If there is anything that distinguishes Africans from other people, it is nothing but the rich African traditions, cultures and heritages that are tangible and intangible. This culture is what the Friend of The Gambia International from Nigeria in collaboration with the National
Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) and Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard) are promoting.
It is being embraced by Gambians, tourists and other visitors to Destination Gambia when the maiden edition of the Durba Colony Heritage – a Mini-Banjul Durba Colony Heritage Festival was celebrated in the Smiling Coast of Africa on Friday, 13 September, 2019.
This unique and new festival added impetus to the Gambia Tourism Board’s existing tourism products. This cultural heritage of Northern Nigeria used originally as a festival to mark the end of the two Muslim feasts called Eid Kabir and Eid Fitri locally known across Senegambia as ‘Koriteh’ and ‘Tobaski’ respectively. Now, the festival has surpassed the two functions although not negated, to jamboree for tourist attraction and conservation of tradition and culture.
The Durba Colony Heritage among other things creates different opportunities to the host country such as attracting more tourists and creates more businesses opportunities.
In his opening remarks, Oremi Joiner, chairman NCAC board of directors representing minister of Tourism and Culture informed the organiser – Friends of The Gambia International about the importance the MoTC attaches to festivals in The Gambia. He reminded the gathering of longstanding history between Nigeria and Gambia in terms of culture, which include but not limited to religion, education and trade.
Chairman Joiner urged them to feel at home as the country has Gambians of Nigerian extractions both in the southern and from the northern part of Nigeria “and The Gambia is not a strange place to Nigerians so feel at home.”
On the cooperation between the two countries, especially between the frameworks of cultural exchange, he said: “we want to seriously earnest that cooperation so that we will learn from your ways of doing things to enable us inculcate it in our festivals.”
Ida Jeng, director of Marketing International, on behalf of the managing director of GTBoard, welcomed the organiser of the festival and his team to Destination Gambia.
She said the festival adds to what GTBoard is doing as it is in line with their marketing strategy to increase the country’s tourism product, adding “it is key that we exchange cultures and showcase each other’s cultures especially from the sub region and Nigeria in particular.”
She expressed GTBoard’s concern about the Nigerian market as they want to penetrate it further and “this is one of the products that we want to use to penetrate the market because it is a very important market to The Gambia.”
As the maiden edition of the Banjul Durba Colony Heritage Festival celebrated, she said it has come to be part of the existing products that will bring number of tourists that are expected from Nigerian market and the Nigerians in Diaspora.
Alhaji Nasir Ja’afar Dauda, CEO Friends of The Gambia International, who is also the CEO of Banjul Durba Colony Cultural Heritage Initiative, thanked the host country. He confirmed that The Gambia has the potential of tourism products which among is the heritage “that we can add value to while any other issue can come after, hence culture is everybody’s business.”
He noted that taking it beyond festival, Friends of The Gambia International wants to have it as a colony where it is going to enhance the country’s tourism and culture and create more business opportunities that everyone can enjoy.
Alhaji Abdul Kareem Sulayman, chairman of Banjul Durba Colony Heritage Initiative shared similar sentiments, while dilating on the importance of the festival and also their intention of making it international brand for Gambia tourism product.
