A federal agency, the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC) has conferred the “Most Outstanding Traditional Ruler on Arts and Culture’ in Nigeria Award” on Benin monarch, His Royal Majesty, Oba Ewuare II, CFR.
The 2022 prestigious award would be formally conferred on the royal father in December at the 45th anniversary of the Second Festival of Black Arts and Culture (FESTAC) and the Benin cultural heritage Benin warrior Queen Idia mask, which was unanimously adopted as the official emblem of ‘FESTAC 77’.
Iguobaro Osaigbovo, Chief Press Secretary to the Oba of Benin in a statement yesterday, said the director-general of CBAAC, Oluwabunmi Ayobami Amao, said this when she paid a courtesy visit to the Oba in Benin City, Edo State.
According to Amao, CBAAC is a federal government agency and the sole custodian of all the materials and other cultural collections used during the second world FESTAC hosted in Lagos, Nigeria in 1977.
The DG said the agency had carefully followed the very beautiful track record of Oba Ewuare whose impact was not only felt in Nigeria, but internationally in upholding the values and tradition of the Benin Kingdom over the years.
