Cultural festival helps keep the craft traditions alive among young generation

Posted on 18 mar 2008

The Nasarawa state ministry of culture and tourism and the ministry of education have made a plan in order to introduce crafts and handmade wares in primary and secondary schools. Their goals are to maintain the craft tradition among children and to give it a respectability that has long been denied by people. Also handicrafts play a big role in increasing country culture and trade.

State commissioner for culture and tourism, Honourable Emmanuel Bako, explained: "pupils would have to go to the bush and source materials to objects of their own initiative". He added: "those are things we want to inculcate in our children as they are growing up, so that they can have means of livelihood arising from such action of catching them young".

Bako sustained that the cultural festival was intended to recollect their cultural background. According to the commissioner, such a handicraft center would be established at Shabu town the gate way to Lafia, the state capital. For children relaxation in this center would establish also an amusement park that will be equipped with modern facilities.

For to reintroduce craft work in schools, Emmanuel Bako need the Nasarawa inhabitants support. Mr. Bako called on the people of the state to believe in themselves and foster unity so that the outside world would see them as one indivisible entity.

He called on the people of the state to support him because all desires could be attained "only when all people want these changes not only one."

Bako encourages craft families to continue to make handicrafts and also to teach their children in making handicrafts. This will help to keep many craft traditions alive so that their practitioners can cater not only to the local population but also to the many tourists who visit Nasarawa.