TOBAGO HERITAGE FESTIVAL ENDS
The 19th edition of Tobago’s annual cultural potpourri — the Tobago Heritage Festival — closed up shop yesterday afternoon with a heritage/emancipation street parade through the streets of Scarborough. It was like a lagniappe of the various presentations which held the spotlight for the past two weeks at venues across the island. Meanwhile, the group Youth Quake almost made a clean sweep of the various categories of the indigenous cultural artform which took centre stage during the island’s premier cultural showcase. Youth Quake emerged champions in the Traditional Tobago Folk Dance, Traditional Folk Song, Carnival Related Dance, and placed second in the Negro Spiritual category, during the Folk Fiesta presentation which featured the cream of the crop among cultural performing groups in Tobago. Rhythmic Vibrations and their junior group Rhythmic Babes came in close, with the former winning the Negro Spiritual category and placing second in Traditional Folk Song, while the Babes placed second in Traditional Folk Dance. Plymouth Warriors were convincing champions of the oral tradition (Speech Band). Other results are as follows: Negro Spiritual — Best Female Chantwell, Best Male Chantwell, Best Costume, which all went to Rhythmic Vibrations. In second spot was Youth Quake, followed by Charlotteville Heritage Performers. Traditional Folk Dance — 1st Youth Quake, 2nd Rhythmic Babes, 3rd Kulture Klub Ensemble. Folk Song — (1) Youth Quake, (2) Rhythmic Vibrations, (3) Charlotteville Heritage Performers. Carnival Related Dance — (1) Youth Quake, (2) Les Coteaux Close Connection, (3) Rhythmic Vibrations. Yesterday afternoon, it all was put in wraps — until next year! Nigeria in push for new UN seat Speaking at Emancipation Day celebrations at the Queen’s Park Savannah yesterday, Obasanjo said, "Africa is the only continent and Africans are the only people that are disadvantaged in the Security Council of the UN." He listed all of the Security Council’s permanent member nations (US, Russia, Britain, France and China) to prove his point. Reiterating that Nigeria is fighting for one of three new seats on the Security Council, Obasanjo urged all Africans and members of the global African diaspora not to allow this golden opportunity to be "frittered away." In an address to both Houses of Parliament on Saturday, Obasanjo appealed to TT to lobby support within Caricom for Nigeria’s Security Council bid. The Nigerian President will meet with Manning today at Whitehall at 9 am to discuss a host of issues, including security, trade and finance. The Nigerian president said his country was determined to be a member of the Security Council regardless of whether it has veto power or not. In fact, Obasanjo said the power of veto is no longer a credible tool "in running the affairs" of the UN. He added that the veto has rarely been used by any of the Security Council’s permanent members since the end of the Cold War. Noting that many Africans have been regarded in many parts of the world as being mentally inferior to other races, Obasanjo declared that until Africa strengthens itself economically and is able to be an active player in the industrialised world, true Emancipation has not been achieved. The Nigerian leader said he had learnt much from his short visit to TT and one of the things he would do in his capacity as AU chairman was to encourage other African nations to collectively commemorate Emancipation Day as an annual event to be "on the continent of Africa." Obasanjo added regardless of the AU’s decision, Nigeria would join with TT annually in celebrating Emancipation Day, from 2006. Emancipation Support Committee chairman Khafra Kambon appealed to Government to establish a permanent Emancipation Village on lands located south of Port-of-Spain, and to turn King George V Park into an Emancipation Park. He invited Obasanjo to return to TT for the occasion.
NIGERIAN PRESIDENT Chief Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday said Africans worldwide would never get their just due from the international community until an African nation becomes a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and Nigeria plans to lobby the African Union (AU) of nations to join annually with Trinidad and Tobago to celebrate Emancipation Day throughout the African continent.
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"TOBAGO HERITAGE FESTIVAL ENDS"