Education
THE University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) on Friday held its maiden cultural carnival aimed at re-awakening African culture and tradition.
The event was anchored by the UNN Institute of Africa Studies, in collaboration with the university’s Business School, Enugu Campus.
The carnival had the theme: “Cultural Revival in a Multi-ethnic Society”.
In a lecture he delivered at the carnival, Archshop Emmanuel Chukwuma of the Enugu Anglican Archdiocese said that preservation of culture was necessary to retain identity.
The cleric noted that culture was people’s way of life, saying that losing it meant losing identity.
“There is no society without culture and there is no culture without a society.
“People’s culture is their identity; when they lose their culture, they lose their identity,” he said.
He said that language was the driver of every culture, regretting that some Nigerian languages were gradually going into extinction because parents did no longer communicate with their children in their mother tongues.
“It is unfortunate and unbelievable that some parents prefer to communicate with their children in the English Language which is foreign, instead of their native language.
“Any child who cannot speak his mother tongue does not know anything about the culture of his father’s people,” he said.
Chukwuma added that many Nigerians were no longer abreast of the nation’s cultural values.
He blamed the situation for increasing suicides, which he described as a cultural taboo.
“No matter the level of poverty or unemployment, youths should resist the temptation to commit suicide as it is not only a cultural taboo but a sin against God.
He, however, urged Nigerians to remove obnoxious practices from their cultures.
“Any practice in any culture that is against humanity is evil and should be stopped,” he said.
In his remarks, the UNN Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Charles Igwe, said that the theme of the carnival was timely in the face of numerous crisis in Africa.
“What is happening today is an indication that something bad has happened to our cultural moral fabrics and values,” he said.
Igwe thanked the organisers of the event as well as guests for their contributions.
“It is my hope that at the end of the event, a great cultural and significant re-awakening will be seen in African culture and tradition.
“I urge our staff and students to reflect deeply on the need for a cultural rebirth and to keep alive the philosophy of the founding fathers of our university.” he said.
Prof. Aloysious Okolie, the Chairman of the occasion and Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, UNN, also hailed the organisers for bringing scholars and cultural stakeholders together.
Okolie also commended stakeholders who brainstormed to chart a way forward in reviving African culture.
Earlier, Prof Florence Orabueze, Director, Institute of African Studies, UNN, said the objective of the event was to promote African culture “so that our children will know we have a rich cultural heritage”.
The highpoint of the event was display of different African cultures by some states.
NAN
2020 Apr 23 @ 18:09 GMT|
Tags: UNN holds maiden cultural carnival
