Culture

Adamawa Govt to turn Kiri water dam into holiday resort – Commissioner

Published

3 years ago

October 4, 2023

The Adamawa Government, in collaboration with critical stakeholders in the tourism industry, have concluded plans to turn the Kiri water dam located in the Shellang Local Government Area into a holiday resort park.

Mr. Aloysius Babadoke, the Commissioner of Culture and Tourism, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yola on Wednesday.

He said the initiative was part of the government’s effort to promote the tourism sector.

”This will also open another window of opportunity for the state in revenue generation and pave way for investors considering the potential abounding in tourist sites in the dam.

“The government will continue to maximise and harness the tourism potential in the state for socio-economic development.

”Adamawa is blessed with tourism sites, notably the Modibbo Adama Palace Museum in Yola South, Sukur World Cultural Heritage Site in Madagali.

”Others include are the three Sisters Rock in Song LGA, Sassa Waterfall and Gumti National Park in Toungo LGA, Elephant House in Guyuk as well as the confluence of River Gongola and Benue among others.

“This is in addition to the rich annual festivals organised across 21 LGAs of the state which mostly attract tourists from different parts of the world,” the commissioner noted.

The dam 615 million m³ capacity, was built to provide irrigation for the Savannah Sugar Company (SSC), a large-scale sugar cane plantation and processing company set up as a joint venture between the Nigerian Federal Government and the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC), London.

The CDC was managing agent for the project and the construction contract was awarded to NECCO, a company largely owned by the government.

The Savannah Sugar Company was acquired by Dangote Industries in 2002.

In 2009, the company owned 32,000 hectares of land near the dam, of which 6,330 were in use and employed about 5,000 people.

The company was producing about 50,000 tonnes of sugar annually, supplying the Nigerian market which consumes 1.1 million tonnes each year.

Over 1,000 hectares of irrigated rice and other crops were being grown using the company’s canals.

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Culture

WAKE UP! Art Exhibition Returns for a Second Act

Published

2 weeks ago

August 27, 2026

Mariam Balogun

The contemporary art and photography exhibition “Wake Up!” is back again for a second edition.

Curated by Awele Onwordi, Wake Up! 2 exhibition pays homage to the Nigerian youth and burgeoning street culture which many of its contributing artists reference in their works.

Also read: Five rising stars battle for 2026 Headies Next Rated

Titled “Young, Wild, Free”, the exhibition celebrates the creativity, resilience, freedom and cultural influence found in Nigerian youth.

Taking aim at societal issues and economic concerns, the exhibit reflects the youth and their refusal to compromise or bow despite all the challenges stacked against them while charting youth culture through art, music, fashion, skateboarding, photography and community.

The exhibition will be held, once again, at the Angel and Muse Gallery at 25 Sumbo Jibowu street off Ribadu Road off Awolowo Road in Ikoyi.

It will open on Saturday 5 September 2026 and will run until 11 September 2026
This second edition which focuses on celebrating, nurturing and exploring artistic practices rooted in youth and street culture will feature works from DENCITY and SUPERGLIDER HOUSE.

Exhibiting artists include Ajilore Kehinde – their work is deeply influenced by Nigerian street culture and works of other artists like Slawn, Peters Ejiro, etc, Chuka Onwordi – graphic designer who embodies themes of death, melancholy and beauty in his works, ZIDYEP – Abuja based creative whose works move between digital and physical spaces through art, graphic design and air brushing , Franklyn Okoye – graphic designer and artist whose works explore themes of identity and hyper-reality, Awele Onwordi – founder & curator of WAKE UP and multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans character art, creative logo design, album covers and more , Oluchi Kogolo – digital illustrator whose work explores street culture, personality and storytelling through a raw and playful visual style and Kozetuo Apeji – multidisciplinary artists who work explores experimental approaches to problem solving through both digital and traditional art forms.

Commenting on the exhibition in her curatorial statement, Awele noted that “despite economic instability, limited opportunities and socio-political challenges, Nigerian youth continue to shape culture through music, fashion, art, skateboarding, raves, photography and community.”

Also read: Five rising stars battle for 2026 Headies Next Rated

Continuing and harping on the raison d’etre of the exhibition she said, “Young, Wild and Free exists to celebrate Nigerian youth while also creating a platform that supports and amplifies them.”