Inhalt:
Center for World Music
Studies in Music vol.6
After the devastating civil war which lasted over 30 months (July 1967
January 1970), the then Head of State and commander in Chief of the Armed
Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, General Yakubu Gowon initiated a
National Festival for the main purposes of reintegration and reconciliation
between ethnic nationalities that fought on the opposing sides during the
war. It was an opportunity to use culture to heal the wounds of the war by
uniting the people but as time went by, it became a forum for creativity,
talent hunt and cultural promotion.
The thrust of this publication is to examine the festival from the
perspectives of performing Authenticity, Cultural Nationalism, Nation
Building and National Identification which was continued to be shaped by
prevailing socio-political as well as economic condition.