The Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, Minister of Youths Development (State), Ayodele Olawande Wisdom, Senator Ben Murray Bruce and other prominent Nigerians were at the unveiling of the logo for the rebranded Abuja International Carnival organized by Yankee Entertainment in collaboration with the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony which held on Wednesday at the A-Class- Park in Abuja, stakeholders in the entertainment industry agreed in one voice that the carnival would expose the rich cultural heritage of Nigeria to the rest of the world.
In his welcome address, the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Abuja International Carnival, Kehinde Adegbite, famously known as Mallam Yankee said the Abuja International Carnival was returning as a rebranded version after a long break. He commended the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Arts and her counterpart from the Ministry of Youths Development for keying into the vision of the organizers.
Mallam Yankee expressed optimism that the carnival would showcase Nigeria to the world, assuring that the rebranded carnival with a little adjustment to the name would be of international standard to the delight of Nigerians and citizens of other countries.
According to the Yankee Entertainment boss, ” We strongly believe we can achieve international standards with this carnival and that is why it is now rebranded as Abuja International Carnival.
“Abuja Carnival belongs to everyone of us. No matter your status, no matter your level of wealth and no matter the fame, you are first a Nigerian and we must promote that. This is what we need to project. Despite the negative colouration, we need to promote the positive side because the percentage of bad people is quite low compared to those positive aspects of the country. The only way we can achieve this is by having our own carnival to showcase our culture to the world.”
Mallam Yankee appealed for government and stakeholders’ participation in the carnival that is now fixed for Nov. 21st – 23rd 2024.
In her address, Barr. Hannatu Musawa,
Honourable Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy emphasised the need for self realization of a nation with great potentials which she reeled out in a short poem.
According to the Minister, she is proud to head an industry that has continued to project the great talents and culture of Nigeria to the world.
She, however lamented that Nigeria’s rich culture was not being projected enough in the past because there was no dedicated ministry for it. She expressed hope that with the new ministry now dedicated to culture and creative economy, cultural transformation was possible.
“This is why we need to work with this platform to project our culture.. When we strengthen our culture, this is where we can use that culture and the creative industry, not only as source power because we all know that now, the world of today, the whole world is looking to Nigeria because of our content, talent and colorful Kaleidoscope of beauty.
” Everywhere I go, you see Nigerians and we are at our best.”
The Minister assured her commitment towards ensuring that the Abuja Carnival is successful while hailing Mallam Yankee from the initiative of the rebranded carnival.
Similarly, the Minister of State for Youths Development, Ayodele Olawande Wisdom, said that youths non-involvement in government activities was the reason for agitations here and there, pledging to support any thing that will lift the hope of Nigerian youths.
He pledged to work with the organizers of the carnival for a positive outcome at the end of the day, while appealing to the youths to be a little patient with the government as efforts are being made to address the current challenges.
Senator Ben Murray Bruce hammered on the need to improve on the nation’s cultural heritage through the establishment of museums and other cultural centers. He, however, stated that the two greatest countries in the world were Nigeria and the United States, but that, “the difference between the two is that while the United States knows how to project their own, Nigeria does little or nothing in that direction.”
A former Guber aspirant, Uche Nwosu also appealed to Nigerians against violence, urging them to embrace peace no matter the level of frustration. He said engaging Nigerian youths in events such as carnivals would help a lot in drawing them close to the government.
The FCT commissioner of police, Mr. Ben Igwe emphasised that Abuja was safe for all, and that the FCT command was fully on ground to ensure the safety of visitors and residents before, during and after the carnival.
Style Plus, MI Abaga, and other artistes also graced the event which came to a close after the unveiling of the logo by industry stakeholders.