Buni Approves Funds For 8,000-year-old Dufuna Canoe Restoration

Yobe State Governor Hon Mai Mala Buni has approved funds for the restoration and preservation of the historic 8,000-year-old Dufuna Canoe to revive and reposition Yobe State’s cultural heritage.

The Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information, and Culture, Abdullahi Bego, disclosed this during the visit to Turkey, where the delegation toured several museums and notable cultural sites to understudy global best practices in the organisation, preservation, and commercialisation of cultural heritage.

He said that the restoration approval is a landmark decision that underscores the Governor’s commitment to safeguarding Yobe’s rich history and transforming the cultural sector into a viable tool for tourism, education, and economic development.

He revealed that the approval comes on the heels of strategic international engagements aimed at repositioning the state’s arts, culture, and information sectors.

The Commissioner described that the Istanbul engagements followed earlier high-level meetings in Glasgow, Scotland, where the modernisation of the Yobe Broadcasting Corporation (YBC) and Yobe Television (YTV) was thoroughly discussed as part of broader efforts to upgrade the state’s information architecture.

He said the lessons learned would be replicated in Yobe to ensure that its cultural monuments and artefacts are preserved and repositioned as world-class tourist attractions.

He also reaffirmed the Buni administration’s unwavering commitment to protecting Yobe’s historical assets, strengthening cultural institutions, and utilising heritage as a catalyst for unity, job creation, and sustainable development.

Leadership gathered that the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Baba Mallam Wali, alongside relevant officials, recently held extensive discussions with experts in culture, artefacts, and design in Istanbul, Turkey, where new ideas capable of significantly transforming the sector were explored.