Charly Boy advocates constant staging of cultural carnivals

A showbiz superstar, Charly Boy, has advocated constant staging of cultural carnivals across the country  in order to boost preservation of  the nation’s rich cultural heritage.

He made the call on Wednesday in Abuja, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.

Charly Boy said:”Our diverse and rich cultural heritage and values must be kept alive for the next generation, and cultural carnival is one of the best platforms to achieve this.

“There seems to be no transfer of culture and values from one generation to the other because of modernisation.

“If nothing is urgently done about it, we may soon lose our identity as Nigerians and Africans.”

The “Areafada”, as he is popularly called by young people, noted that Western civilisation has alienated the younger generation of Nigerians from their cultural values.

He added that since carnivals usually attract young people because of the “aura of amusement and entertainment they carry,’’ they will be veritable tools to showcase Nigeria’s cultural heritage.

Charly Boy noted that it was his passion to preserve these cultural values, especially in the South-East, that made him to initiate the annual culture –oriented carnival tagged: Njiko Carnival at Oguta, Imo.

“It is an art and culture festival aimed at resuscitating Igbo cultural heritage.

“I hope it will become what everyone within and outside Nigerian, especially Nigerians in Diaspora, will look forward to every year, like the Calabar and other carnivals,” he said.

According to him, one of the major objectives of the carnival is to ensure that the younger generation of Nigerians speak their mother tongue.

“We are using this carnival to get attention of the younger generation for them to know that there is something in their culture and language.

“You cannot transfer culture effectively without the native language, because the language of a people defines who they are,’’he noted.

He explained that the carnival features among other things, songs, drama and poetry in local dialects, as well as golf competition and talent hunt show.

Charly Boy however, called on relevant government agencies, corporate bodies, NGOs and individuals to identify with the carnival.