By Sani Idris Abdulrahman
Kaduna became a vibrant meeting point of culture and community as the Nok Storytelling Festival 2025 gathered participants for two days of reflection, creativity and conversations about peace and shared identity.
The festival, held on 27 and 28 of November, 2025 in Kaduna, celebrated the ancient Nok civilisation while focusing on how storytelling and memory can support unity and peace in modern Nigeria.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the Nok culture (1500 BC–1 AD, central Nigeria) pioneered iron smelting, produced iconic terracotta figures, practiced agriculture and trade, and left clues of a stratified society before mysteriously declining around 1 AD.
Scholars, artists, policymakers, cultural custodians and everyday citizens attended with a shared curiosity about what the past can teach us in shaping a peaceful future.
The festival was organised through the Society, Culture and Peacebuilding Incubation Programme of the PACE Institute for Research and Development.
Curator Richard Dambo, said the gathering was an expressive meeting ground between memory and possibility, heritage and innovation, the ancestral and the contemporary.
The event, opened with national anthem renditions, welcome remarks and goodwill messages from representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Kaduna Buy and Sell, Thinkers Children Foundation and the Youth Peace and Security Technical Working Group.
Panels, performances and discussions covered archaeology, digital innovation, trauma recovery and artistic expression, creating a space that was festive, educational and deeply reflective.
A panel on digitalising cultural heritage examined how technology could preserve indigenous history while ensuring authenticity, access and cultural ownership for younger generations.
Speakers warned that if Nigerians do not tell their own stories, others may tell them incorrectly, threatening identity and historical truth.
Another panel discussed decolonising archaeological literature in Africa using the Nok example and called for Africans to reclaim ownership of their narratives and knowledge production.
Participants agreed that peace required dignity, identity and justice in how histories are written, interpreted and shared within communities.
Two pop up sessions created intimate spaces for learning and reflection linking terracotta heritage to conversations on trauma and therapy through storytelling traditions.
They highlighted storytelling as a long standing tool for healing and conflict resolution in many African societies long before modern peacebuilding institutions.
Music and spoken word added emotional depth including performances by Judith Nehemiah and Joel Bookz which celebrated culture and collective memory.
An art exhibition presented contemporary works inspired by Nok motifs showing that culture continues to evolve while honouring ancestral knowledge.
The festival brought together elders and youths, academics and artisans and participants of different cultural backgrounds who shared ideas and experiences with mutual respect.
Discussions emphasised that understanding our history guides the peaceful future communities hope to build especially in times of division and uncertainty.
Closing remarks from a PACE Institute representative expressed hope that the successful event will grow into an annual gathering promoting peace and cultural knowledge.
At a time when communities face cultural erosion and fragmentation the festival reminded everyone that stories connect people to their origins and strengthen belonging.
Through dialogue, research, creativity and community participation, the festival demonstrated that reclaiming stories supports reclaiming identity and building peace.
Over two unforgettable days in Kaduna, history and hope came together proving once again that peace can begin with a story.(NAN)
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