So Far So Good
Godwin Nenpan Goyang
History was made on the calendar of Arts and Culture of Plateau State, Central Nigeria in 2004 with the inauguration of the Jos Festival of Theatre at the Luka Bentu Indoor Theatre and since then it has been an annual event save for some few skips due to uncontrollable factors. The inaugural festival lasted for one month from March 18th to April 18th 2004, featuring exciting plays, dance drama and workshops. And this has gone down in record as the first public regular stage-drama event in Plateau State, and has placed itself comfortably among the leading artistic events being attended by visitors across Nigeria and from abroad.
Jos Festival of Theatre was initiated by the Jos Repertory Theatre(JTR), a non profit company and non governmental organization, engaged in the promotion of all aspects of the Performing Arts and the media. It organises workshops in playwriting, stagecraft, theatre entrepreneurship, media programs, etc, and of course staging of drama. The management of JTR is headed by Patrick-Jude Oteh PhD, as the Artistic Director who has been living in Jos since 1989. He first came for his post graduate studies at the University of Jos, and later decided to settle there for a restaurant business and combining it with drama productions and workshops along side with some fellow artists which matured into the formation of the Jos Repertory Theatre in 2000.
The choice of Jos for such a theatre company and the theatre festival can hardly be faulted considering the pedigree of the city in the evolution of very many products and practitioners in the creative industry in Nigeria. Jos, the capital city of Plateau State, popularly referred to as the, “Home Of Peace And Tourism,” is also well noted as the home of Entertainment which the Jos Theatre Festival now fits in as a major player and an item in this profile. The consistency with which this festival is regularly held has really endeared her most to the public and tourists, as well as gaining the confidence of sponsors and patrons alike. Thus, the festival is now featuring prominently in national newspapers and magazines, as well as trending on the social media, creditably and extensively covered by several major publishing houses and journalists. Among whom is Mr. Pelu Awofeso, a winner of the highly competitive and prestigious CNN/Multichoice African Journalist Awards In Tourism. He is a widely travelled writer and author of several tourism and cultural publications apart from other ventures in tourism, arts and culture. And by collaborating with some foreign theatre companies, the festival is now attracting significant international attention and it is now included in the International Theatre And Performing Arts Guide.
As mentioned above, the annual Festival has however witnessed some few postponements. One of which was caused by the well known historical COVID-19 global pandemic that dealt an unprecedented setback on every aspect of human life. The performing arts and the entertainment industries were among the most hit. But just before the COVID Lock-Down in Nigeria, the 14th edition of the Jos Festival was held featuring six plays from March, 9th to 16th 2020. However, with the resilience of JRT the spirit of the festival was kept alive during the lock-down by an innovative virtual streaming of some drama productions via Zoom followed by some interesting and exciting interactions among the online viewers. This was a great initiative which earned JRT a lot of accolades. The 15th live edition of the festival however took place in April 2022 immediately after the lock-down was relaxed to some extent, but with a reduced audience in accordance with health protocols.
So far keen followers of the theatre festival and experts in the Creative Industry are now unanimously agreed of the great and remarkable impact of the festival over the development of the performing arts and the packaging of drama as a tourist product per excellence in Jos. In tourism, such entertainments like the drama performances of Jos Festival of Theatre, cultural festivals, film shows, discos, live music and dance, live comedy concerts, and the like, constitute some major components of the tourist product of a tourist destination. Little wonder therefore then, that the Plateau State Government is supportive of Jos Festival of Theatre and is also consistently encouraging the hosting of ethnic cultural festivals, comedy concerts, traditional dance performances among others across the State. And it is heart warming to observe that the Ministry Of Tourism, Culture And Hospitality is preparing a State festival calendar that will align such important festivals and other big events into a compact schedule. Hopefully, such a guide publication will go a long way in promoting the very rich and diverse cultural festivals including theatrical performances, film festivals, pageant shows, and several other entertainment shows as major tourism activities of the Plateau State.
Apart from staging a divers and very interesting plays to watch, the Jos Festival of Theatre has also become a rendezvous for professional and career capacity building, suitable for both practising and up coming artists through its daily workshops in collaboration with some stakeholders. Interestingly also, the involvement of the Jos Business School in the workshops for example, is building a strong culture of the creative industry entrepreneurship that would help widen business opportunities in the theatre and the entertainment industry in Plateau State.
Having come so far, credible honours and recognition must be given to the Jos Repertory Theatre, the initiators, cast and production crew, the faithful audience, the media and sponsors of the festival who have all this time weather the storms despite all adds to keep the festival and the theatre alive in Jos. Of particular note is the support of some Foreign Missions in Nigeria which have consistently been part of the festival in one way or another from its inception. Perhaps this should awaken the Plateau State Government to be more actively involved in the festival. It may not be too much to suggest that the festival be included regularly in the State annual budget to underwrite some overhead costs of the festival.
Another interesting thing to note about Jos Festival of Theatre, is that since inception in 2004 it has used three venues for the performances, starting with the uncompleted Luka Bentu Indoor Theatre at the Jos Cultural Center, before relocating to the Crest Hotel, and is presently having a home at the Alliance Franciase Centre. Admittedly, these three locations have their accommodating peculiarities but are certainly not yet the ideal venue appropriate for a festival that has attained such a higher status with a large audience. However, the Luka Bentu Indoor Theatre in the Jos Cultural Center, a government owned project would have rightly stand out as the most ideal location but it is at present an uncompleted project, and relatively abandoned. It has been the yearning of people of Plateau State in general that when completed, the Cultural Center will stand out as a majestic theatre edifice and a prominent tourist attraction in Jos, centrally located in the city centre, easily accessible from most parts the metropolises for a wide variety of events and large audience. Therefore, this laudable project must not be left to rot in the murky pool of abandon projects in Plateau State. May be it is time to think of some other options to complete the project, particularly a private sector initiatives which I believe the Jos Repertory Theatre can advise further.
The passionate concerns about the Luka Bentu Theatre and the Cultural Center as a whole goes far beyond the quest for an appropriate venue for the Jos Festival of Theatre but for the sake of performing arts, visual arts, entertainment and several other public activities in general. For example some notable performing artistes and groups like the Asharuwa Dancers, the Tapshak Entertainment, the Dantala Group, Comedy Artistes, Gospel Musicians etc have just been trying to make do with what is presently available. Similarly, it is the unfortunate lack of facilities that have deprived the city of Jos of hosting an array of major national and international performances as expected of its status. However, Jos was fortunate the host the 2022 National Festival for Arts and Culture as granted Plateau State. But this again exposed the challenges faced for suitable facilities in Jos as already noted. The Cultural Center and the Luka Bentu Theatre in particular would have been very ideal for some events of the festival and a showcase of beauty to the visitors. Furthermore, such a facility can offer large employment to a number of the well trained graduates of the communication, film production, and performing arts from the various tertiary institutions in the state. Millions of Naira can also be generated as revenues to both Government and the Private Sector. Not forgetting too that the indoor theatre section of the project is so named to immortalise a prominent son of the State the late Prof. Luka Tokan Bentu, reputed to be the first Professor of Fine Arts from the State who had trained hundreds of prominent artists in Nigeria at the famous Ahmadu Bello University Zaria.
While thinking about the next edition of the Jos Festival of Theatre recently, I was so thrilled with the news that Dr. Patrick-Jude Oteh, was honoured by the Department of Theatre Arts University Ibadan(UI), Nigeria. The plaque of honour reads, ‘Special Recognition Award’ and presented to Dr. Oteh during the 60th Anniversary Celebration 2023 of the Department. The University prides itself as the premier university in Nigeria established in 1948 as a College of London University and became full fledge in 1962, after which its Department of Theatre Arts started in 1963, reputed as the cradle of Modern Theatre in Nigeria. Patrick-Jude Oteh is among hundreds of distinguished alumnus of the Department, including this humble writer.
Our paths however crossed each other only in 2004 during the build up to the maiden edition of the Jos Festival Of Theatre. It was while scouting for a suitable venue for the festival that brought him to my office, me being then the Director of Tourism in the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Hospitality not knowing anything about our common affiliation as both alumni of the prestigious University of Ibadan and products of the high profile Department of Theatre Arts. No wonder, probably it was the hidden confident spirit of the 'Great Uites’ that stimulated a spontaneous click of eternal friendship before even realising our shared academic voyage. The subject matter of a proposed theatre festival in Jos also thoroughly excited me with a nostalgic recount of the historical FESTAC 77 (Second World Black And African Festival Of Arts And Culture) held in Lagos Nigeria in 1977, with a spill over of a FESTAC On The Fringe in the Arts Theatre of UI when I was just about completing my degree course there. But of more relevance is my recollection of the Pitlochry Festival Theatre in Scotland which I attended in 1979 as part of a study tour from the University of Bradford England UK which was quite an exciting and educative experience very relevant to my course and my job back home in Nigeria. And to see such a similar event happening in Jos would certainly gain my maximum support.
Now with the steady and total recovery from the COVID lock-down, the Jos Repertory Theatre must be looking forward to a big resumption of the full scale Theatre Festival in its 16th edition in 2024. However, sometimes last year the theatre family in Jos was faced with the sad news of a prolong illness of Mrs. Nife Oteh, the strong pillar and devoted wife of Patrick-Jude. She was eventually taken to rest with the Lord in March, 2023. As we mourn this great loss we are also praying fervently to God to grant the family and friends of Dr Oteh the grace to bear her absence and to keep the legacy of the Jos Festival of Theatre flourishing to her memory in perpetuity.
Godwin Nenpan Goyang Private Tourism and Cultural Consultant. Author and Travel/Writer. Jos Nigeria, October 2023.
