Category: Arts & Life

The famous Argungu fishing and cultural festival has been inscribed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
The inscription was made during UNESCO’s 11th Session of Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).
The festival was finally adopted into the Representative List of the Safeguarding of ICH of Humanity, following its nomination. It was adopted at the session held at the Conference Hall I, United Nations Building, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Amid critical assessment of the Nomination File by the evaluation body, the Executive Secretary/CEO, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Dr Barclays Ayakoroma said an amendment to the dossier was sponsored by Palestine, based on added information from NICO. It was defended by Senegal and adopted after receiving no objection from states’ parties.
Ayakoroma, who led Nigeria’s delegation to the ICH conference, said the adoption was an honour to Nigeria.
Ayakoroma said in his appreciation speech: “Nigeria is a country of over 170 million people; with abundant festivals. Our beloved country, has a diversity of cultures that have not been given the needed attention. There are hundreds of thousands of edifying cultural practices and expressions that demonstrate the diversity of the Nigerian people. Consequently, there is the need to raise awareness about their importance through inscription on the Representative List.
“The Argungu Fishing Festival is just one among the numerous fishing festivals in the country. This is a festival that started as a community initiative. In the words of Ibrahim Hussain’s Kinjeketile, “A man gives birth to a word; the word grows… and it grows bigger than the man who gave it birth”. Today, the Argungu Fishing Festival has gone beyond a village gathering, attracting and unifying people nationally and internationally.”
While citing Nigeria’s two cultural elements on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, he called for more to be safeguarded.
“Mr Chairperson, there are cultural elements in various communities in Nigeria that require urgent safeguarding measures for them to be sustained for future generations to come. We believe that the ICH programme is a veritable window for us in Nigeria, and indeed Africa, to bring to the fore our unique cultural endowments. We like to recall that, so far, Nigeria has only the Ifa Divination System and the Ijele Masquerade on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. These two elements were inscribed in 2008 and 2009, respectively; while the Oral Heritage of Gelede, a multi-lateral element with Benin and Togo, was inscribed in 2008. Today, we have made history with the inscription of the Argungu Fishing Festival on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.”
He restated the delegation’s commitment to documenting Nigeria’s intangible cultural heritages. He said: “The Nigerian delegation reiterates its position to be more committed to carry on with the documentation of our rich and cherished intangible cultural heritages. The elements are there in abundance. We have the will; and as the saying goes, ‘Once there is a will, there is a way’. We will further strategise and make a rebound in the preparation of more Nomination Files on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.”
The evaluation body had approved only two of five of the Nomination criteria, meaning that the file was to be referred to another Nomination cycle; but, according to Ayakoroma, the Nigerian Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Ambassador Maryam Katagum, “never gave up and insisted that NICO, the UNESCO Focal Agency on the ICH in Nigeria needed to provide additional information as an Amendment for the file, which was done”.
With him to defend the nomination of the file were Mrs Edith Okoro (Delegate Counsellor, Nigeria’s Permanent Delegation to UNESCO); Mr Ibrahim Lawal (Coordinator, NICO North-West Zonal Office); Mr Law Ikay Ezeh (Deputy Director/SA-ES); UNESCO accredited Nigerian ICH Advisory Experts, Mr Joseph Ogieriakhi (WACIPR); Dr Casmir Ani (CEPPER); Mallam Babagana Abubakar (KDA) and Dr Marie Agatha Ozah (Executive Board Member of the International Council of Traditional Music, ICTM).

A firm, Marine Platforms, has donated 100 mobile libraries to schools in Kaduna State. Each of the libraries contains 100 well-illustrated storybooks. The libraries were donated to 100 primary schools. The Governor’s Office at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, and LGEA Sheikh Abubakar Gumi Model Primary School, Tudun Wada, was among the beneficiaries.
Tagged: The Marine Platforms Mobile Library initiative, the company’s representative, Mr Abaji Nyam, said the project was inspired by the desire to boost and nurture the reading culture among the youth.
“We place a lot of emphasis on education, education being the means of liberating the minds of our people. Books are very significant to children; they spark off a desire to learn and make them inquisitive. Children want to learn about other places; they want to learn about other people and the society around them.”
At the Kaduna State capital, a sample of the mobile library stocked with the books was presented to Governor Nasir El Rufai at his office, with some of his cabinet members present, by Mr Nyam.
Nyam decried the state of schools across the country, while recounting his younger days when libraries were easily accessible. He said the project, a dream-come-true, was in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Book Buzz Foundation.
El Rufai praised Nyam and his company for the gesture. “We want to revamp our libraries in Kaduna State and ensure that in every local government area, there is one functioning and well equipped library with triple offering: books, electronics as well as textbooks. This is because when our students sit for national examinations, they travel long distances to take the Computer-based Test (CBT).
“Your contribution is significant and creative. We hope to adopt your model and scale it up. It is sad that young people don’t read any more; they prefer visuals and they love pictures. We have to find ways to make young people interested in reading and have access to libraries and good books.”
At LGEA Sheikh Abubakar Gumi Model Primary School, Kaduna, where the initiative was flagged off, the Book Buzz Foundation Director, Lola Shoneyin, engaged the pupils in an exciting conversation. The entire class took the books from the library shelves and leafed through them, admiring the glossy colours and photographs. Two pupils, Aisha Abdulwasi’u and Muhsin Adam, read excerpts from their books.
Commissioner for Education, Prof Andrew Jonathan Nok, also advised the pupils to utilise the opportunity afforded them by reading the books in the library.
Mrs Hadiza El Rufai also spoke to the pupils, saying: “Children, you have to take your education seriously. It’s the only way to achieve your aim in life. Through these books you get to know many places that you haven’t visited. From your reading, I’m hoping the love of writing will be rekindled in you!”
Nyam shared his experience of how books became windows for exploring faraway places as a young reader before he visited them as an adult with the pupils. “I want you to read. I went through public school and we had books, libraries, which are no longer there for young ones these days, which is a shame, really. So, this is certainly not the end of it. We definitely hope that our model will inspire more people to do more for our community schools, where older people studied to be what they are today,” Nyam said.
According to him, the initiative is one of many that Marine Platforms is working on, adding that his company hoped that the mobile library initiative would also challenge others to take a cue and offer assistance in areas of educational needs across the country. “The model we are working with Book Buzz Foundation is to make it a workable project. So, the model is there and we expect more people to come together and create a bandwagon effect and donate books and more libraries. We hope development partners will come on board and lend a helping hand. We all agree that our future depends on our children. The whole idea is not just for the children to have books, but for the books to be able to trigger off inquisitiveness, trigger off the desire to learn, trigger off the desire to explore. That is the whole benefit of this project.
“Apart from the young children, within the company, we train, update and enhance the capacity of individuals, who work with us. For us, this is not the end of the cooperation. We will work with the state government in whatever way we can. And we hope that that fire of inquisitiveness will be ignited in the children to make better adults later in life. There are so many other things we have in mind.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) turned 70 last Sunday. To commemorate the milestone, renowned writers across the world have joined the campaign for children’s rights. The Nigerian literati are not left out in the campaign. Along with Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Christina Lamb and Nuruddin Farah, over 19 authors, including Chimamanda Adichie and Abubakar Ibrahim, joined hundreds of others to pen “Tiny Stories” to highlight the kind of world writers want for children. EVELYN OSAGIE writes.

70 years  of advocating child rights  

THE United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is 70. The agency, which was established on December 11, 1946, to bring succour to children after the World War II, turned 70 on Sunday. Today, it is the world’s largest children’s organisation, working to bring life-saving aid, long-term support and hope to children whose lives and future are endangered by conflict, crises, poverty, inequality and discrimination.
Despite the progress made for children globally in recent decades, nearly six million of them around the world still die every year from preventable causes – and children from poor households are twice as likely as those from wealthy homes to die before reaching their fifth birthday, according to UNICEF.
“Every child has the right to grow up healthy and strong, to be educated and protected, and to have a fair chance in life. Our commitment to child rights must be matched with action for every child. We need to stop these violations by investing more in reaching the most vulnerable children, or pay the price in slower growth, greater inequality, and less stability,” said UNICEF Nigeria Representative Mohamed Fall.

Writers pen stories for children
In connection with the United Nations Universal Children’s Day and the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) on November 20, and in commemoration of UNICEF’s 70th anniversary, over 200 renowned writers across the world penned and shared their “Tiny Stories” on the theme: What I Want for Every Child.
The First Lady of Finland, Jenni Haukio, introduced the concept, which gained global momentum with writers joining from Asia, Africa, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. Tagged: #foreverychild initiative, the literary campaign began last month and is being shared on the authors’ own and UNICEF’s social media platforms.
The “Tiny Stories” written by the authors are about seven-line dedicated narratives tailored like a Facebook status update which makes them easy to read and share. Written in over 10 languages and varying in style, the stories advocate that the rights of many children are still neglected.
Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Paulo Coelho, Christina Lamb, Nuruddin Farah and one of the world’s youngest published authors, seven-year-old South African Michelle Nkamankeng, were part of hundreds that penned their “Tiny Stories”.
Their Nigerian counterparts were not left out. Over 19 of them, including widely-acclaimed Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; winner of the NLNG Nigeria Literature Prize, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim; former Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) President Dr Wale Okediran; former ANA General Secretary BM Dzukogi, and activist and journalist Chido Onumah have taken part in the campaign.
The inspiring short story series, UNICEF Nigeria Chief of Communication Doune Porter said, came at a time when there were increasing threats to child rights. “The strategic aim of the initiative is to reach and engage new audiences through mainly social media and digital platforms with stories published by different writers around the world. We hope through this initiative the awareness of child rights globally and locally will increase,” Porter said.
“As writers we are able to advocate through the simplicity of storytelling. With this worthy and necessary campaign, we advocate for the protection of the rights of precious children all over the world,” Adichie said of the initiative.

What writers want for children
They have been advocating for the rights of persons through their works, but chose to join UNICEF’s campaign for a better world for children this year. With courage, anger, love and hope for every child as themes, the stories highlight the kind of life the authors want for children.
Thiong’o wrote: “I want my child to dream of a future of earth and air and water without pollution”.
Adichie’s “Tiny Story” goes thus: “I want every child to have primary healthcare.\I want every child to be protected by adults…And never to be treated like adults.”
Ibrahim’s piece appears to be one of the longest. It reads: “I was shelling some groundnuts earlier when your daughter came to ask me how long it would take for these to grow into trees.” She held out her hand and in her wrinkly palm lay tree orange seeds./ “I told her three to six years. But you know Zahra, she is already dreaming of lying in the shade of the tree on her seventeenth birthday and watching the sun through the leaves.”\He chuckled. “Ayaya!” “Maama, Zahra has always been a dreamer. No one has time to plant trees and lazy under them on her birthday. And you know Alhaji wants the wedding to be in two weeks.”
“She put a hand on her back and grimaced as she lowered herself onto a stool.\ “Well, you see, about this marriage business…\ “Maama, we’ve been through this before. Zahra is 14 and I don’t have the money to send her to school. Can you imagine how much that would cost, with this roof leaking and the rear wall crumbling? Alhaji has promised to pay for her education if he marries her.”\She scoffed. “Which of his two wives has he sponsored to school?” She unknotted the end of her wrapper to reveal a tight package which she threw to him. “I am old. I don’t remember what I was saving that money for. But it might just be that I was saving it for Zahra.”\”Maama… See, I was married off at her age. I had you and your siblings. That was my dream then and I thank God for his favours. But Zahra, her dream is to go to school, plant trees in her father’s house and pluck the fruit by the time she turns 17. You and I will see to it that the girl plants her trees, won’t we?”
Somalian novelist and essayist Farah’s thoughts read thus: “I want every child born anywhere to delight in what life offers these days. This includes immunisation jabs; good schools during their childhood; peace and its dividends at home and out of the home; a comfortable enough life with little or no stress until they can look after themselves. I would want every child to enjoy these and other rights to peace, rights that confirm their dignity, safety and full humanity.”
Multi award-winning journalist Christina Lamb’s piece entitled: Cat’s Cradle, reads: “She comes to me with a hesitant smile and a loop of red thread held up between her fingers. I haven’t done a Cat’s Cradle for more than 30 years. The girl is waiting. She and her family have travelled more than 3,000 miles from their Afghan village where the Taliban threatened to kill her for learning English, to this camp on a Greek island which is sunny and safe but they cannot leave. In the camp they call her Princess because she is always so immaculately turned out and well-mannered. I take the string between my fingertips and manage a simple back and forth and she takes it back smiling and with a skilful move fashions a string butterfly. But when she passes it again and I try to make a Jacob’s Ladder, it has been too many years and the string gets tangled and she walks away a sad princess.”
Shahla Latifi is an Afghan poet and story writer, she wrote: “Fourteen-year-old Sahar had to leave her parents’ home, carried off in the arms of her strange husband. From the depths of her soul, Sahar gained a mystical power and light-to refuse the marriage. She convinced her parents to give her a chance to pursue education. Finally, she was ready to face her reality with self-worth and dignity. She could honestly believe in herself and never give up hope. This was her life. Sahar would endure and survive”.
For Michelle: “My dream for every child is for them to want to dream to achieve the talent they are good at. And I wish every child can go to school because education is important. And I wish for every child a peaceful home, and when a child is sick I wish a person can take care of him/her.
“And I wish every child can have fun with no wars and that all the children who don’t have blankets, socks, jerseys could keep warm. And I wish every child who wants to write a book does not go off-track. And I wish every child can feel safe at home and outdoors, and I don’t want anyone to be harmed. And I want every child to inspire others with their talents and to be themselves without showing off.”
Other Nigerian authors who penned their short stories include Toni Kan, Igoni Barret, Ifeoma Theodre Jnr., Ayo Sogunro, Betty Abah, Ayoola Amale, Sumaila Umaisha, Constance Omawunmi Kola-Lawal, William Ifeanyi Moore, Bolatito Ariyo Osoko, Ifeoma Ezeobi, Kingsley Iweka, Ukamaka Olisakwe, Gbonjubola Sanni, Sadeeq Dzukogi (BM’s son) and Seun Odukoya.