The House of Representatives member representing Akwanga, Nasarawa-Eggon and Wamba Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, Jeremiah Umaru, has called for the rejuvenation of cultural heritage to promote unity, culture and values in the country.
 
He made the call during the 2024 North-Central Sisinbaki Cultural Carnival held in the Wamba Local Council of Nasarawa State. Umaru urged all Nigerians to preserve their cultural heritage and values amid civilisation and social development.
 
According to him, preserving cultural heritage and values would help the citizens to remain united, thereby reducing the issues of conflicts and long-term disagreements among communities.
 
The lawmaker also urged the government to prioritise reawakening cultural practices among the citizens through cultural and traditional festivals to promote peace and unity.
 
“We are doing this to promote peace, unity, tradition, and culture. This is because development will thrive where there is peace and unity. 
 
“We have observed and discovered that the walls of our culture are falling. So, as young people, we must promote it so that our culture can be preserved.
 
“It is our collective responsibility to save our depleting culture from going into extinction so that we can pass it on to our children as our parents did it.  
 
“We cannot afford to fail in this responsibility because any man or woman without a culture has lost his or her identity,” Umaru added. In his remark, the Director General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Silas Agara, commended the lawmaker for his efforts towards preserving the cultural heritage and values of his constituents. He said: “There is no doubt that what we have seen here today has added value to the economy of this town and Nasarawa State as a whole.
 
“If only we could develop it and bring it up to certain levels of expectation. I believe that we would have a lot of people coming here to support the event.”
 
Also, the Chairman of the Ferin-Ruwa Chiefdom in Wamba Local Council, Mustapha Adams, expressed his gratitude to the dignitaries who attended the event despite their busy schedules.
 
He also commended the lawmaker for taking it upon himself to organise the event annually in the past ten years.
Adams explained that the occasion was a platform where the culture and traditions of the various ethnic groups in the area are usually showcased, adding that it will also enable young people to learn from each other.
 
At the event, Umaru presented the sum of N1 million and cow to the Anzanlu Dancers of Nassarawa-Eggon, who took first position, and N700,000 and a cow to the Rindre Women Cultural Dancers from Wamba and Mada Cultural Dancers, who took second and third positions, respectively.
 
He also gave consolation prizes to all the cultural groups from the North-Central zone and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, as well as groups from Taraba and Kaduna states, who participated in the carnival.