Date: 2012-04-05

It was a moment of victory for Kano state recently as the two pupils selected for this year's National Culture Quiz beat other contenders from other states and regions of the country. Musa Mohammad Abdullahi and Asma'u Sunusi Badawi emerged victorious at the end of the 6th edition of the competition organised by the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) to promote culture among young Nigerians.

Meanwhile, during the grand finale of the competition which held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the Executive Director of the NCAC, M.M. Maidugu, hinted that the quiz geared towards forestalling the erosion of cultural values and ethos particularly among young Nigerians.
Besides, the competition seeks to "re-affirm a national sense of unity and oneness,

inculcate in children an appreciation of the national bonds of trust, friendship and kindness in a multi-ethnic environment,'' as well as to ‘'identify and reward talents, skills and potentials of Nigerian children and youths, and provide a platform for monitoring Nigerian children on the values of peace and peaceful co-existence.'

While commending the host state as well as teachers, students, the media and other stakeholders, Maidugu explained that the support from all quarters has always been a source of inspiration and the synergy required for the NCAC to attain its expectations towards building promising youths and children anchored on the virtues of our cultural heritage.
"Undoubtedly, the influx of foreign culture and its negative effect on our youths is an issue of concern to all of us.

Therefore it behooves on all, from the Government and Non-Government outfits, including parents, to ensure that we proactively pursue activities that are geared towards forestalling the erosion of cultural values and ethos.'said Maidugu, who disclosed that the National Culture Quiz for Secondary Schools is a major programme aimed at exposing and tasking Nigerian children to learn about their history, culture and traditions. His words ‘'This is with a view to positively reposition them to cultivate good attitudes, such as sense of national consciousness, honesty, loyalty, hard work, patriotism and peaceful co-existence, which are in tandem with the Transformation Agenda of the present administration.

Maidugu who congratulated all the states that have participated regularly in the competition also urged all participants to ensure that the experiences and lessons learnt are not lost. He asked them to use the knowledge for better understanding of our cultural heritage and for shaping our present and future generations. In his address, Ogun State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism Chief E. Olu Odeyemi said the competition was to re-awaken and focus on the dying history, culture and the nation's positive traditional values. He emphasized the strategy of inculcating culture values in the students with a bid to catching them young.

His words "It is important to remark here that each of the over 350 ethnic groups in Nigeria has a unique heritage. Nigeria is also known to have the most fascinating cultural festivals and tourist attractions in the whole world. Today's gathering can therefore be viewed as a determination to use our rich cultural heritage as a veritable machinery for fast-tracking the educational development of our children and to enhance cultural tourism....Ogun State is one state to reckon with going by its God-given enviable position as the Gateway to civilization in Nigeria and Africa at large".

Also, Permanent Secretary of Ogun State Culture and Tourism Ministry, Mrs. O.O. Kukpoyi stated that the competition provided a "platform to reflect on the nation's history, culture and positive traditional values. The uniqueness of this competition is that students are constantly re-awakened on most of our fast-eroding cultural practices. The popular saying that youths are leaders of tomorrow is a truism. Let us all see the competition as an avenue to remind and re-awaken ourselves culturally".

In order to ensure that the quiz realised its objectives, questions were drawn from
such areas as general issues, history, tourist sites and festivals. Other areas include sports, Literature in English, arts and crafts, true/false segment, demonstration of the knowledge of culture (dressing) of other area(s) apart from the areas where the students (participants) hailed from.

However, two zones - North East and South South did not provide representatives for the 2012 edition. But a total of 10 states participated in the zonal categories. They were Benue, Ekiti, Imo, Kano, Katsina, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Ogun and Osun. At the zonal level, Kwara State came first while Ekiti State followed by Lagos and Kano States respectively.
Winners at the national level include Musa Muhammad Abdullai of Government Secondary School and Asma'u Sunusi Badawi of Government Girls Unity College, Kachako, who initially represented Kano state and ended up representing North West.

The two students came first, while Adebara Moses-Thomas Adewumi of International College, Oko, and Oluwa Damilila Jones of Government Secondary School, Ilorin who are candidates from Kwara representing North Central, came second. Also, Awah Chukwudiadi Wesley and Mmerem Kelechi Valentine, both students of Government Secondary School, Owerri came third. Igbari Joy and Patunola Ruth of Ifeoluwa Model College, Iyin Ekiti, representing Ekiti State went home with the fourth position.