The Minister of
Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the local wrestling
contest in Offa, Kwara State, called 'Ijakadi Festival', will now be included
in the National Festival Calendar, reports ITRealms.
The Minister, who made
this known at the 2017 'Ijakadi Festival' in Offa on Saturday, said the people
in charge of the festival will also be trained under a (training) programme for
festival managers, being jointly implemented by the Federal Ministry of
Information and Culture and the British Council.
"It is my
pleasure to say that my ministry is going to put this particular festival on
our own calendar. We have an MoU with the British Council through which, every
year, we train festival managers all over the country. I want to assure you
that in 2018, they (Ijakadi festival managers) will benefit from this
training," he said.
Alhaji Mohammed
assured the organizers that the Federal Government will leverage the power of
Information and technology to promote the festival, with a view to attracting
domestic and international tourists, thus improving the economy of the state.
He congratulated the
organizers of the festival for reviving it in 2012, after over three decades,
and said the decision to raise its visibility could not have been timelier,
considering the determination of the Buhari Administration to make the Creative
Industry a pillar of the economy, under its economic diversification policy.
"What we have
come here to celebrate is a history that goes back to the 14th century, and I
want to seize this opportunity to congratulate Kabiyesi, the Olofa of Offa,
that after almost a hiatus of 30 years, when there was no festival, the
festival was reborn in 2012 and every year it's getting bigger and
bigger," the Minister said
He said the festival
was significant because it is not just about the history of the people of Offa,
but a celebration of their virtues of “equity, justice and wisdom”, as well as
strength and determination.
Highlights of the
Ijakadi Festival include traditional dances, parade by districts, wrestling
bouts and horse racing.
Other dignitaries at
this year's festival included the Minister of Communication, Mr. Adebayo
Shittu, and the Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Muhammed-Gbadamosi, and the
President of the Offa Descendants Union, Alhaji Najeemdeen Usman Yasin;
Uj. N. Dominic/ED, Ops
ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!
Pix: President of Offa Descendants
Union, Alhaji Najeemdeen Usman Yasin; Minister of Information and
Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and the Olofa of Offa, HRM Oba Mufutau
Okikiola Muhammed-Gbadamosi, at the 2017 Ijakadi Offa Festival in Offa,
Kwara State, on Saturday
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