Abuja pupils showcase talents, mark Arts Day

The pupils of Toddlers Haven and Everest Heights Academy, Gwagwalada, Abuja, have showcased their creativity as they took to stage to act in the play, ‘Women of Owu’, a 2006 book written by Femi Osofisan.

The pupils also displayed various activities like cultural dance, cultural food exhibition and talk show to mark the school’s 2021 Arts Day held on Saturday.

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Smart Ayoola, Habiba Wali and Ifeoma Okwuogori, are among the pupils who took part in the play. They described the live performance as a worthwhile experience as they called for more education programmes that would guarantee a sustainable future for Nigerian students.

The Director, Dr Bukola Dosumu said the event was organised basically to help young ones exhibit their talents, adding that schooling should not just be about academics alone, as children should not be hooked up in the four walls of the classroom all the time.

“The pressure is so much that from the little income we are getting; we now have to beef up security beyond. We are compelled to put CCTV in place and all other measures. Government has already said that they cannot protect all schools,” she said.

A member, Board of Trustees at the Centre for Playback Theatre and the convener of the Arts Day 2021, Damilola Apotieri, said the programme will encourage the kids to cover their artistic skills in dance, music or stage performance.

“These kids are taken through a process that even university students sometimes cannot do. For example, they are performing Women of Owu. I never got to do Women of Owu until I was in my third year in the university.”