The lawmaker representing Akwanga, Nassarawa-Eggon, and Wamba Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Jeremiah Umaru, has expressed the need to stop the depletion of culture and values in the country by rejuvenating cultural heritage.

This was as he urged all Nigerians to ensure that they preserve their cultural heritage and values amid civilisation and social development.

Umaru gave the charge yesterday at the 2024 North-Central Sisinbaki Cultural Carnival he organised in the Wamba Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

According to him, the preservation of 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, therefore, called on government at all levels 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, our tradition, and our 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, it is our duty to raise it up 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 it was done by our parents. 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, Silas Agara, commended the lawmaker for his numerous efforts towards preserving the cultural heritage and values of his constituent.

He added, “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 can develop it and bring it up to certain levels of expectation, I believe that we will have a lot of people coming here to support the event.”

Also, the Chairman of the Ferin-Ruwa Chiefdom in Wamba LGA, Mustapha Adams, while expressing his gratitude to the dignitaries who attended the event despite their busy schedules, commended the lawmaker for taking it upon himself to organise the event annually in the past 10 years.

He 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 also enables the young people in the area to learn from each other.

The lawmaker presented N1 million and one cow to the Anzanlu Dancers of Nassarawa-Eggon, who took first position. The Rindre Women Cultural Dancers from Wamba emerged second and got N700,000 and one cow while the same was given to Mada Cultural Dancers for emerging third.

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 Taraba and Kaduna states groups who participated in the carnival.

The festival featured a range of activities, including traditional dances from Gogye Dancers from Ukari, Taraba State; Nupe from Niger; Jarawa dancers from Plateau; Antelope from Kaduna; Sinsinbaki Women; Messengers Kulere Dancers; Alago, Eggon, Mada dancers, among others.