Tourism: Foundation harps on unlocking potentials of Ladi Kwali Pottery Center

By Stanley Onyekwere

A Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) has stressed the need for sustainable interventions for Ladi Kwali Pottery Center, Suleja, to enable it serve as a tourist center for people across the globe to visit and tour for historical purposes of pottery.

Also, the NGO noted that the Centre serves as a museum for any pottery foundation in the world, because there are some artifacts from Dr. Ladi Kwali and Micheal Cardew, as their products and features are made at the center.

It added that some of the significance of the center is that it serves as the origin of pottery in Nigeria, where Dr. Ladi Kwali started her pottery before it was transferred to the present Dr. Ladi Kwali pottery center in Kwali, because Suleja is the old Abuja while Kwali is the new Abuja now, this center can serve as a tourist center for people across the globe who are willing to visit there for historical purposes of pottery.

Founder of the NGO, Mrs.  Maryamu Isa Barnabas, said to this end, the foundation embark on excursion with some students, in order to expose Northerners to the historical antecedent of pottery in Nigeria.

Barnabas noted that about 85% of the Northern students who are interested in pottery are women, with just about 10-15% of the men interested in pottery from the Northern part of Nigeria.

She revealed that the Foundation said it was able to train about thirty (30) students, with the support of MacArthur Foundation, the trained students are supposed to embark on excursion like this to help them in their skills.

She added that they also visited some treasure sites where they can get clay, cauline, etc to help their work easier as they can get it by themselves now.

According to her, the project will last for two years they have done one and a half year. It is looking forward to round up by June this year. Through this project, MacArtur was able to invest thirty (30) million Naira into Ushafa Pottery Center.

“Foundation for over seven (7) years ago, it has been functioning at Ushafa throughout the period. This foundation has been training people especially women in vocational skills such as pottery, ceramics e.t.c before MacArthur discovered them and gave them grant or contract to train over two hundred and fifty people in pottery, ceramics and other skills to promote the cultural heritage of their people.

“It was discovered that pottery and ceramics making is one of the fastest growing economic activity that helps the people put food on their table before the moving of FCT to Abuja, which destroyed many of their mini historical pottery centers, causing the younger generation to loss the touch of their cultural heritage of pottery. 

“This foundation has been looking for mass trainers on pottery, it’s not been easy for them but thank God they found the late Mamakande Ushafa, who happen to be the colleague of late Dr. Ladi Kwali. It was a great lost but she was able to transfer her knowledge to her son, Mr. Tanko Dakwai who is the consultant in charge of the pottery training in the Mairo Women Foundation now.

“The Foundation are grateful to MacArthur for their support and intervention in the training of the students. The interesting part of pottery, both the local and modern is that it explains the culture and the environment of this people as they display what they do for a living and their environment on the outer part of the pottery and ceramics beautifying and telling their culture through pottery and ceramics,” she stressed.