NEGLIGENCE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE IN NIGERIAN SOCIETIES: The Bed-Rock of All Social Vices and Crimes in the Country

Being a Paper to Present at a Webiner ICESCO International Conference on Cultural Heritage on the Theme: “Conservation, Protection and Enhancement of Cultural Heritage in a Context of Insecurity in the Lake Chad Basin”, Rabat Morocco, 28^th – 30^th September, 2021

NEGLIGENCE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE IN NIGERIAN SOCIETIES: The Bed-Rock of All Social Vices and Crimes in the Country

BY

Professor Bashir Aliyu Sallau
(Sarkin Askar Yariman Katsina)
Department of Hausa
Faculty of Arts
Federal University Dutsin-ma
Katsina State-Nigeria
+234 (0) 8036194138
sarkingaska@yahoo.com
bsallau@fudutsinma.edu.ng
wanzamansafana@gmail.com

Abstract

Respect for the good norms and values of any given society leads to its progress, prosperity and happy peaceful living. Parents at home are the first custodians of cultural heritage which they teach their young children, they also trained them on good moral behaviour, taught them traditional occupations of their respective families and made them practise them for sustainable development. Moreover, parents instilled in their children total and complete submission to their religious beliefs. They also taught them to be loyal and obedient to their leaders and elders, love and help one another and respect bond of relationship. Children were also trained to work hard, be brave and endure any kind of hardship they might encounter in the future, be trustworthy, have a sense of propriety, modesty and bashfulness, etc.  The belief, respect and practice of the said cultural values mentioned above and many others, contributed immensely towards the peaceful coexistence within the family itself, between one family and the other, between one community and the other, and to some extent between one tribe and the other. It also made the communities to progress and develop politically, economically, socially, emotionally and morally and this resulted in a peaceful and harmonious living. Gradually, with the coming of foreigners and their cultures youths in most parts of the country neglect our good norms and values and replace them with alien ones that are contrary to that of the country. This leads to moral decadence, indiscipline and other social vices that result in breakdown of law and order, disrespect for elders, cultism etc. It is the intention of this paper to look into the deterioration of culture in Nigeria and the challenge it poses to the unity, integrity and security of the Nigerian Nation in the 21st Century and suggest recommendations to correct the anomaly.

Introduction

Culture is a universal phenomenon as it exists in virtually all societies the world over. While there may be certain unique differences, it is possible to identify cultural features that are common or similar across all societies. These include honesty, truthfulness, care for the young ones, discipline, respect for elders, etc. if properly harnessed can definitely promote cultural heritage among different cultural groups of any nation. These cultural values provides important social, economic and political benefits to families, communities, societies in particular and the nation at large. Nigeria, the giant of Africa, the most populous country in Africa, as well as the country with the largest population of black people in the world, with more 250 ethnic groups is not an exception. As such, these cultures also govern the running of the community and guide members on the do and don’ts of each society. It was very common among most communities living in Nigeria before this time in sharing some cultural norms, values and practices with other communities in matters relating to marriage, birth and death rites. Parents at home are the first custodians of cultural heritage which they teach their young children, then followed by teachers at school where the child is given a formal training to be a good and useful member of his family and community at large. As time goes on, the coming of foreigners most especially the Europeans and their introduction of western type of education into the communities, brought about political, economic, social, emotional as well as moral changes in many societies in Nigeria. It is as a result of such changes that most cultural norms and values started fading away, and in their place, alien cultures came in that resulted into losing the good values of the past, thus making them deteriorate most especially in Institutions of higher learning where some refer them as Centre’s of modern socialization.

In view of the above, this paper will look into Hausa culture in relation to good moral behaviour and its deterioration in Hausa land of Northern Nigeria as a yardstick/case study in measuring the level of negligence of our cultural heritage that led to what’s happening in most communities of Nigeria today, i.e. breakdown of law and order that resulted in the emergence of rural banditry, armed banditry, insurgency, cattle rustling, kidnapping for ransom to mention but a few. It will also suggest recommend solutions in relation to Hausa cultural heritage to correct the situation.

Hausa Culture

According to Ralph Linton (1945) culture is “the way of life of a group of people. It is the collection of ideas, habits, which they learn share and transmit from generation to generation”. Similarly, Aina (1983:3) also looks at culture from the perspective of shared ideas, norms, values and beliefs of people. Many scholars are of the opinion that culture is made up of both material and non-material aspects. Material culture is the total of all tangible objects that we can see and torch such as tools, weapons and house hold implements. While on the other hand, the non-material aspect of culture are inner behaviours, attributes, ideas, desires, values and norms of a group of people expressed in the form of customs, folkways, mores, language and other external symbols. They are less tangible and have strong presence in social behaviour that help in maintaining public order, national cultural homogeneity in the face of cultural diversity. 

In this case, Hausa culture is the embodiment of all the norms, values and practices performed by the Hausa people from birth to death and to an extent even before birth and after death. In other words, culture includes the knowledge acquired by a certain community, their belief, art, moral, law and custom. It also includes what an individual, being a member of a given society is able to acquire for the progress of such society (Bunza, 2008:3, Dobie, 2009:173). In a nutshell, one can say culture is directly concerned with the complete ways of life of every society.

An Overview of Hausa Moral Behaviour

For quite a long time before the coming of Islam and colonialism into Hausa land, the Hausa people were living a happy and prosperous life. The reason behind such an achievement was the good moral behaviour they maintained and taught their younger ones, by which members in each and every community were given their rights according to the social class of the society they belonged. In other words, the Hausa social class system recognizes three main categories that include; adults, youths and children. Both men and women can be found in each category. According to Hausa culture, in a place where adults gather or sit down, youth and children will never go there and sit; so also, when adults are discussing on any issue, youth and children are not be allowed to say a word on the said discussion. On the other hand, one will never find an adult sitting in a place where youth and children sit. What usually happens is that, whenever an adult meets youth or children quarrelling or in a state of misunderstanding, the adult resolve the issue for them and in some cases he may punish the offender and they must accept his judgment even if both parties do not know each other (Smith, 1957: 239).

There were certain norms, values and practices among the Hausa people that contribute towards the peaceful and prosperous life they enjoyed before the advent of western culture. It is as a result of neglecting them today, most especially in our communities, that the society faces serious social disorders, such as indiscipline, laziness, insurgency, cultism, burglary, rape/illegitimate pregnancies and abortions, spread of sexually transmitted diseases and a host of others.

Submission to Religious Teachings

Religion in the words of Sir, James Frazer can be defined as a:

“Propitiation or conciliation of superhuman powers which are believed to control nature and man” (Radcliffe-Brown, 137).

This definition as well resembles the latest dictionary meaning of religion as forwarded in “The New International Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary of the English languages”, that describe religion as:

“A belief binding the spiritual nature of man to a supernatural being, as involving a feeling of independence and responsibility, together with feelings and practices which naturally flow from such a belief” (2004: 1064).

By looking at and assessing the above definitions of religion, one can understand that religion, either traditional, modern, divine revelation or whatever form of worship, possesses some major identified components that exist between the worshipper and his or her desired target; as such, it involves devotion, faith, piety, worship etc. In Hausa belief, religion involves the belief in the superiority of spirits iskoki over human beings, and those that practises the religion believe that, if they co-operate with the spirits iskoki, they will protect them from their enemies and any external aggression. They will also give them health and wealth, foretell them what will happen tomorrow or a year or so to come, and many other things. It is also the belief of the Hausa people that all human beings possess spirits iskoki within their bodies, their household and the community at large. As such, they mingle and interact with them in whatever activity they perform (Sallau, 2014: 4).

The first religion of the Hausa people was traditional religion, and then followed by Islam and in some cases Christianity. As a result of their complete and total submission to the teachings of traditional religion, the pre-Islamic, pre-colonial Hausa people did not indulge in any kind of illicit affair such as pre-marital sexual intercourse, adultery or extra marital sexual relationships. In Hausa cultural tradition it is permissible for a fiancée to take his/her opposite sex fiancée to his family’s house or the can visit each other’s family’s house and spend the night, sleep in one room and on one bed/mat without performing any illicit affair. It is called tsarinci in Hausa language. It is believed that the fiancée will not in any circumstance torch the body of the girl knowingly or unknowingly, not even to talk of having sexual relation with the girl. If he mistakenly torches her body or attempt to seduce her and have sexual relationship with her, and the girl realizes, in the morning she will report to her parents. From then, the parents of that girl will expose the deeds of such a boyfriend to the public, and he will be considered as irresponsible. This will make the society to reject him and he will not have another girl for marriage. Such a situation will force him to leave his family, community and society to another far away environment where they are not aware of what he has done. This is among the abominations that make some people to leave their communities forever. On the part of the girl, if she commits an illicit affair before marriage, a day before giving her out for marriage she will be asked whether she has had canal knowledge with any man. If she answers yes, her dowry will be reduced and by that she has put her family to shame. But if she has had canal knowledge of a man before her marriage and refuses to tell the truth, the spirit her family worships will expose her and at last kill her. The Hausa people term the act as lalata, which means ‘destruction’. If any member of a given family indulges in such an illicit affair, it can lead to the destruction of that family, community and the society at large. The reason is that the spirits they worship will punish the offender and in some cases it can even affect other members of the family, community and the society he belongs (Ibrahim, 1982: 172-175).

As a result of complete compliance and submission to religious teaching, law and order was seriously maintained in all parts of Hausa land. This led to a peaceful and harmonious society.

Loyalty and Obedience to Leaders and Elders

Leaders and elders are responsible for safeguarding, protecting and projecting the image of their communities and societies. In Hausa tradition leadership starts from a family house gidan gandu where maigida is the head of the house. The formation of many family houses in form of hamlet/village unguwa, mai’unguwa will be the ward head. Many villages form village area where village head dagaci will be appointed to lead the villages, and many village heads will form a district gunduma with district head uban kasa as the leader, as well the combination of many districts form an emirate Kasar Sarki with the emir sarki as sole leader responsible for settling disputes among various communities that form the kingdom. On the other hand, it is the responsibility of the followers to abide by the rules and regulations of their kingdom so that their leaders will rule them without facing any problem (Usman, 1972:176).

Elders on the other hand are responsible for training members of their various communities the good norms and values of their respective communities. In this case, an elder can settle any kind of dispute between quarrelling groups in his family/community or even outside. There are cases that will make him punish an offender even if the person is a complete stranger. By the time members of the family of the offender learn the type of punishment mated on their member, they will never question the elder; instead, they will thank him and encourage him. For example, there was a case of a woman that had misunderstanding with her husband and she left the husband’s house in anger with the intension of going to her family’s house to seek for divorce. On her way many people pleaded with her to bear the situation and go back to her husband’s house but she refused. So unfortunate to her, she met one elderly person that requested her to go back to her husband’s house but she again refused to listen to him. At that juncture, the elderly person took a cane and started beating the woman and took her back to the husband’s house. When her parents learned about the incidence, they met that elderly person in his house and thanked him for the job well done, and from that time the woman stopped that kind of behaviour in fear of meeting such calamity that befell her. Respect for leaders and elders in Hausa land contributed immensely in solving social, cultural, economic as well as the political set-up of the Hausa society in such a way offenders and culprits are punished according to the offence they committed without fear or prejudice

Spirit of Hard work and Endurance

There is a Hausa saying, “Aiki tukuru da dauriya su ne mabudin arziki”, with English translation as: “Hard work and endurance are keys to wealth”. This is true for the fact that in Hausa tradition laziness and a lazy person do not have a say in the scheme of things; as such this made the society to encourage hard work and endurance. Traditionally, the Hausa people are seasoned farmers that engage in all sectors of agricultural activities in order to have abundant food crops to feed their families and sell the remaining to neighbouring communities. It is the tradition of typical Hausa people not to give their daughters in marriage to a lazy men. Instead of going to the farm prefers to buy food. According to such a belief, that kind of a person will always leave his family without what to eat; as such, Hausa people prefer to give their daughters in marriage to hard working farmers who can supply their families with abundant food cultivated by themselves. (Sallau, 2013: 27). This effort in Hausa land seriously contributed in producing abundant food for the family in particular and the society at large.

Respect for Traditional Crafts and Occupations

Traditional crafts and occupations were and are in some cases the backbone of the traditional economy of Hausa land. There are many crafts and traditional occupations practised by the Hausa people that include farming and animal husbandry, wood and calabash carving, weaving, leather work, raffia work, bone setting, Hausa traditional barbing, butchering, etc. According to Hausa tradition each occupation or craft is controlled by a particular family or community and they are responsible for safeguarding, protecting and projecting the image of such craft. It is an abuse or to some extent an abomination for anybody who deliberately refuse to learn the craft of his or her family or community. We have now reached a stage in which as a result of total dependency on European, American and Asian produced materials most of our youth don’t use the locally produce materials of the Hausa people. In some cases there are some that by birth came from the families that practice a certain craft or traditional occupation, but for the fact that they neglected such a craft they cannot even name the implements or tools that are used in the practice of such craft not to talk of practicing the craft. (Sallau, 2014: 27).

By birth and practice, the writer and presenter of this paper belongs to the family that safeguard and project the image of Wanzanci ‘Hausa Barbers Tradition’ in his community, which he inherited from his father, and was able to succeed him in 1996 before his death in 1999 to the throne of Sarkin Aska ‘Chief of Hausa Traditional Barbers’ in Safana District of Safana Local Government, Katsina State, Nigeria. As a result of practicing this craft, I am able to sponsor myself to study NCE, B. A. Ed, Hausa, M. A. Hausa Studies and Ph.D. Hausa with specialization in cultural studies. Besides that, out of the proceeds I am getting from Hausa Barbers Tradition Wanzanci, I was able to succeed in many other endeavors that include taking good care of my large family, relatives and other dependents and also giving my children a sound education from Pre-Primary School to University level. I am now a Professor but still practicing Wanzanci craft for the benefit I am deriving from the said craft and the respect I am deriving from my family, community, society in particular and the nation at large. As a result of practicing Wanzanci craft I received my meritorious awards from governmental and non-government organizations in Nigeria and outside Nigeria which include the following:

i.              Honoured on 3^rd April, 2010 by the Old Boys Association Safana Primary School (OBASAPS) for being the first Pupil of the School from Safana District to successfully be awarded with Ph.D. Hausa (Culture) by Bayero University, Kano, on 3^rd February, 2010.

ii.            Certificate of Meritorious Service, awarded by Wanzamai Traditional Council, Jos, Plateau State – Nigeria, for the Contributions towards the Development of Traditional Profession of Wanzanci and Humanity, 15^th June, 2014.

iii.          Merit Award, as ICON of Excellence by National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Office of the Coordinator (NANS ZONE A), Zonal Secretariat, Ahmadu Bello University Student Union Government (Abdullahi Black Building) Samaru, Zaria, Kaduna State – Nigeria.

iv.          Merit Award Certificate in recognition of tremendous contributions toward the success of Education in Katsina State, by Katsina Local Government Education Authority Quiz and Debate Committee, 25^th May 2017.

v.            Letter of Appreciation for attending the Hausa/Fulani Cultural activities tagged Farfado da Al’adun Hausawa da Fulani, organised by Katsina Local Government Education Authority at Dr. Mamman Shata Theatre, History and Culture Bureau, Along Jibia Road, Katsina on 25^th May 2017.

vi.          Distinguished Award as Patron of Culture and Tourism Community Development Service Group, National Youth Service Corps, Katsina State, on 15^th February, 2018.

vii.        Award of Honor for Tremendous Contributions in Teaching and Learning of Hausa Culture in and outside the University, presented by Gizago Cultural and Social Association of Nigeria, at National Conference Katsina, September 2018.

viii.      Award of Honor as Ginshikin Al’adun Hausa, presented by Qungiyar Hausa, Alqalam University, Katsina, on Saturday, 22^nd September, 2018.

ix.          Award of Honor, by Association Makaranta, a Hausa Community Non-Governmental Organization, at Festival International de la Hausa Culture (FESTICHA) Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 09^th December, 2018.

x.               Award of Recognition for Contributions towards the Development of Education in Our Society, by Al-Huda Women Educational Centre, Tarauni Local Government, Unguwa Uku, Kano State, 27^th January, 2019. 

Respect for Bond of Relationship

Respect for bond of relationship is part and parcel of Hausa traditional life in which members of a family or community visit their relatives that are living in both far and near places. They also assist those that are in need of financial as well as any kind of assistance they may require. The respect for bond of relationship seriously contributed to the peaceful coexistence and prosperity of the Hausa people before this time.

Trustworthiness

According to the teachings of Hausa traditional religion, all followers must be trustworthy and never tell lies. As a result of a total submission to the teachings of Hausa traditional religion, a typical Hausa man never tell lies in whatever circumstance he finds himself. There are situations when a Hausa man fells ill, when asked ya jiki? “How he is your body”? He will answer by telling the true situation he is feeling. If there is improvement, he will answer by saying da sauki ‘I am feeling fine or relieved’, likewise if there is no improvement he will answer by saying ba sauki ‘I am not feeling fine or not relieved’. It is the coming of Islamic religion and its acceptance by the majority of Hausa people that changed the situation, in which the new faith taught them to understand that sauki, relieve from any illness is only from Allah, as such it is improper or a mark of ingratitude to answer or say you are not getting relieved from the illness.  In those days and in some cases even today, whenever you entrust something in the hands of a Hausa man, he will keep it and safeguard it up to the time you will require it, by the time you will receive it you will find it intact. So also when you tell him a secret he will never disclose it to a third party; he will keep it to himself and nobody will hear about it. In this regard each and every member of a family or community is taught to be trustworthy and shun away from telling of lies.

Sense of Propriety, Modesty and Bashfulness

In Hausa traditional setting, sense of propriety, modesty and bashfulness are valued and observed in all day to day activities most especially in cases related to the relationship between men and women. Sense of propriety, modesty and bashfulness are still playing an important role in the way Hausa women present themselves in the society. In this regard, there are certain jobs where you will hardly find a Hausa woman, for example, Police Force, Military and Para-Military. Also you will hardly find a Hausa woman in a petrol filling station selling fuel or related products. The main reason behind such a situation is that, as far as Hausa culture is concerned, a Hausa woman is supposed to be in her husband’s house; because engaging in such jobs will take her away from her husband’s house or taking care of her children, which is a shame on her and the entire family. There are places and situations where it is a shame for a woman to eat food or drink. So also, Hausa women are not supposed to smoke cigarettes, drink bear or any intoxicant and they should not be talkative or wear shabby and tight dresses that will expose parts of their body or show sign of nudity. It is the respect of such cultural values by the Hausa women that makes them to occupy a high position in Hausa cultural setting.

Observations

Nigeria is well known all over the world to have possessed immense cultural heritage which have been described by many writers as a home for very rich cultural heritage. However, today Nigeria is left behind because its people have not been paying sufficient attention in promoting its cultural heritage thereby pushing the country into a state of discontent. For the purpose of this discussion, it has been observed that most of the social problems Nigeria is facing today are as a result of neglecting our inherited good norms and values. A major reason we are facing in the present situation is our reluctance in believing and accepting that, whatever that come from Europe, America and Asia, in terms of modern socialisation, technology, etc. are far better than the good cultural norms, values, arts and crafts we inherited. In other words, Nigeria’s cultural heritage was alienated, whereby the people constantly looked outside for solutions to our current social, economic and political problems. One other factor is the role the media played in promoting Western Cultural dominance on Third World countries including Nigeria. Poor public funding of museums and libraries where the rich cultural heritages of Nigeria are deposited, in addition to lack of radical orientation and the utter neglect of traditional institutions. It’s also clear that youths and women in Nigeria were not given and still not giving the due attention they deserve. The end result is that we lost our cultural values and ways of life, languages, dresses, local arts and crafts among others.

Secondly, as a result of neglecting our cultural heritage, it led to the emergence of rural banditry and the subsequent militarisation of our ungoverned spaces which was facilitated by the proliferation of small arms and light weapons led to the destruction of our rural economies and pushed thousands of our people into unemployment and poverty. Thousands of farmers and Fulani herders in Katsina State were been attacked and displaced by bandits and marauders. Many lost not only their properties and sources of livelihood but also their lives. For one reason or the other, such offenders/culprits even if apprehended are not giving the type of punishment they deserve. In this case, it’s only those that don’t have a god father that are punished.

Furthermore, it’s a fact that states in North-West Geo-Political Zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are seriously facing the dangers of insecurity, armed banditry, insurgency, cattle rustling, to mention but a few. Presently, the states are witnessing disturbing resurgence of incidences of armed banditry and kidnapping for ransom, more prevalent, especially in frontline states bordering Rugu Forest in Katsina State, Kaduna State, Zamfara State, Sokoto State, Kebbi State and Niger State, have become prone to a new dimension of armed bandits attack, leading to the killing and maiming of innocent citizens, carting away of their foodstuff and burning of other belongings of economic value. Kidnapping incidences on the other hand, have permeated all strata of the society, as rich and poor, religious and traditional rulers have become victims. Subjecting girls, married and unmarried women to forced sexual intercourse that in many cases led to unwanted pregnancies, transmission of deadly diseases and destruction of their livelihood. This led to the emergence of groups of rural vanguards that possesses deadly weapons to counter attack the rural bandits in all communities in the North-West, North-East and North Central States of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In some cases the rural vanguards mistakenly kill innocent citizens in their attempt to fight the insurgents. This is a clear testimony that showed our cultural heritage has been neglected and now totally diminishing.

Drug abuse and addiction are some other social vices that have been habitual to some of our youth and they lead them to be part of dangerous gangs and groups that are involve in many types of social disorder and crimes in most parts of the country.  

It is this situation and some other factors that have created the volatile condition which presently nurture and sustain insecurity in most parts of the North-West and North-East Geo-Political Zones of the country. It’s a fact that, the above stated abnormalities will never occur in any nation that respect and promote the good norms and values of its people.

This clearly indicated that there is no respect for fundamental Human Right, as such it is a violation of cultural heritage of many societies and nations the world over including Nigeria.

Recommendations

Whatever problem a human being faces there’s every tendency through discussions, suggestions and recommendations to bring solutions to solve the problem. In this case, there’s need to involve governmental organizations such as the National Institute for Cultural Orientation, National Council for Arts and Culture, states owned cultural organizations/State History and Culture Bureaus to organize sensitization programme, lectures, symposium, cultural displays, etc. on the importance of our cultural heritage. Non-governmental Cultural Stakeholders such as leaders, elders and the youth can also contribute their quota in solving the problem of youth restiveness and unemployment, drug abuse and other social vices, to mention but a few.

Furthermore, to foster an enduring culture of peace and development in Nigeria, the following should be considered.

ü  The Nigerian youth in particular and the general populace should be sensitized from adoring foreign cultures and be proud of theirs through cultural awakening programs like traditional festivals and cultural activities in educational institutions.

ü  Government at all levels should ensure the socio-economic, political and cultural equality between genders.

ü  Policy makers should review the role of traditional institutions in the country with a view of involving them in decision making process and policies.

ü  The economic policies of Nigeria should support cultural institutions and industries in order to create employment, stimulate local content development and foster traditional entrepreneurship that would help in economic diversification.

ü  Government should protect the cultural assets that are often fragile and constitute a unique and non-renewable capital.

ü  The constituted authorities should also promote the intercultural dialogue in order to harness social cohesion and create an environment for sustainable development.

ü  The Federal Ministry of Education should revisit its curriculum in order to include rigorous cultural studies and history education across the primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

ü  There should be a partnership between governments, local communities, organizations and individuals in order to build attractive tourist centres, industries, arts and crafts that would be engaged in the production of cultural materials and services.

ü  Provision of conducive environment for quality education.

ü  Respect for the established rule of law of the land.

ü  Government should as a matter of urgency restore peace and order through dislodging all forms of banditry, cattle rustling, kidnapping for ransom and rehabilitate those that are affected in all parts of Nigeria.

ü  Disarm all groups of rural vanguards in all communities in order to avoid the emergence of warlords.

ü  Respect for fundamental Human Right.

Conclusion

By assessing the above discussion one can conclude that any nation that safeguard and promote its cultural heritage will live a peaceful and prosperous life. Its people will have a sustainable development without depending on foreign support. Respect for the good norms and values of any society in aspect of leadership, economy, morality, etc. will make the entire society be a model for emulation. That was the societies that lived in what is now called Nigeria before the coming and establishment of British Colonial Rule in Nigeria in the 19^th and 20^th Centuries. The establishment of British Indirect Rule in the former Sokoto Caliphate seriously changed the political, social, economic and moral system of the region and contributed immensely in the deterioration of the culture of the inhabitants of the region. Furthermore, the introduction of the type of western education in the region made the youth to neglect their cultural heritage and replaced them with alien ones, i.e. lost our cultural values and ways of life, languages, dresses, local arts and crafts among others. There is need for all stakeholders’ i.e. governmental and non-governmental organizations in Nigeria and outside Nigeria to as a matter of urgency study the observations and recommendations forwarded above in order to correct all anomalies for a better Nigeria.

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