By Prisca Sam-Duru

The commitment of the National Council for Arts and Culture, NCAC, towards highlighting the immense contributions of the creative industry to the the growth of the country received yet another boost recently when the organisation held a Choral Exhibition Concert.

The musical event which held at the Ayo Bankole Arts Centre, Surulere, Lagos, was a deliberate effort to reinvigorate the country’s traditional folk music, take the youths off the streets, as well as state the fact that public and private partnership in the creative industry can drive the country’s   economy.

The Choral exhibition concert which featured performers such as Babafemi Ogundipe (aka Bclef and his minstrel);   UNILAG Choir; Sam Ukwa and his choir known as Contemporary Beat; and others, to a large extent, succeeded in watering the ground for the forthcoming Choral Fest.

Bclef and his angelic voices supplied tunes with titles: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot; Roll Jordan Roll, Steal Away, and other songs, while Sam Ukwa and his team rendered three of their original songs titled Batere, Stop the World and One Blood One Love. In line with the Contemporary Beat’s unique African music style, the three songs echoed effects of challenges of war, terrorism, hunger, poverty, hatred, and intolerance ravaging Africa and the need for Africans to take their destiny in their hands and make a change. Batere especially questioned what happened to peace, love and community living that existed in Africa before civilisation.

All the choirs present ended the show which was anchored by Oladele Ogunlana, with a joint choral presentation.

Commenting on the performances, the NCAC Director General, Mrs Dayo Keshi, said the aim of partnering with the private sector is to ensure that the choral festival records a huge success especially with regard to revamping our traditional folk music and showcasing the creative sector as a good contributor to national economy and re-branding of Nigeria.