DANCE COSTUMES IN ABUJA CARNIVAL: THE CONTRADICTIONS OF SOCIO-POLITICAL INTEGRATION

Abstract

Nigeria is a culturally diverse nation. This has always been a source of trouble for the country. The challenges that have been faced in the country have been mostly as associated with cultural diversity. Differences in political ideologies, religion and traditional festivals are also derivatives of differences in culture. As a mechanism to bridge socio-cultural differences many “Unity Projects” have been created with a view to working on the Unity of the Country. Some of these projects are National Arts Festival (NAFEST), National Sports Festival and Abuja National Carnival. However, a keen observation of the National Carnival has revealed that one of its very visible elements – The Dance Costume has a paradoxical effect on the carnival. The paradox consists in the argument that; while the carnival is expected to make Nigerians celebrate together as a people those things that bring them together, instead they celebrate those things that highlight their differences and tend to tear them apart. For instance the participating states bring to the carnival dance costumes with motifs that are peculiar to their cultural environment. The details of this paradox and its implication on the aesthetic value and effectiveness of the carnival, as a true unity-building mechanism, form the focus of this paper, using the social Identification Theory as an instrument.