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| L-R: Head, Content and Digital Communication, Heritage Bank, Chubike Agu; Group Head, Oil and Gas, Heritage Bank, Afolasade Alonge; Principal Partner, George Etomi and Partners, George Etomi; Convener, One Language, Elo Inyeineryi-Etomi; Team Member, Brand Management and Compliance, Heritage Bank, Ozena Utulu |
The essence of the musical production is to unite
humanity across the world and it was staged at the Balmoral Convention Centre,
Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos over the weekend following its successful debut
in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital in 2016.
Heritage Bank is supporting the creative industry
because of its significant contribution to the Gross Domestic Product of the
country. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said recently that the
industry contributed more than $16 billion to the newly rebased GDP of the
country in 2016.
Mr. Chibuike Agu, Head of Content and Digital, Heritage
Bank said the bank partnered with the organisers of IFCOD because dance and
drama connect with the heritage of the Nigerian people, remarking that dance is
one of the diverse ways of reflecting the culture of a people and depicts culture
in its entirety.
In her address of welcome, Mrs. Elo Inyeinengi-Etomi,
the Convener of IFOCD, said “IFCOD is you and I, it is our shared pain and joy.
It is our struggle to be heard and seen. It is the realization of our dreams.
It is the realization of kindred spirit. It is us speaking one language.”
She said IFOCD as a platform meant different things to
different people, adding that “it is a means to empower youths, a medium to
share our story, a haven for talent, a place for rehabilitation and social
integration, a connection hub, an interdisciplinary melting pot and pure gift
of life.”
Mrs. Etomi said IFCOD came into being because of her
aspiration for people to appreciate the performing arts not only as a form of
entertainment but also as a tool of socio-economic development.
In a goodwill message, Mr. George Etomi, said IFCOD has
continued to raise the level of cultural awareness through dance and drama by
presenting ‘One Language’ and ‘Dance of the Rivers’ in Lagos at a time
when the ‘centre of excellence’ was celebrating its 50 years of existence.
He also noted at a time when the political space was
heated up with various interpretations of ‘restructuring’ it was somewhat
fortuitous that ‘One Language’ is a dance drama that sends a powerful
message about people common origins and destiny as humans.
Mr. Etomi said, in the One Language musical
production, “if we searched deep, we are one people united by one language
while ‘Dance of the Rivers’ tells the story of the origins of the modern Ijaw
people who travelled along the River Niger from the Futa Jallon Mountain to
their present abode in Rivers State.”
Also speaking, Mr. Segun Adefila, director of the One
Language Dance drama, said One Language is about the different
people in the world speaking one language in triumph and tribulation, joy and
sorrow, hunger, anger and laughter which have no ethno-sectarian leanings.
They all share the same basic human traits and define
humanity even in the face the pervading cruelties that stare them in the face.
The director said, “One Language explores among
other things, the human themes of love, loss, misery, and ultimate human
victory in unity,” adding that dance, music, spoken words and multimedia
projections are finely juxtaposed to give the viewer and listeners, a total
theatre experience that will linger on in their minds.
The choreographer of the project, Mr. Victor Erebifa
PHULU, popularly called ‘Sir Vic,’ is a veteran dancer, dance teacher and a
dance judge of high repute with more than 25 years’ experience in African and
Nigerian dances.
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