The Gbagyi of Karu Chiefdom in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) of the FCT on Monday, January 2, 2023, held their annual cultural festival during which they showcased their heritage which thrilled spectators.
Daily Trust on Sunday which was at the venue of the event reports that the spectators were enthralled by the dances and other displays by various cultural troupes, as well as the exhibition of Gbagyi cultural artifacts.
Decked in their different costumes, the troupes matched in a procession to the stage to display.
Also, entertaining spectators were masquerades and hunters who displayed their prowess with bows and arrows and guns.
The Chairman of Bwari Area Council, John Gabaya, who was the chairman of the occasion, said the FCT natives could only be identified by showcasing their culture and tradition, noting that they should not allow other Nigerians to come and show them their cultures.
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The chairman appreciated the Sa’Karuyi of Karu, Dr Emmanuel Kyauta Yepwi, and members of his traditional council for promoting peace across the council.
In his address, the Chairman of Karu Chiefdom Development Association, Dangana D. Jimiko, said the festival served as a symbol of strengthening the bond of unity and togetherness of the good people of Karu and the entire original inhabitants of Abuja, addeding that it was in line with government’s policy and programme of promoting culture and tourism for development.
He said the seventh annual festival involved the Gbagyi, Gede, Gwandara and the other nine indigenous tribes in the FCT.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Public Complaints Commission (PCC) representing the FCT, Mr Ezekiel Dalhatu Musa, said indiscriminate demolition of the ancestral homes of the FCT natives by government and land grabbers had been a threat to the Gbagyi culture in the territory.
Musa, who spoke as a guest speaker at the event, said the Gbagyi race was at a crossroads, noting that as a major tribe in the FCT there was the need to set a pace in order for others to follow.
He said, “But we can’t do or achieve this stride without realigning our culture, even as incredible feats have been reached and can be attained using our culture.”
He, therefore, called on the government to address the avalanche of injustices against the natives of the FCT by creating a development commission that would cater for them, as well as preserve their culture.
Senator representing the FCT, Philip Aduda, said he was optimistic that Gbagyi culture would soon be exported to the world.
On his part, the Sa’Karuyi of Karu Chiefdom, Yepwi, called on the youths to continue to remain loyal to constituted authorities, even as he cautioned them not to allow themselves to be used as thugs ahead of the February 25, 2023, elections.
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