World Culture (d) Day (II)

Many years ago, Professor Ben Elugbe deployed available language classifications of Nigerian languages to propose that language being a sustained artifact of culture, people’s history can be traced to or reconstructed from their language ancestry. This is due to the fact that ‘language changes in a patterned way over time and space. One language begets […]

Many years ago, Professor Ben Elugbe deployed available language classifications of Nigerian languages to propose that language being a sustained artifact of culture, people’s history can be traced to or reconstructed from their language ancestry. This is due to the fact that ‘language changes in a patterned way over time and space. One language begets dialects in space, and then time makes them separate languages. In this way, one original language can become hundreds’. The import of this deduction from language behavior is that Nigerian languages may not be as numerous, or as far away from one another, as they seem to have become. Thus, the ethnic groups may similarly be less bewildering than they appear on the surface.
 Indeed, Elugbe further quotes the classification of Nigerian languages as embarked upon by Greenberg in 1963 to buttress the point of the close affinities of the Nigerian peoples, fewer ethnic groups and their languages than the picture politically reveals. Greenberg classified the languages of Africa into only four, three of which are represented in Nigeria. Thus, without going into ponderous linguistic science, what the above reveals is that most Nigerian languages are inter-related in the final analysis, and they ought really not to provide a basic reason for ethnic fractionalization and disunity. In fact, Nigerian language experts deduce that most of the Southern Nigerian languages belong to the Kwa  group and that there are relatively close similarities among these languages. With rigorous and systematic study, backed by strong political will, it is possible to bring the indigenous languages closer to themselves for national deployment/development, rather than being concocted/manipulated for causing confusion and disunity. Let me stretch this closer to my own geo-politics to say that the Okun- Yoruba and the Igala people of Kogi state have a very touch-ably close linguistic affinity. Indeed, over eighty per cent of Igala lexicon and vocabulary are Yoruboid, Yet, politicians have drawn a frightening wedge between these two people, two linguistic and cultural brethren! The summary of this position is that multi-lingualism or language diversity as a vehicle of cultural diversity is not irreversibly responsible for (or is an impediment to) dys/functional development of a nation.
What will never be in contention is the power of language in the politics of nation-building and national integration and national development.
Now, we examine the issue of religion and ethnic diversities and the current wave of intolerance based on sectarian differences.
Nigeria is a multi-cultural and multi-religious country where several religions exist and there is no adopted state religion. As it could be expected of any multi-cultural and multi-religious country, Nigeria has witnessed several conflicts which involve several ethnic groups and between the two dominant religious have perished – Islam and Christianity – in which lives and property are lost. This has led to the general state of insecurity being witnessed in the country, particularly with the current spate of bombing of mostly Churches by the Islamist Boko Haram sect. Seeing the dangers associated with conflict, there is an urgent need for the two groups to engage in inter-faith dialogue aimed at resolving these conflicts for a peaceful society. Inter-faith and cultural approaches should be embarked upon in conflict management in Nigeria. The reality of these conflicts and the potential dangers they pose to sustainable peace and development of the country is writ large in our state of existence currently.
Nigeria has, some say, about 450  ethnic groups, including a multi-cultural entity or country made up of different ethnic nationalities such as the Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa-Fulani, Igala, Idoma, Ebira, Ijaw, Tiv, Birom, Angas, Jukun, Kuteb, Kataf, Urhobo and Itsekiri amongst numerous others. In turn, members of these diverse ethnic nationalities belong to different faiths. This implies that within a family, it is possible to find Muslims, Christians and adherents of African Religion co-habiting and co-mingling.
The preceding statement also clearly points to the fact that Nigeria is a pluralistic religious country with Islam, Christianity and African religion being the major religious groups. pluralism ,here, simply entails the absence of any one adopted state religion and that the Nigerian citizen is free to practice the religion he/she chooses without let or hindrance.
As could be expected with any multi-cultural and multi-religious country, conflicts occur inter-mittently between these groups, based on cultural and religious intolerance and extremities. In Nigeria, inter-religious conflict has often occurred and is most prevalent between the Muslims and Christians. The United States Institute of Peace (2011:2) in its recent document, “Interfaith Conflict Resolution (ICR)” subscribes to the assertion above when it posited that, in recent years in Nigeria, tens of thousands of Christians and Muslims have been killed in violent conflicts.
We have also not rigorously explored the economic inter-dependence of our overstated diversity and the potential of economic and social vibrancy that inheres that dependence for our nationhood, or as Soyinka names it, nationism. In spite of the violence ensuing the friction between herdsmen and farmers in various parts of the country, there are products which are produced in certain parts of the country that supply the staple for other parts. The cattle come from the northern parts. The meet from it is eaten largely in other parts-including kilishi that has formed part of our airport culture. No ceremonies are successful in the South today without the slaughtering of several cows. Suya is a national menu. Kolanut is grown, mainly in the West. It is eaten largely in the north. It is a cultural symbol in the East, where there is a ritual/ceremonial attribution to kolanut before it is eaten. Well, palm oil is largely produced in the East, and the Yoruba is most noted for its consumption, to the curious extent that the Igbo refer to the Yoruba as Ofe Manu, literally the oily people!
On the World Culture Day, it s expedient that we call on our people to remain cultured-deploy our diversity to advantage, not for intolerance, hate and violence. It is a call for understanding our differences and emphasizes our commonalities, so that peace can reign on our land, once again. 
Concluded