The Director of Culture, Gombe State Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Mrs. Victoria Maimuda, has described National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) as goal-oriented and focused on its objectives of harnessing Nigeria’s rich culture to restore peace and unity in the country.
Mrs. Maimuda, who made this known at the closing ceremony of the maiden edition of Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme (NILP) organized by the Gombe State Office of the Institute, added that though NICO Gombe State office was activated in February 2013, organizing a programme of this magnitude, just six months later and attracting many participants and high-profile resource persons, is a true testimony of how tasked-oriented the Institute was.
Popularly known as, Mama NICO, by staffers of NICO Gombe State Office, due to the strategic role she played in making sure the office started well in the state, Maimuda pointed out that NICO’s programmes are always well thought out to preserve Nigerian indigenous languages from extinction and promote peaceful co-existence amongst various ethnic groups in the state and the country at large.
Although Mama NICO admitted she had never seen a Federal Government parastatal in the State with such pace and balance, demonstrating total commitment to its objectives, but she believed that such might just be a replication of the Institute’s leadership.
Her words: “I am overwhelmed by this programme; how you are able to conduct it within such a short period of time of your arrival in the state and the participants you attracted to the programme, you have demonstrated a commitment. I’ve never seen in a federal agency in the state before, and I think you just made it possible what many government agencies would think is impossible; but this might just be what your organisation is made up of.”
She, therefore, assured the Institute of her Ministry’s readiness to partner NICO in any programme to make sure the aim of activating the state office in Gombe State was not defeated and also enjoined participants to make the knowledge acquired useful while back to their various places of work, so as to teach those who were not privileged to participate in the programme.
ANONGU Thomas
NICO, Gombe State Office