EMINENT Nigerians have called for the revival of live theatre with emphasis on staging plays that promote Nigerian culture. This, they argue, will stimulate the process of recollecting the youths to Nigeria's rich cultural heritage. They decry the current scenario whereby young Nigerians are daily being alienated from their culture through the unwholesome adoption of foreign lifestyle.These highly placed citizens spoke in Lagos during the week at the staging of a play, Oba koso, by the Duro Ladipo Arts and Entertainment Group though sponsored by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI).Commenting on why IGI sponsored the staging of the play and got involved in art, the Executive Vice Chairman of the company, Mr. Remi Olowude said theatre is a strong medium of ensuring the continuity of a people's culture and tradition, especially since it is an accepted fact that art imitates life. To him, with the sponsoring of the play, which they hope to take to the six states in the South West and across the country, the firm will be contributing to the promotion of culture and tradition through the re-awakening of popular theatre in Nigeria.On the choice of Oba Koso, Olowude said the play as originally produced by the late veteran theatre artiste, Chief Duro Ladipo, is one of the most globally renowned stage productions out of Nigeria with a strong historic significance that matches the strong desire for a vision-driven NigeriaOlowude disclosed that sometime in 2010, he attended a public function at which there was a brief rendition of Moremi Ajasoro by Chief Biodun Ladipo, wife of the late Chief Duro Ladipo and an accomplished thespian in her own right. This performance, he said, brought back memories of the strings of excellent cultural performances of the Duro Ladipo family, hence it was not difficult to accede to the request for sponsorship by the Yomi Duro-Ladipo Theatre Group.He also called for concerted efforts to help re-awaken culture in Nigeria as panacea for national unity.Also, highlighting the importance of promoting stage plays, former Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Aremo Taiwo Alimi, stated that any nation that wants to develop and progress, even with acceleration, must put culture at the centre of all its development initiatives.According to him, in Nigeria, governments have not shown sufficient interest in the promotion, preservation and presentation of the nation's culture and tradition. The private sector, he said, must therefore seize the initiative and really assist in the provision of theatre where theatre gurus will on regular bases stage plays that will bring back and promote values, culture and tradition.'With this, the youths can begin to now imbibe those values'' hardwork, commitment to duty, contentment. Until we are able to do that as a country, we would continue to be a nation of intention and not of action. Our culture must form the foundation of what we want to be doing in development.'Other persons who also called for the revival of the theatre were Uncle Jimi Solanke, former Ministers of Aviation and Agriculture, Chief Ebenezer Babatope and Engr Bamidele Dada.Yomi Duro-Ladipo, the son of the late veteran theatre artiste, Duro Ladipo, said he and his team with the support of his mother, Abiodun Duro Ladipo is willing to reenact those good old days of staging historical and cultural plays with the right environment through partnership and sponsorship.
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