The Executive Secretary of National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, has described music as an integral part of our culture, stressing that music as a key element of culture would continue to be essential in the documentation, preservation and transformation of indigenous language and that no emphasis on music education was too much.
Dr. Ayakoroma stated this in an opening remark as Chairman at the 11th National Conference of Music Educators in Nigeria (COMEN), on Tuesday, 8th April, 2014, at the Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education (AIFCE), Owerri, Imo State.
The NICO boss opined that the Nigerian quest for development as a nation has remained minimal, stating that, “scholars have attributed a little success recorded in attaining sustainable development to the neglect of the indigenous knowledge system in favour of the modern knowledge system occasioned by colonialism, modernity and globalization.”
He regretted that it has grossly failed to address the challenges of development in developing nations of the world because of its disconnection from the culture of the people, and charged the conference to deliberate on the best approach suited for music education in Nigeria: whether indigenous, modern or an integration of both, because indigenous knowledge diminishes in the course of its oral transmission from one generation to another, and tasked the audience to examine the National Policy on Education (NPE) and the Cultural Policy on Education for Nigeria (CPN) and come up with recommendations for policy review.
The 3-day conference, which is the first to be held in the South-East geo-political zone of the country attracted dignitaries within and outside the academia among whom were, Prof. Dan Agu, who presented the keynote paper, Chief Kalu Kalu Ogba and wife; the COMEN president, Dr. I. A. Olorunsogo; the Deputy Provost of Alvan Ikoku FCE, Chief Sir B. C. Maduka, who represented the Provost, Dr. Blessing Ijioma; Dr. O. Nwamara of the Department of Music, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria; as well as Prof. Onyee N. Nwankpa, the lead paper presenter; the Dean, School of Arts, A.I.F.C.E, Dr. Mrs. Patience Oguoma, and a host of others.
Nnorom Nwankwo
Corporate Affairs Unit
NICO South-East Zone, Owerri