From April 19 to 21, Ogun State played host to the third edition of the African Drum Festival. Featuring several drummers from 20 different African countries, it held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto in Abeokuta.Various states across Nigeria also participated with their cultural troupes.
Notable people that graced the event include Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka, film directors Tunde Kelani and Kunle Afolayan, as well as actors Kareem Adepoju, Olu Jacobs and Rykardo Agbor. Others were radio broadcasters Wale Dada and Omotunde Adebowale David, and the Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The African Drum Festival, an initiative of the Ogun state Governor Ibikunle Amosun, was first held in 2016. Aimed at showcasing Africa’s drum culture, the festival was conceived to promote the drum as a tool for education, socialisation, cultural and economic advancement.
On the importance of the festival, Amosun said it was the state’s contribution to Africa’s social cultural drive, adding that drums have not only been tools and sources of communication, but also veritable means of entertaining and educating people.
In his goodwill message, the 2018 festival consultant, Prof. Soyinka appreciated Governor Amosun’s efforts for building the state and developing its cultural values, urging the people to continue to respect and preserve the cultural values of the state.
“I thank the governor for his vision and enthusiasm towards this project. People call him Governor Bulldozer but as he bulldozes, he constructs; he builds”.
