Thursday, March 28, 2024
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THAT WAS NIGERIA THAT WAS

By Said Jama Hussein

I was there. I was, to my great delight, one of 17,000 men and women, invited from the four corners of the world to attend the first largest artistic and cultural event ever to be held in the African continent. The Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, known as FESTAC -77 was held in Lagos, then capital of Nigeria, between 15 January and 12 February 1977, under the patronage of President Olusagon Obasanjo.

Waaberi- Nigeria
Waaberi, Nageria

The festival featured poetry, sculpture, paintings, music, fashion, architecture, design and dance from artists and performers from 50 countries in Africa and the rest of the surrounding world. Somalia was represented by over 160, the biggest number ever sent abroad comprising of artists, writers, intellectuals and administrators.

Perplexed by which country’s pavilion to visit, which programme to watch, I was indeed lost in this myriad of fantastic displays including the attractive glamour of the host country itself. Wishing all, one, surely, misses all. I, therefore, contended myself to only meeting very few, among them Mariam Makeba the famous singer and social activist of South Africa, the Nigerian musical legend FELA and his wizard band, the highly acclaimed dance troupe from Trinidad and Tobago with their mesmerizing indigenous musical instruments carved from drums only, besides prominent personalities like Oliver Tambo the ANC Leader of South Africa and the world renowned Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka to mention but few.

Shortly before the conclusion of the festival proceedings, and while everybody was preparing for the return homeward trip, our Somali party received special invitation from the governorate of the federal State of Plateau to share with its population the Somali theatrical performance of THE DRUM – a semi-pantomime depicting the colonial advent of Africa and its peoples’ resistance.
Graciously accepting the invitation, since we were the only country privileged to perform outside the capital city, we set out for JOS, the capital of Plateau State full of enthusiasm and eagerness.

Unfortunately, along the way between IBADAN and KADUNA, one of the buses transporting some of our leading artists had an accident. It went off the road and hit the trunk of a huge tree. We suffered both death and injury. The injured were admitted to the hospitals in Kaduna and Jos for medical treatment and the dead were befittingly buried in the same plot of land in Jos. Very touching was the scene of the Governor of the State accompanied by a huge crowd of both Christians and Muslims swarming the mosque for the final prayer, paying their respects to the dead comrades before their burial.

The DRUM was performed by the remaining Somali artists and was thoroughly enjoyed by the people of JOS and others who flocked from the neighbouring States like ZARIA and KADUNA and we spent some of the most pleasurable times in that State. One of the most striking aspects of that State was, indeed, how its peolpe lived in total peace and harmony. We were unofficially taken by these friendly people to various landmarks for sightseeing. We went to different markets for shopping. We talked to people of different walks of life. It hardly crossed my mind these assortment of people I rubbed shoulders with had ever belonged to different ‘Faiths ‘ and worshipped irreconcilable ‘Deities’. On departure we were graciously given special plane by the government of the State that took us back to Lagos and thence to Mogadishu.

These are some of the pictures that come rushing to my mind whenever I encounter a Nigerian or hear an incident about that marvellous country.

That is why nowadays, watching the horrific news stories on the television screen, at times I feel reluctant to believe that a group of black-clad hooded marauding terrorists could wreak havoc to that giant country with all its potentialities.

I am as yet completely taken in by the magical spell of that fabulous country – the enchanting beauty of its land, the immense human and natural wealth it abounds and the equally glorious cultural heritage indelibly engraved in my mind.

Said Jama Hussein
Email:[email protected]

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Said Jama Hussein, is an author and analyst on Somali language and literature. Mr. Hussein is the author of numerous books, among them Safar aan Jaho Lahayn. He is also a regular contributor to WardheerNews and the former vice chairman of Somali Pen.


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