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Drums have been a vital part of Africa, intertwined in its very fabric. From kings’ palaces to family units, drums have their pride of place. This reality was affirmed at the just concluded African Drum Festival, which saw a colourful drum expertise from participants.
The rhythms and beats were different but those who are experienced in such matters could tell the subtle similarities.
One of such experts was the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, who spoke about Africa’s rich culture and the need for similar platforms across the continent.
The monarch related the drumming culture in Yoruba land to the state of the country.
“Every morning at 5am, drums wake up Yoruba kings to remind them of the oaths they took to serve their people. We need drums to wake our leaders and policymakers in Nigeria,” he said.
The third edition of the Africa Drum festival, tagged ‘Drumming for Advancement’, saw drum troupes from 33 states in Nigeria, over 20 African countries and the Caribbean perform at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta.
In attendance at the three-day event, which was supported by MTN, were Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, and royal fathers, including Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo; Alafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III; Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi; Obong of Calabar, Etubom Ekpo; Akarigbo of Remo land, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, and many others.
Wole Soyinka headlined the conference and symposium.
He said, “There is nowhere that you don’t have drums in Africa. If we are to revive our ideals and ideas as a continent, we must start with a culture, like drumming, that cuts across.”
He spoke in-depth about the cultural heritage in Nigeria and across Afr, ica and how our approach to culture, especially the different particular elements like drumming, should be different.
Veteran African drummer Bakossa Cocou Armel said drums were used back in the day to pass messages across, just as telephones aare used now, and also as signals to show when a boy has become a man.
“Our culture is very rich and drumming in itself is an art. Most of our children, however, don’t see this. They do not know how important drums are to our culture. We need to quickly return to our history and bring our rich heritage upfront,” said legendary music producer Laolu Akintobi.
Lai Mohammed, in his welcome speech at the festival, noted that Africa has a very rich heritage and platforms that showcase its robust culture, like the African Drum Festival, should be supported.
“The drum festival keys into our objective of turning the creative industry into a thriving industry, one that provides jobs and promotes the economy. I will also appeal to the corporate world to partner with Ogun State and support this festival by providing the much needed resources to ensure its sustenance,” the minister said.
“This festival is important to Africa because it provides us an avenue to showcase our rich cultural heritage as well as an opportunity to preserve the culture for the future heritage,” he said.
The cultural event also had in attendance Nollywood stars like like Tunde Kelani, Kareem Adepoju (Baba Wande), Kunle Afolayan, Olu Jacobs, Richard Agbor, Wole Sodimu, Wale Dada, and Omotunde Adebowale David.
Also in attendance were Njide Ken-Odogwu, marketing & strategy, sponsorship & promotions manager; Okundola Bamgboye, events and sponsorship manager, and Chinyelu Onochie, senior manager, go-to-market brands, all of MTN Nigeria.
The festival was sponsored by Nigeria’s leading provider of communications services and widest reaching network, MTN, known for supporting a wide range of segments in the creative industry.
Chuks Oluigbo
