BAUCHI TO HOST YANKARI CULTURAL FESTIVAL

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BAUCHI TO HOST YANKARI CULTURAL FESTIVAL

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Bauchi State Government is set to host an annual festival tagged "Yankari Festival". The festival project currently chaired by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Culture and Tourism, and former VOA correspondent Alhaji Ahmed Yerima is under the management and planning of the Project Office on Yankari Holiday Resort and Safari; spearheaded by Mallam Aminu Bashir Tsanyawa. Coordinator of the Cultural Festival, Jibo Nura said already arrangement has been made and a proposal was submitted to the Governor for final approval. Partners in the Project are Bronitky and Associates, a culturally based festival organisation in the U.S.

Yerima told Daily Independent that the Festival is aimed to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the various tribes in the state. Presently, government has mandated the Tourism Development Board and Ministry of Culture and Tourism to provide a road map for the development of culture and tourism in the state. According to Yerima, Tourism is money spinning, and that the state government hopes to harness it to boost its internally generated revenue. Besides the development of Yankari to an internationally acclaimed Game Reserve, the Bauchi State Government under Mallam Isa Yuguda is committed to developing the Lame-Burra Game Reserve and the Sumu Wildlife Park. The state government is also bent on developing the tourist sites to attract tourists to the state.

The Yankari Festival team is now engaged in wider talk with consultants and expertriates on festivals from various places in and outside the country in order to make it a huge success. Notably amongst the consultants is Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu of Bayero University, Kano.

It is therefore imperative to seek the support of interested parties who may wish to contribute toward the success of the event.