The Chairman, Governing Board of National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Alhaji Ibrahim Isma’il, has said that Members of the Board were happy to work with the Management of the Institute under the leadership of Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, and that the Board was duty-bound to render necessary support to enable the Institute organise more sensitisation programmes in line with its mandate.
Alhaji Isma’il made this known on Monday, May 26, 2014 at the Banquet Hall of Arewa House, Kaduna, at the opening ceremony of the 2nd National Conference on “Culture, Peace and National Security: The Role of Traditional Rulers in Nigeria’s Democracy,” organised by NICO, in collaboration with UNESCO.
According to him, traditional rulers remain an embodiment and custodians of our cultural heritage, who were irreplaceable because of their significance as the main link between all organs of constituted authorities and the populace, adding, “This conference with the theme, Culture, Peace and National Security: The Role of Traditional Rulers in Nigeria’s Democracy, could not have come at any better time than now when the country is facing unfortunate activities of insurgents in the country. These activities have remained seemingly intractable and engender an atmosphere of palpable fear, insecurity and economic sabotage with resultant damaging effect on our nascent democracy and our age long unity in diversity that is a source of our strength. Thank goodness all arms of government are committed to bring about lasting peace and security for all.”
“There is no gainsaying the fact that the challenges of insurgency and terrorism in our country today are, amongst other factors, due to the breakdown of our cherished cultural values and the failure of critical institutions to live up to their responsibilities of laying a solid moral foundation for their wards or adherents. The proper upbringing of our children is said to be one of the best ways to secure a future for the society and our traditional rulers are the custodians of our culture and tradition, we can therefore trust them to bring their moral, spiritual and royal influences to bear in resolving conflicts,” he continued.
While commending the Management of NICO, for such a laudable programme, Isma’il said by organising yet another conference of this nature, the Institute had yet marked another milestone in its history, stressing that in line with its mandate of meeting the challenges of social integration, unity and peace for our development aspirations as a nation, NICO has been focused on its pursuit towards advancing a sense of cultural direction for all Nigerians.
He said, on behalf of the Governing Board of NICO, Members were happy to work with the Management of NICO and to give the necessary support in programmes such as this one and that the Institute would continue to work assiduously in promoting cultural integration, peace and national development in Nigeria.
He therefore urged all participants to take full advantage of the opportunities provided by the conference and to see how to deliberate on the cultural perspective to peace and security in our country.
Caleb Nor
Corporate Affairs
NICO, Abuja