Culture Ministry creates awareness on cultural values

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Mrs. Ngozi Ejele, Monday, in Abuja, declared open a One-Day Sensitization Programme on Creating Awareness and Re-Orientation of Nigerian Cultural Values.

Mrs. Ejele said her Ministry undertook to sensitize a cross-section of the staff of the Federal Civil Service and Secondary School Students on the issues at the front burner and to create awareness and re-orientation on the importance of imbibing the Nigerian Cultural Values.

"It is high time we started appreciating our values as a people and blending them to our daily lives in order to bear a trade mark of our own, a changed and better society that could lead to sustainable National Development", Ejele said.

Languages, names, fashion, life styles amongst others serve as means of our identities. However, some of these cultural values overtime have experienced diverse changes due to the influence of foreign culture. The culture and values gorgeously cherished by our fore fathers have suddenly become alien to our new generation.

Ejele said Nigerians are experiencing a renaissance of interest in our cultural values and issues are coming into focus now because of the negative influence foreign cultures have over our cherished values that are almost extinguished.

The Permanent Secretary enjoined the participants that patronizing our Nigerian fabrics will not only boost the country's economy but will to a great extent create employment for the teeming youths in the society.

The Deputy Director, National Orientation in the Ministry, Alhaji Ibrahim Anyugu said one of the objectives of the workshop which is to encourage a cross section of Nigerians to resolve to be ambassadors of Nigeria's cultural heritage and values, was apt.

"It is disheartening to note that a lot of Nigerians have imbibed Western culture to the detriment of our own. The case of dying local languages is further worsened by the fact that a lot of our young people cannot proudly speak our local languages fluently."

The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Dr. Barclays Ayakoroma delivered the major paper titled "Rethinking the Erosion of Nigerian Cultural Values through westernisation: Some Imperatives for National Cultural Revolution.

Source: http://fmi.gov.ng/latest/55369/