The NYSC Cultural Troupe has arrived the Russian Federation for the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students taking place from 14th to 22nd October, 2017.
The troupe, comprising 20 Corps members serving in Kebbi State, will use dance and drama presentations to address some issues of international importance as well as showcase Nigeria’s cultural heritage to a global audience.
They arrived Sochi, Russia, on Friday at 3:54 am (local time) in company of some officials, and are presently undergoing accreditation at the programme venue.
Their trip to Russia followed an invitation extended to the NYSC by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, which is coordinating Nigeria’s participation at the festival.
In a bid to assess the level of the troupe’s preparedness before their departure, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Barrister Solomon Dalung, accompanied by the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Adesola Olusola; the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Sulaiman Kazaure; and Directors, witnessed one of their rehearsal sessions at the FCT Permanent Orientation Camp, Kubwa.
After watching the dance and drama presentations, the Minister said he was impressed, and went on to commend the Corps members for their performance.
He noted that the troupe was chosen based on their adjudged capacity to stage performances that would properly convey the intended message to the target audience.
Dalung stressed that the NYSC Kebbi Cultural Troupe was also picked for the task purely on merit having emerged the overall best in drama in the culture segment of the 2016/2017 NYSC Sports and Cultural Festival.
“Like I have always argued, the challenge with Nigeria is not the absence of talents, but the collapse of our reward system.
“I think having emerged winners, the only incentive available is to encourage them to get to the next level,” he added.
Dalung also explained that the choice of the Corps members would enable them use the friendship they would build with young persons from other countries at the festival to easily reach consensus on global issues when they become world leaders in the coming years.
Earlier, the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Sulaiman Kazaure, praise the Corps members’ display of talent, adding that they had the potential to reach the peak in the arts, culture and entertainment industry.
Kazaure noted that their talents had been buttressed by their ability to make impressive performance of cultural dance of an ethnic group which majority of them did not belong to.
He expressed confidence that they would make Nigeria proud at the festival.
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