Frank Meke
Twenty-seven countries, four continents, a historic gathering outside pedestrian diplomatic swan song, moved by the love of culture and humanity holding hands and standing up for a new message crafted in Nigeria and delivered to the world, bestride the cultural new grain from Nigeria to the world.
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For over one week, Nigeria became the world stage and gave a refreshing breather and meaning to cultural tourism as a denominator and enhancer of global peace. How? A once cultural trade line tagged African Arts and Culture Festival (AFAC) totally transformed into International Arts and Crafts Festival (INAC), a new bridge targeted at networking global Arts and Crafts as product for open and practical understanding of human evolution in dance, crafts, arts, language, cuisine and fashion.
Indeed, language and colour of the skin may differ, the humanity, and brotherhood of mankind was on showcase as exhibitors, trade masters and the hugely appreciating visitors applauded an initiative wholly made in Nigeria and showcased in grandeur by National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) under the watch Otunba Olusegun Runsewe.
The event was deliberately made expressive, directly delivered to avoid misrepresentation of intent and objective of creating of an enduring and sustainable platform for the world of crafts and arts not just to market their creative specialties but to bond cultures devoid of hate and human superiority. It was touching to see that men and people of different tongues and cultures could communicate and live under one roof, eating together and listened to a journey of cultural evolution through arts and crafts. At each point of these excursions, one noticed that both exhibitors and visitors paused to compare notes, shares happiness in similarity of near notes of expressions in dances, cuisine and fashion.
The global declaration of cultural diplomacy as tool for peace did not just happen. Segun Runsewe told me on the sidelines of the truly glorious event that heaven opened up with the content, he saw the strategic link on how culture could drive world peace as India, Bangladesh, Trinidad and Tobago, Mali, Hungary, China, Iran, Syria, Korea, Mexico, Tanzania, Pakistan to mention a few countries that hugged the initiative and took time off to invite the world to their destinations for exploration and rest.
Special days were set aside for each participating nation to display the best of their cultural humanity through songs, dances, drumming and cuisine. This process did not only make it easy for all to fall in love with what they may not have seen before or possibly did not understand, the expressions from each host nation on INAC billing won souls from other climes other than their own people, gave birth a new cultural message on peace to a world clearly on verge of self destruction.
Significantly, this cultural diplomatic message from Nigeria resonated with the world and the Chinese grabbed the messenger in Segun Runsewe to visit China in few weeks to share the new dream of pushing culture as vehicle of global integration and peaceful existence, a free hold ambassadorial calling from the appreciative Chinese.
Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu who chaired the new cultural diplomatic declaration on Peace noted that Runsewe has become the official Peace ambassador of the Nigerian government and people, adding that the twenty – seven nations and four continents in attendance signifies the readiness of Nigeria to enthrone legacies on global peace, not excluding Africa.
You may wonder what Science and Technology has to do with culture as Minister Onu explained,
the evolutionary trend in scientific discovery started on the plane of cultural development, a nail on the head submission that saw to many people applauding and appreciating the new leap to broker world peace through relational cultural process.
And as the representatives and diplomats from the 27 countries and four continents massed out
in recognition and support of the initiative, the caged dove set free by Runsewe, Symbolically expressed the desire of all participants to drive culture through the bag of diplomatic channels to find lasting peace on earth. How Segun Runsewe would sustain this initiative, find out only on this page.
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