecturer at the University of Ghana; Lolu Akins Akintobi, a revered Nigerian musician, author and composer; and Tunde Adebola, consulting Engineer and culture activists.