2016 CULTURAL DIVERSITY DAY: NIGERIA’S TOURISM INDUSTRY ON MY MIND
The last time I thoroughly
checked, 21st May each year, the global community celebrates the
World Day for Cultural Diversity. This unarguably implies that, today, Nigeria
is expected to join other members of the world to commemorate the 2016 edition
of the remarkable event.
In 2001, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) adopted the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity;
hence in December 2002, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in its
unanimous resolution, declared May 21 annually to be the World Day for Cultural
Diversity for Dialogue and Development. The Day provides us with an opportunity
to deepen our understanding of the values of cultural diversity and to learn to
live together better.
Indeed, cultures such as dancing, masquerading, dressing, sewing,
hunting, fishing, singing, wrestling, moulding of sculptures, painting, and so
on, are essential developmental tools in any country. Culture is strongly
connected with identity; and identity expressed through culture is a necessity
for all human developments. It creates the fundamental building blocks in our
respective personalities and in the ties that link us to various communities as
well as any nation we find ourselves.
Culture plays a unique and
crucial role in a development policy especially issues relating to human
rights. A free and staunch cultural heritage has the tendency of promoting
other rights and values to include freedom of expression, diversity and debate
about needs in a society. In the same vein, culture is a key player in the link
between freedom of expression and democratization.
Culture can also encourage the
economic growth of either a nation or an individual. For instance, a country
that’s tremendously gifted with swimming, which is a globally recognized
lucrative sporting activity, can substantially boost its Gross National Product
(GNP) if a meaningful attention is given to such heritage. Creative areas
including music, paintings, drawings and sewing, can equally serve as revenue
sources. In fact, the encounter between culture, creativity, technology and
economy embodies a great potential in creating work places and increasing
exports, and also contributes to social inclusion.
Culture can also assist in checking socio-political and religious crises
or differences. It ensures unity during crisis, and influences identity, debate
and dialogue; thus, it is needed for nation building, and for peace and
reconciliation. Needless to say; it inspires change, which we all immensely
anticipate. Survey indicates that cultural cooperation is one of the most equality-oriented
form of co-operations in existence.
The entertainment industry cannot be left out while discussing the
impact of cultural heritage on nation building. Unarguably, the current
unprecedented strive of the famous film-making community in Nigeria popularly
known as ‘Nollywood’ is solely a product of the country’s cultural endowment,
likewise that of the music industry. The creative ingenuity invariably found
among Nigerian citizenry is the reason the country’s entertainment industry in
its entirety is presently recognized as a sector to reckon with globally.
Similarly, the tourism of any country cannot be discussed without
mentioning the country’s cultural diversity, because the former remains one of
the products of the latter anywhere in the world. It is obvious that the
cultural heritage of any society contributes over sixty-five percent (65%) of
its tourist sector, which remains one of the paramount Internally Generated
Revenue (IGR) sources of any developed society.
Surely, tourism is part of the backbone or
engine room of any developed country across the globe, and suchlike phenomenon
wouldn’t be possible without the impact of cultural diversity of the country in
question. This implies that Nigeria, which is made up of over two hundred and
fifty (250) ethnic groups in which each of the groups is endowed with different
cultural resources, can as well consider harnessing her tourist sector as she
is currently thinking of economic diversification or beyond oil and gas.
As the world celebrates the World Day for Cultural Diversity for
Dialogue and Development, there is a compelling need for the leadership of this
country to acknowledge that our cultural diversity is a stimulator of creativity,
and investing in the creativity can transform societies. Hence, it is our civic
responsibility to develop education and intercultural skills in our young ones
as well as learn to live together in the diversity of our cultures, languages
and religions in order to bring the desired change.
Against this backdrop, there’s no
gain reiterating that reviewing the Nigeria’s cultural diversity by the apt
quarters or authorities such as the Ministry of Information and Culture with a
view to boosting her tourism industry that’s ostensibly incapacitated as well
as encouraging human empowerment toward a greater nationhood, is long overdue.
Presently, most of our viable cultures are conspicuously relegated to
the background. We need to revisit these cultural endowments situated in every
nook and cranny across the federation with a view to harnessing those that are
of socio-economic value as well as abolishing the socially unacceptable ones.
The infrastructural and transportation sectors must equally be addressed toward
ensuring an effective to and fro movement of the tourists.
In the same spirit, there’s a compelling need for Nigeria to harness as
well as nurture a particular cultural event that would bring the entire ethnic
groups together regardless of their respective languages. Such socio-cultural
heritage is expected to be celebrated annually or quarterly like a carnival
whereby every Nigerian, both home and in the diaspora, would be equally
expected to participate or observe. Aside tourism, the proposed measure, if
implemented, would help to encourage unalloyed unity and an egalitarian system
among Nigerians.
Take a tour to most of our zoos and museums across the country; you
would barely see an animal or a cultural display, as the case may be. The aforementioned
creatures or art works can be acquired in abundance in the country, but owing
to apathy or lack of national interest, our teeming hunters and sculptors have
gone to sleep. We ought to note that with education, any society can actualize
any anticipated goal or development, thus the Culture ministries at all levels in
collaboration with their Education counterparts need to inculcate the teaching
of these cultures into our various schools’ learning curriculum, up to the
tertiary level.
Acknowledging that several
religious institutions aren’t presently in support of most cultural heritages
or festivals in their respective jurisdictions, it’s imperative to partner with
the various churches and mosques across the country since it’s obvious that everyone
is affiliated to a particular religious body. They should be meant to
understand that these socio-cultural endowments cum practices aren’t diabolic
or against the preaching of the Holy books as they presume.
The entertainment sector cannot be totally encouraged or uplifted
without tackling the monster called plagiarism that’s currently ravaging the
industry, thus the government must combat such menace with the last drop of its
blood if it’s truly ready to boost the tourism industry. It’s imperative to established formidable and
stiff policies that would make these issues work as planned.
Though the recently held National Summit on Tourism coupled with the
Culture and Tourism debate organized by the Lower Chamber of the National Assembly
was a way forward, it’s high time we swung into action without further ado.
Think about it!
Comr Fred Doc
Nwaozor
(TheMediaAmbassador)
-Public
Affairs analyst & Civil Rights activist-
Chief Executive
Director, Centre for Counselling, Research
& Career
Development - Owerri
_____________________________________
frednwaozor@gmail.com
+2348028608056
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