Nigerians charged on cultural attires, values

He said this at the Inaugural Public Lecture organized by the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) recently held in Abuja He maintained that Nigerians should abolish the use of the word ‘continental’, except in reference to the African continent, not to an anonymous geographical location and make their dress code reflect the nation’s cultural […]

He said this at the Inaugural Public Lecture organized by the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) recently held in Abuja
He maintained that Nigerians should abolish the use of the word ‘continental’, except in reference to the African continent, not to an anonymous geographical location and make their dress code reflect the nation’s cultural traits and value as well as rekindling the almost dying indigenous language.
According to him, “Our dress code should reflect our cultural traits and values, not borrowing from other cultures, our indigenous languages should be improved to reflect the realities of our multiple existences by paying more attention to the development of indigenous languages, not the present casual and infinitesimal attention given to it.
“Road signs should be written in both English and the dominant language of the geographical zones of the nation. This should also apply to hotel menu and other such information”.
In his speech   Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Mohammed said that the inaugural public lecture was organised to further the efforts of the institute’s public enlightenment, orientation and sensitization mandate.
He noted that democracy which thrives in other climes is fashioned around their own culture, their traditions and way of life, adding that if democracy in Nigeria must succeed, “it must be home-grown with virtues founded on our cultural values such as love for one another and good-neighbourliness, accommodation and tolerance, truth and mutual trust.
The chairman of the occasion, director general of National Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Dr. Joseph Golwa pointed out that most of the problems that have bedevilled the nation’s progress are traceable to the degeneration of Nigeria’s cherished cultural values.
In his words, “In place of our cultural values of honesty, hard work and respect for elders and constituted authority, our youths offer themselves to be used as thugs by politicians.”
The executive secretary of the institute, Dr. Barclays Ayakoroma, earlier in  his welcome remark stated that the lecture was a sensitization of the cultural sector and hoped that it would impact positively on the contribution of the sector towards a free, fair and credible conduct of the forth coming election.