From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
After a six-year break necessitated by circumstances beyond the organisers’ control, the 2024 edition of the popular Ham Week has been scheduled to be held from March 25 to 31, 2024 at Kwoi (Kwain) the headquarters of Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Located in the Southern part of Kaduna State, the Ham people are the custodians of the world-renowned Nok Culture and famous Terracotta dating back to 500 BC.
Terracotta archeological findings showed that they were well advanced in their civilisation. Intimating his people, well-wishers, government, media houses, leading corporate organisations, and individuals about the upcoming cultural week and possible support, Chairman, Tuk-Ham Organising Committee, Ambassador Bulus Lolo, told journalists at the Kaduna State Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists that the festival would witness series of dances, cultural displays, and networking.
According to him, the Ham Festival is celebrated among the Ham people of Jaba, Kachia, and the Kagarko Local Government Areas of Kaduna State and Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
“The Ham Festival is an event to behold. It is unique in many respects. Even though the people have a common ancestry, they always offered a beautiful mosaic in the variety of their music and dances.
“This uniqueness lends a special character to the Ham Festival and serves as a great attraction to a mix of audiences and participants cutting across tourists, government officials, historians, investors, local populace, and many more from within and outside Nigeria who converge during the event.
“In other words, the Ham Festival is a crowd puller and offers ample opportunity to promote business and commercial activities”, he narrated.
On the activities lined up for the event, he added: “In terms of content and structure, in the week that the festival will last, there will be different activities comprising free medical outreach, symposium, football tournament, beauty pageant, talent hunt, traditional dances, art and cultural displays, and site visits to historic places in Nok village.
“The details, dates, and venues for these events are yet to be finalized, but shall be made known as soon as they are ready.”