THE ROLE WHICH NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CULTURAL ORIENTATION IN NIGERIA PLAYS USING CULTURAL DIPLOMACY AS A MEAN OF DIALOGUE

7/22/2019 THE ROLE WHICH NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CULTURAL ORIENTATION IN NIGERIA PLAYS USING CULTURAL DIPLOMA

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THE ROLE WHICH NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CULTURAL ORIENTATION IN

NIGERIA PLAYS USING CULTURAL DIPLOMACY AS A MEAN OF DIALOGUE.

To begin with, Nigeria as a nation, we pride ourselves with some rationalization that we areunited in our diversity and that diversity is one of our main pillars of strength, the unity now

known as Nigeria today. According to world fact, Nigeria is Africa's most populous country,

one-third larger than Texas; it is situated on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa. Its neighbors are

Benin, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. The lower course of the Niger River flows south through the

western part of the country into the Gulf of Guinea. Swamps and mangrove forests border the

southern coast; inland are hardwood forests.

There are more than 500 languages spoken in Nigeria which composed of more than 250 ethnicgroups; the following are the most populous and politically influential: Hausa and Fulani 29%,

Yoruba 21%, Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5%. More so, English is

considered to be the official language. However, it is prominent that not more than about 50% of

the population are able to speak in English. Every tribe has got its own language, which they

prefer following as the standard mode of communication among each other, there are Muslim

50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%, the estimated population of the country is

174,507,539 (July 2013 est.) Nigeria is a multiparty government transitioning from military to

civilian rule in 1999. Nigeria is a middle income, mixed economy and emerging market, with

expanding financial, service, communications, and entertainment sectors. It is ranked 30th (40th

in 2005, 52nd in 2000), in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) as of 2012, and 2nd largest within

Africa (behind South Africa), on track to becoming one of the 20 largest economies in the world

by 2020.

Nigeria culture includes varieties in types of clothing as there are different groups of people

living in the country, what is common in their dressing style is the conservativeness. The Benin

Kingdom, well-known for its arts and sculpture, covered parts of present day South-Eastern

States and was linked with the Igala Kingdom, and the Kingdom was connected to Ife while its

influence extended eastwards to Onitsha Olona. The Sokoto Caliphate comprised parts of present

day Niger Republic, while the Oyo Kingdom with a Province in Abomey extended to parts of

present day Benin Republic.


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There is a rising compromise among nations that peace and democracies are the preferred ways

to bring peace and harmony which will settle the effects of wars and conflict. Cultural diplomacy

is art of winning peoples hearts by attracting them with cultural activities and exchange such as

arts, beliefs, customs, etc., cultural diplomacy encourage dialogue and values sharing, its

provides the meeting points between cultural and policy makers, cultural diplomacy seeks to

propagate a positive image towards a better mutual understanding.

This article intends to review the important of cultural diplomacy and to highlight the

significance of culture and Cultural diplomacy as the multi-cultural engagement Nigeria, and

show how the National Institute for Cultural Orientation is using culture, culture diplomacy to

orientate Nigerians.

The institute was established by Act 93 of 1993, which their primary responsibility of harnessing

cultural resources to meet the challenges of social integration, peace, unity and national

development. It also serves as vital force for promoting Nigerias program of cultural diplomacy

and energizing the various cultural establishments in the new direction advocated by Nigerias

Cultural Policy and the World Decade for Cultural Development (1988-1997) declared by the

United Nation.

Culture is a total way of life of a social groups or organization. This includes the way they dress,

the food they eat, their language, marriage dance, and so on. In a heterogeneous society like

Nigeria, dressing, like many other cultural traits, has taken a different dimension. Nigerian

culture gives a lot of importance in treating the guests with paramount care and warmth. The

hospitality of people represents this tradition.

Nigerian culture is as old as 2000 years and what makes it stand out is its diversity. The Nigeria

Culture and National Orientation institute, Minister of tourism was present at the annual centre

for black African Arts and Civilization, lecture series which was initiated by the centre to employ

dialogue to engage some of the cultural religious and history political issues that derail the path

of progress and impede peace and process in Africa and Africa Diasporas. The minister spoke to

the audience about how culture can be used in aiding the nations quest for true democracy, his

lecture titled Cultural Diplomacy in the making of a new Nigeria was apt given his pedigree as

both the Head and the iconic cultural symbol of the Nigeria in the United State of America.


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Drawing from his experience, he explained that culture plays a vital role in the establishment of

viable and sustainable diplomatic relationships among nation, he further said that one of the

ways which a country can sought to win friendship with other nation is by establishing,

maintaining and straightening cultural links between both nations, he also pointed out that,

Culture, in its dimensions, is a fundamental component for sustainable development and has

important roles to play in maintaining and sustaining our country in the path of greatness.

The minister also assured Nigerian that the Federal Government would include Nigeria Culture

studies in the school curricula in Nigeria stressing that it will give priority to the incubation and

development of technology that can assist the process of using our culture to remake our country.

Violence is a common feature of social life in all types of societies. The scale, trend and patterns

of violence vary across societies and periods (Alemika 72). The frequency of violence both

locally and internationally has demonstrated a lot of destruction in human civilization. Violence

has in no small degree incapacitated advancement in developing countries. Even in the

developed countries, the occurrence of violence has continued to be a reoccurring tale and thus

poses a need for collaborative efforts in combating its threats.

Most of the various social groups and religious believers consequently are influenced by the act

of violence which has affected their behavioral pattern and have continually drown the attention

of various government, voluntary agencies, religious organization and academia towards

controlling the ranges of its resolution. Nigerian condition presents a good case for examining

the complex patterns of persistent violent actions. Also, Islam and Christianity are pitched to be

the major rallying forces in escalating the scale of violent actions in Nigeria. There are various

religious faiths with different doctrines and traditions in Nigeria. These differences have also

affected the attitudes of various religious believers and have habitually widened their ethical

dimensions towards violent actions.

Ethnic violence have a long history in Nigeria, Thus, before the present democratic in Nigeria,

there were ethno-religious conflicts that claimed so many lives and property (Mohammed, 2005).

Notable among such crises are the mainstream religious conflicts in parts of Kano and Maiduguri

in the early 1980s; Jimeta-Y ola religious disturbances (1984), and Zango Kataf crises in Kaduna

State (1992). Others are Kafanchan College of Education Muslim Christian riots; Kaduna


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Polytechnic Muslim-Christian skirmishes (1981-1982); and the Cross vs. the Crescent conflict at

the University of lbadan (1981-1985) early ethno-religious conflicts include the Bulumkutu

Christian-Muslim riots (1982); Usman Danfodio University Sokoto (1982); and the Muslim-

Christian Clash during a Christian procession at Easter in Ilorin, Kwara State(1986), Cities

remain largely segregated along ethno-religious lines, and hostility between ethnic groups is

common. Often, ethnic clashes in one part of the country can set off a chain of retaliation riots

and attacks in other parts of the country. Major ethnic groups have formed militias to protect

their own interests and commit violence on other groups. While illegal, these vigilante groups

continue to act with impunity for lack of stringent law enforcement.

In view of the aforementioned, tackling the crises in Nigeria is a daunting issue present to the

Nigerian Government; for the last past three years a violent Islamic sect called Boko Haram has

been terrorising the population in the northern provinces of Nigeria. At first, it targeted moderate

Muslims, before turning to attacks on the Christian community. The situation now threatens to

spring into a full-scale religious war. Thus, the use of force to resolve the issue presented no

resolution. The Nigerian government to use soft power which is using national diplomacy, and

gave the group amnesty for peace to prevail, which they once did to the militant group in the

Niger-delta of Nigeria.

The National institute for cultural orientation have done so much to enlighten Nigerian using

cultural medium to reach communities. The Institute carries out public enlightenment

programmes in the form of lectures, conferences, seminars, workshops and special courses for a

target group of the society on specific themes. NICO is essentially made up of five departments

namely: Administration & Human Resources, Finance & Accounts, Orientation & Cultural

Affairs, Research & Documentation, and Training School. Each of these departments is headed

by a Director, who reports directly to the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer. Similarly,

there are units, such as Corporate Affairs, Legal, Protocol, Budget, and Procurement Units,

which are directly under the Office of the Executive Secretary. Each is headed by an Assistant

Director or its equivalent. The Institute has also opened offices in all the six geo-political zones

in the country, in addition to the Lagos Liaison Office, which is presently hosting the Training

School.


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Furthermore, State Offices are being opened in Enugu, Ibadan, Minna, and Gombe, to effectively

carry the Institute's programmes and activities to the grassroots. The institute organises seminar

and workshop on different issues and also publications, among them are Culture and Education

for Peace, Perspectives in Nigerias Cultural Diplomacy, Cultural Diversity and National

Development and Culture of Morality in Nigeria and cultural festival and they also conduct

research programmes.

Nigeria is known to have many colourful and fascinating cultural festivals. These festivals,

which date back several centuries ago, are usually celebrated with beautiful masquerades and

energetic dances. An interesting feature of Nigerian festivals is the celebration of virtually every

aspect of life. This unique opportunity brings Nigerian together, among the festival includes the

Argungu Fishing Festival, Eyo Festival, Osun Oshogbo Festival, Abuja Carnival, Iwa-Ji Ndi

Igbo, Nwonyo Fishing Festival, Calabar Carnival, Igue Festival which is a perfect places to bring

Nigerian together and show case our various cultures and norms from different ethnic

backgrounds and to celebrate our diversity and tolerate our difference.

The National Institute for Cultural Orientation are doing their best with the resources they have,

but Nigeria is a very complex society, therefore, they should try to do better. The Nigerian

government should implement programs and encourage civil society to partner with them in

combating this problem as the government is expanding the concept of cultural diplomacy

involving trade in cultural products from Africa in partnership with the U.S.A, Europe, Asia, and

other development partners. Nigeria's cultural diplomacy must become more practical and more

robust. The Nigeria Ministry of Foreign Affairs should emulate the German example where the

German foreign policy is cultural diplomacy oriented. Establishing Civic Culture in Nigeria

would resolve on the need for Civic Education to be entrenched in primary and secondary

schools to build positive early civic culture. Intensive sensitization should also be carried out to

eradicate ignorance that propels unethical behaviour and violence. Voter education should be

carried out in schools and communities targeted at youths and women who are ignorant of these

civic right.

Need for more integrated and articulated programmes of conflict prevention. Such programmes

should be able to effectively resolve and prevent ethno-religious conflict as the case may be.

Emphasis should be on Early Warning Signals (EWS) monitoring and detection.


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Encourage the formation of effective and functional platforms for ethno-religious leaders so that

through them it would be possible to establish a network for conflict prevention and management

at the grass root. The youth in particular in school and out of school should be targeted education

and sensitization on conflict prevention/management, peace building and reconciliation.

Therefore, in a multi-ethnic and religiously diverse society like Nigeria, with some forms of

contextual discrimination, relationships between people may be characterized by lack of

cordiality, mutual suspicion and fear as it is the case among the ethnic and religious groups in

Nigeria. In fact, this mutual suspicion and lack of cordiality among the various ethnic

components explains why ethno-religious conflicts have become a permanent feature of Nigeria

nation.

Given the deplorable state of Northern Nigerian development indices, Muslims and Christians

have opportunities to engage in programs that will alleviate poverty, advance the freedom of the

citizens of the country. The dialogue of action is an important means of curbing religious

violence in Nigeria. Both Islam and Christianity preach peace, social justice, and charity.

The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility

and to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership according to

Albert Chinualumogu Achebe. Finding a solution may require deeply assessing issues such as

the African philosophy, interreligious dialogue, tolerance, or lessons from global ethics. Cultural

diplomacy can help citizenship anchored with other supporting institutions that offers the only

viable platform for meaningful dialogue.

.

Mathias S. Akaazua

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THE ROLE WHICH NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CULTURAL ORIENTATION IN NIGERIA PLAYS USING CULTURAL DIPLOMACY AS A MEAN OF DIALOGUE