Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, and other literary icons will participate in the 2018 African Drums Festival scheduled to hold in Abeokuta.
The festival will start on April 19 and end on April 22.
No fewer than 20 states and 14 African countries will also feature at the event.
According to Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, Soyinka would coordinate a conference on April 20 at the Olumo Rock Tourist Centre.
The theme of the conference is “Drums For Advancement,” and experts would make presentations on the importance of drums.
The festival, the governor said, would feature an art exhibition at Olumo Rock Tourism Centre while a “Walk For Drum,’’ would also hold from the Cultural Centre at Kuto to Olumo Rock at Itoku area of Abeokuta.
Talking about the significance of the festival, the governor said: “We have noted that our culture is dying and needs to be revived.
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“Drums and Drumming are important features of the African culture that cut across the strata of the continent.
“There is nowhere that you don’t have one type of drum or the other and if we are to revive our ideals and ideas as a continent, we must start with a culture that cuts across, which is drumming.’’
The governor expressed the commitment of the state government to sustaining the festival and making it a permanent feature in Ogun State.
According to him, the festival would continue to hold every third week of April.
