The Executive Secretary of National Institute for Cultural Orientation, Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, has condemned the situation whereby Nigerians capitalize on the phenomenon of globalization to imbibe attitudes that are not culturally accepted in the society.

The Executive Secretary, who stated this in Dialogue, a live phone-in programme on 99.9 Kiss FM, Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, said such people who take advantage of the concept of globalization also defy social transformation. The programme was anchored by Hajia Medina Dauda Nadabo between 11am and 12noon on Thursday, 26th May, 2011.

Dr. Ayakoroma, who spoke on the topic, “The Role of Culture in Social Transformation and the Risk of Mother Tongue going into Extinction,” noted that such aspects of life people have deviated from include dress culture, food culture, language, hospitality, integrity, human dignity, etc.

Stressing that the above constitute the world view of a people, the ES contended that if Nigerians recognize them, the Nigerian society will transform socially, culturally, economically, politically, and that Nigeria will stand tall in the comity of nations.

He states: “If we embrace our cultural values of dressing for instance, those in the local fabrics industry will be well patronized, then they will grow. Likewise, if we eat our food, patronize our music, those involved will grow. At least, look at our film industry. It is all over the place now as Nollywood. When I visited Kenya, I was impressed. The way Kenyans perceive Nigerian culture is through our films. When all these cultural products are patronized, they boost our image to the outside world, and as such tourists will like to visit Nigeria. That will mean that our tourism industry will be growing. These in turn will mean wealth creation which will boost our economy. This is the social transformation we are talking

about.”

In terms of Nigerian indigenous languages, the cultural administrator disclosed that it will be good for Nigerians to learn how to speak many indigenous languages, adding: “Why this is wise is that people accept you when you understand their language. In NICO, we have zonal offices and emphases are placed on the major languages spoken in those areas. In Abuja, we teach nine languages. In Lagos, four languages: Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, and Ijaw. We are really pursuing our objectives seriously. We are creating awareness so that people will imbibe these cultural values.”

Many callers from Abuja and its environs commended the programme, even as they agreed with the issues highlighted by Dr. Ayakoroma and the activities of NICO. One Gbenga, who called from Abuja, said: “Hajia, I like your programme. I like what your guest Dr. Ayakoroma is saying. I totally agree with him. We need to understand each other in Nigeria through our languages. We should learn our mother tongue. Honestly, it will help us understand our culture better. Culture has a big role to play in a society.’’  

Nwagbo Nnenyelike and Jonathan Nicodemus
Corporate Affairs