BY WAMBO EMMANUEL IN NDOP
History will have it on record that the maiden edition of the Ngoketunjia cultural festival was celebrated under the distinguished patronage of the Minister of Arts and Culture, Prof Narcisse M ouelle Kombi. He was represented at the cultural bonanza by the Technical adviser No 1 in the Ministry of Arts and Culture, Mme Achille Kilo.
Cross section dignitaries at the Ngoketunjia Art & culture bonanza
The event initiated by Ngoketunjia divisional president for the Cameroon National Youth Council CNYC, who doubles as proprietor of Stone FM Community Radio, Mbuotna Anabi Zacks, in collaboration with Ngoketunjia divisional delegation for Arts and culture was attended by cross section of the elite of the division from within and without.
Elaborating the importance of the Ngoketunjia cultural festival, Mbuotna Anabi Zacks said the idea of a cultural week and a cultural festival was to make cultural diversity a bridge and not a barrier nor a source of conflicts. His decision to organize the cultural bonanza is intended for the various groupings to showcase their cultural values.
He went further to clarify that apart from the thirteen ethnic groups corresponding to the thirteen villages of the division, Ngoketunjia can also boast of other groupings from outside the regions like Betis, Ewondos, Bullus, Bakweri, Bamouns, Bamileke, Borroros, Hausa and others tribes. Noting that, he was using the cultural bonanza to bring together all the ethnic groups around a common platform to promote peace, unity, integration and development.
The maiden event on October 15, 2017 saw a display of a series of activities such as radio talks on societal issues, sub divisional competitions on cultural dances, music, local dishes, language interpretation and polyglots, sketches, books exhibition on historical evolution.
The event was also a forum for the community radio, Stone FM to distinguish some elite through a way of an Excellence Award.
He used the event and paid special tributes to the pioneer Ngoketunjia divisional delegate for Arts and Culture, Nkwenti Ngwei Sylvia, for her technical service to have such a giant cultural event organized in the division.
The technical adviser no 1 in the Ministry of Arts and Culture Mme Achille Kilo, representative of the Arts and Culture Minister, said a people without a culture is just like someone without an identity. She urged the elite of the division to preserve their rich cultural heritage by exhibiting it for others to cherish. He congratulated the initiator of the pioneer cultural festival, Mbuotna Anabi Zacks, for coming up with something that has to do with the cultural potentials of the divisions.
Speaking to the press in her office after the occasion, the divisional delegate for the arts and culture for Ngoketunjia, Ngwei Sylvia Nkwenti, pointed out that, culture is an integral part of life which gives an identity to a community or tribe. She went further and affirmed her Ministry’s commitment in fostering cultural activities to those ready to embrace it.