ECOWAS Commission Recommends AFAC Expo for Sub-Regional Award

The President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission, has called on the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation and the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) to present the annual African Arts and Crafts Expo (AFAC) to the Commission for consideration for an award/prize.

In the President’s goodwill message presented by a representative of the Commission Ruby David, the President stated that the Commission places huge premium on the culture sector, which informed its decision to institute a prize for Excellence in 1992, aimed at promoting research and creativity.

“We are aware of the pivotal role that culture plays in the development of modern societies. We are all guilty of the period when culture was relegated to the background in our development endeavours and the resultant negative effects of that action. Thank God the world has woken up to the realization that Culture is a fundamental dimension that is intrinsic to national and global development. In other words, we are now conscious of the fact that culture must be given its proper place as the centre to which all developmental efforts should hinge. This is because when a man is severed from his cultural roots, that man has lost his identity and will be groping for direction like someone in darkness, one without a foundation.”