Yobe Festival: 11 traditional rulers rally to preserve Ngizim heritage
Yobe Festival: 11 traditional rulers rally to preserve Ngizim heritage
The Potiskum Annual Cultural Festival has attracted 11 traditional rulers from Nigeria and the Niger Republic, with calls to protect cultural heritage and strengthen unity.
The festival, held on Wednesday at the Potiskum Emirate Palace in Yobe, also featured appeals for peaceful coexistence and the preservation of traditional values.
Gov. Mai Mala Buni, represented by the Speaker of the Yobe House of Assembly, Chiroma Buba Mashio, commended the Potiskum Emirate Council.
Buni encouraged communities across the state to organise similar cultural programmes to strengthen cultural awareness, particularly among younger generations.
The Emir of Machina, Alhaji Albishir Bukar Machina, expressed concern over declining interest among young people in their cultural traditions.
He urged parents and community leaders to ensure younger generations understood and upheld their cultural heritage.
“It is very unfortunate that children nowadays do not value their traditions,” he said.
Quoting a Hausa proverb, the traditional ruler said, “Wanda ya bar gida, gida ya barsa,” meaning whoever abandons their home will also be abandoned by their home.
The Emir warned against abandoning one’s cultural roots.
The Chairman of the occasion, Sen. Muhammad Hassan, urged residents to promote peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and unity across ethnic groups.
He cautioned young people against allowing ethnic differences and political disagreements to undermine relationships and community development.
“The youth of Potiskum should respect one another’s ethnic backgrounds and values as a means of promoting progress.
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“We should not allow politics to destroy our values and friendships,” Hassan said.
The festival attracted traditional rulers from Yobe, Bauchi and Gombe states, as well as the Niger Republic.
They included the Emirs of Fune, Machina, Tikau and Gudi in Yobe, alongside those of Gamawa and Dambam in Bauchi.
Others were the traditional rulers of Pindiga and Funakaye in Gombe State, Jahr in Jos and Mainasorowa in the Niger Republic.
The programme also featured a free medical outreach, providing community members with medical examinations, diagnoses and medication.
Organisers also presented posthumous awards to prominent personalities recognised for their contributions to Potiskum, Yobe, and the state, in general.
Among the recipients were former Yobe Governor, late Sen. Mamman Bello Ali, and late Sen. Bukar Abba Ibrahim, the first Sardauna of Potiskum.
Late Muhammad Guza, a former Waziri of Potiskum, was also honoured.
