The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has called for the integration of traditional values and norms into the fabric of people’s daily life, to promote national unity and security through culture.

Mohammed gave the charge in Abuja on Thursday at the commemoration of the 2022 World Culture Day with the theme “Culture, National Unity and Security: Promoting National Unity and Security through Culture’’

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the UN Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) had set aside every May 21, as World Culture Day.

The day creates awareness on the importance of culture to the entire world.

The minister, who was represented by the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Mr Dikibujiri Seddon, said that without security, no nation could make any significant progress or achieve holistic growth and development.

According to him, culture is vital in promoting national unity and security and this assertion is premised on some broad perspectives.

“Firstly, in a cultural diverse society like ours, culture can be effectively deployed to initiate concrete platforms that foster dialogue, geared towards creating mutual understanding.

“Cross-section interaction allows people of different ethnicities to understand each other better, establish mutual respect and friendships across ethno religious lines.

“This ultimately will engender peaceful coexistence, thus promoting national unity as well as ensuring security for the citizenry,’’ minister said.

According to him, “our culture is also embedded with core values such as respect, hospitality, good conduct, social cohesiveness and integration”.

He added that when these values came to bear, they would ultimately provide the basic platform that would enable people live in a peaceful, safe, secure and prosperous country.

“Culture also provides alternative dispute resolution channels. As such, it allows parties in a conflict to dialogue and work out solutions to a conflict through our traditional institutions.

“Against this backdrop, there is an urgent need for us to promote and encourage the integration of our traditional values and norms into the fabric of the daily life of our citizens.

“This is in our quest to promote and advance national unity and security through culture.

“While we recognise the current security challenges in our country, we are also optimistic that these challenges are not insurmountable,’’ the minister said.

According to him, that is why the Federal Government, since the inception of this administration, has continued to take appropriate measures in tackling this challenge.

“We are hopeful that we shall prevail in the no distant future,’’ he said.

Also, Prof. Rasak Ojo, Ekiti State Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Tourism, called on the Ministry of Information and Culture to bring back the yearly Abuja Carnival that ceased to hold four years ago.

Ojo said that Abuja Carnival was established to foster national unity, peace and love among Nigerians, adding that no amount of investment expended on that purpose was too much.

According to him, culture is soft power and one of the things that power does is that it unites people.

“Nigeria has never been this united. If there is anytime we need the programmes of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, it is now.

“Abuja Carnival was established to foster national unity, peace and love among Nigerians. Even the National Festival of Arts and Culture yearly anchored by the National Council for Arts and Culture was also established for the same purpose.

“So, there is no amount of investment in the promotion of national unity, peace and love among Nigerians that is too much.

“For about four years, we have not had Abuja Carnival, a yearly programme that makes sure that all the cultures in Nigeria converge under one space to interact, negotiate and collaborate,’’ he said.

The commissioner recalled that he had met people from the north on the platform of Abuja Carnival, who eventually became husband and wife.

“People from north central, north east, north west have met people from south south on the platform of Abuja Carnival and they later became business partners.

“So, such programmes that are so effective in fostering unity, peace, love and understanding among our people should not be jettisoned.

“That is why I’m passionately making this appeal to the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture to bring Abuja Carnival back.

“There is no challenge that will be bigger than the ministry in that context.

“Whatever it is, they should solve the problem and let us have our carnival back,’’ he said.https://guardian.ng/news/nigeria/minister-tasks-nigerians-on-integration-of-traditional-values-norms/