….As Runsewe Calls For Unity, Religious Tolerance
Stakeholders in the tourismand arts and culture, Traditional Rulers, a cross section of the Nigerian Media rise from a one-day interractive forum with a charge to Nigerians for a nation rebirth.
In a one-day interactive forum with the theme Culture, Peace and National Rebirth was organized by the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) at Kapital Klub, Abuja, on the 2nd of May 2023 was aimed at restoring the confidence of the youth in the Nigerian nation state and encourage them to stay behind and contribute to the task of nation building.
in a communique issued at the end of the one-day interractive forum include: To set an agenda for the rebirth of Nigeria.To draw attention to the fact that Nigeria is a secular state and stress the need for religious tolerance.
To restore the confidence of the youth in the Nigerian nation state and encourage them to stay behind and contribute to the task of nation building.
To reduce the rate at which our youths migrate from Nigeria and draw attention to the limitless opportunities within.
In his welcome address, the Director General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe (OON) welcomed participants to the programme, Runsewe said that the Interactive Session was motivated by the need to put issues of culture, peace and national rebirth in the front burner of national discourse as we seek to reposition Nigeria on the path of growth and national development.
He pointed out that there had been no time since after the Civil War that Nigeria had been so polarized along primordial and parochial lines than in the recent time, particularly during the 2023 General Election.
He said that the tension, bitterness, rancour, and acrimony generated by the electioneering campaign have further fuelled the embers of distrust and disunity among Nigerians.
He stated that these ugly social situations in the country have also negatively impacted on the Nigerian youths, manifesting in restiveness and all forms of vices.
The Director General observed that the End SARS protest of 2021 and the growing rate of human capital flight fondly called the “JAPA Syndrome” are clear indications of a youth population with a sense of alienation, disillusionment and despair.
Otunba Runsewe stated that it was in strategic response to these social problems and the need to unite our nation and ensure that there is peace, social harmony and national development that the programme was conceived and implemented.
Goodwill messages were given by the Executive Secretary of National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Alhaji Ado Yahuza, the Director General of National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), Mr. Nura Kangiwa, President of the Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN), Mr Onung Nkeum, the President of National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), Mr. Israel Eboh, the President of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA), Mr. Suleiman Muhammed, among other stakeholders.
They all commended the programme as a bold step to the right direction and stressed the need to sustain this and similar programmes so that the Nigeria of our dream can emerge.Presentations A total of three papers relating to the theme of the programme were presented by erudite resource persons in the field of value re-orientation, communications, social engineering and peace building: Engendering Religious Tolerance for Peaceful Co-existence in Nigeria.Undue Attraction of Our Youths to Foreign Lands for Greener Pastures (JAPA Syndrome)Mobilizing Nigerians for National Rebirth.