The Federal Government is to work with the states in Northern Nigeriaย to revive the Durbar Festival because of its huge potential to showcaseย the pristine African culture and also create jobs.
The Minister of Culture and Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated thisย in Abuja on Wednesday when he received the Governor of Bauchi State,ย Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, on a courtesy visit to his office.
โUntil recently, Durbar used to be a fixed cultural item in many partsย of Northern Nigeria and itโs about time we revived it. This is oneย culture that you can hardly find replicated anywhere in the world.
โDurbar in Northern Nigeria is unique not only for its pageantry andย colour but for the potential it has to create jobs and also createย wealth for our people,โ he said.
Alhaji Mohammed said Bauchi State is not only the citadel of Durbarย but a hub of tourism in Nigeria, and that very soon his ministry willย commence the tourist sites in the state as part of deliberate effortsย to promote tourism.
โOne thing Bauchi is known for is tourism and culture. Many peopleย in Nigeria will remember the Yankari Games Reserve but what manyย people will not know about the Yankari Games Reserve is that a fewย years ago, it was actually given back to the government of Bauchiย State and since then they have taken tourism very seriously,โ he said.
Earlier, Governor Abubakar hailed Alhaji Mohammed as an astuteย information manager who has re-defined the art of public communicationย in Nigeria.
โIt is important and incumbent on me to pay this courtesy for theย single reason that information and communication are essential andย integral part of the success of any democratic government and Alhajiย Lai Mohammed has blazed the trail from the time he was the Publicityย Secretary of the All Progressives Congress to his present appointmentย as the Minister of Information,โ he said.
The Governor said his visit to the Minister was very successful as heย would be taking home some salient points that would help him to rejigย the machinery of information management in Bauchi State.
Segun Adeyemi
SA to Hon. Minister of Information and Culture
Abuja
