The Acting Executive Secretary, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Mr. Louis Eriomala,has stressed the need for continuous training of culture workers in Nigeria towards exposing them to the crucial role they have to play in harnessing cultural resources for national development.

Eriomala made this known on Thursday, December 21, 2017 in a remark at the opening ceremony of a 3-day Workshop on Repositioning Cultural Workers for Improved Productivity with the theme: “Understanding the Cultural Environment for Effective Job performance”, organized by the Institute for Grade Levels 8-14 members of staff of the Federal Ministry of Information & Culture at Northgate Hotel, Mararaba, Nasarawa State.

According to him, it is in consonance with NICO’s statutory mandate of fostering a better understanding of culture. The Institute has continued to train and re-train cultural workers at all levels to update their knowledge and skills for optimal performance.

In his words “given this year’s theme: Understanding the Cultural Environment for Effective Job Performance, it is expected that participants will be exposed to the crucial role they have to play in harnessing our cultural resources for national development. This is because, with improved skills and a better understanding of Nigeria’s history and culture, professionals in the sector can make culture, a credible alternative to crude oil”.

“This 3-day training workshop is conceptualized as a platform where professionals in the culture sector at the Federal, State and Local Government levels can meet and be kept abreast of developments and trends in the sector to enhance their productivity”.

He maintained that the significance of NICO’s continued training for culture workers is born out of the desire to ensure that culture plays a key role in the sustainable National development of Nigeria.

Speaking further, The NICO Acting ES disclosed that NICO, which is a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, is one of the five (5) Nigerian projects approved during the United Nations, UNESCO World Decade for Cultural Development (WDCD) programme, which took place from 1988 to 1997 and establishment by Act 93 of 1993 with an endorsement by the Nigerian government that culture should be the bed– rock of development.

He explained that NICO which is presently affiliated to the Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK) and also in the process of getting accreditation from the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) currently runs long term training programmes at its training school in Lagos and Abuja, leading to the award of Diploma and Post Graduate Diploma in Cultural Administration.

Present at the opening ceremony was the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information & Culture, Ms. Grace Gerkpe, ably represented by the Director of Human Resources in the Ministry, Mr. Ajibola Kayode Olatunji; Immediate Past Executive Secretary of NICO, Assoc. Prof. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, who is now with the Department of Theatre & Cultural Studies, NSUK and NICO’s Director of Orientation & Cultural Affairs, Mr. Alex Omijie, among others.

Caleb Nor

Media Assistant to ES

NICO HQ

Abuja-FCT