NICO Advocates Cultural Reorientation As Key To National Development

The National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) has embarked on a nationwide seminar to advocate for the return of cultural values in Nigeria as a panacea for nation building.

To achieve this, the Institute has assembled experts to explore strategies that will promote unity, patriotism and value reorientation by creating awareness on the need to effectively manage our cultural diversity for sustainable development in the country.

The Executive Secretary of NICO, Otunba Biodun Ajiboye, in a statement through his media assistant, Caleb Nor explained that the nationwide advocacy for the return of cultural values is designed to place cultural orientation at the center of national discourse. According to him, the initiative seeks to promote ethical practices, preserve Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage, and strengthen the management of the country’s diversity.

According to Ajiboye, “If Nigerians can be intentional about revisiting our cultural values, the ethical practices that form our way of life will not only reduce crime in the country but significantly contribute to national behaviour.”

He maintained that with over 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria, the strength in our diversity equally presents challenges which makes the management of our cultural diversity very crucial in our quest to develop as a nation.

“Imagine a situation where Nigerians come to a point where ethics and values are held in high esteem and our cultural diversity is used to the advantage of all and for the progress of the country, it will go a long way to strengthen the moral and cultural foundations of our dear nation”.

“A nation without concerted efforts at moderating or determining expected behaviour of its citizens is a nation in chaos. We should be worried that before now, our cultural values, ethical values and patriotism were very high but for some reasons, the society has degenerated to a state where people now take laws into their hands because of our loss of focus on our cultural values and the inability to allow cultural values to shape and develop our younger people”.

He emphasised that for Nigeria to have peace and develop as a nation, there is need to bring back the right cultural values to instill in our younger ones and learn to curtail our excesses as a people.

The NICO annual seminar series on Ethics, Values and Management of Cultural Diversity in Nigeria is expected to hold in the six (6) geo-political zones with the first edition held in Abuja, the North-Central Zone on September 11, while the second edition for the South-West Zone is expected to hold on September, 24, 2025 in Akure, Ondo State.