As the world celebrates the 2024 World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, otherwise known as World Culture Day, the executive secretary/chief executive officer of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Otunba Biodun Ajiboye, has urged Nigerians to ensure that culture takes the centre stage in national development.
Ajiboye said the day remains a veritable platform and opportunity to underscore the value and potential of culture.
He said it highlights and promotes the appreciation of cultural diversity in fostering peaceful co-existence and sustainable development in a country like Nigeria, known for its ethnic and religious plurality.
NICO in a statement signed by the media assistant to the executive secretary, Caleb Nor, quoted the NICO boss as saying the “current social decadence rocking our society as experienced in various parts of the country is as a result of the fact that we have considerably neglected our culture and for us to reverse the trend, we must not only campaign for the return of our ‘cultural Values’, especially among the younger generation but to ensure that it impacts deeply on them and their behaviour.”
Ajiboye said, “It is only when we appreciate the importance of intercultural interaction, diversity and inclusion by identifying culture as a panacea to societal peace that our collective dream of sustainable development and peaceful co-existence can be achieved.
“The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development is an annual event celebrated every year on May 21 globally as declared by the United Nations General Assembly by Resolution 57/249 in 2002, following the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity which was adopted by UNESCO General Conference in 2001.
“The Universal Declaration was made in recognition of cultural diversity as a critical factor in development in terms of global economic growth as well as a means to achieve a more satisfying intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence of the various peoples of the world.
“If the world can come to this realisation, then Nigeria should immediately take advantage of this situation to better her lots,” he said.
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