Someone once said “you can have all the right strategy in the world; if you don’t have the right culture, you are dead”. The simplest definition of culture is that it is the total way of life of a particular set of people. Some people have said Nigeria is a conglomeration of several nations with different ways of life. This is saying there are different people within the country called Nigeria. To a school of thought, this is a challenge but to another it should be source of strength unto us. As Nigerians what is our take on our diversity? A tag line among some people both citizens and foreigners within and outside this country is “Culture for Development”. The question is does our culture no matter how diversified we are has potentials that can aid our development?
Professor Wole Soyinka once described our country as “a gathering of tribes” and Niyi Osundare in an interview portrayed Nigeria as “a random, knocked‐up contraption held together by the oil from the Niger Delta”. The question from the descriptions of these literary icons is; can’t we achieve greatness with what is binding us together? Looking at the way we emphasize zones and sections in our choice of political office holders rather than competence and proven track record, to some people; shows that a significant number of Nigerians are yet to arrive at the point where we truly believe in our motto: “Unity and faith, peace and progress”. The culture of competence and proven track record is another general and natural culture among the cultures in Nigeria. What has taken this away from us? Can we attain development by emphasizing tribes and ethnicity in our choice of leaders in this country?
Now looking at Nigeria as a country do you think our culture (s) has the potentials that can aid our development? Why are we not tapping into these potentials if they are available? Some say civilization has robbed us of all our virtues but others are quick to ask; whose fault? What can be done to make good use of our culture to better the lots of this country Nigeria? Or you think it is too late to retrace our steps? Let’s talk about it. Your comment will be appreciated and aired. Time is 7am. 08034379453.facebook ogunradio Abeokuta. Join us.
