THE ROLE WHICH NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CULTURAL ORIENTATION IN NIGERIA PLAYS USING CULTURAL DIPLOMACY AS A MEAN OF DIALOGUE.

To begin with, Nigeria as a nation, we pride ourselves with some rationalization that we are united in our diversity and that diversity is one of our main pillars of strength, the unity now known as Nigeria today. According to world fact, Nigeria is Africa's most populous country, one-third larger than Texas; it is situated on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa. Its neighbors are Benin, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. The lower course of the Niger River flows south through the western part of the country into the Gulf of Guinea. Swamps and mangrove forests border the southern coast; inland are hardwood forests. There are more than 500 languages spoken in Nigeria which composed of more than 250 ethnic groups; the following are the most populous and politically influential: Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba 21%, Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5%. More so, English is considered to be the official language. However, it is prominent that not more than about 50% of the population are able to speak in English. Every tribe has got its own language, which they prefer following as the standard mode of communication among each other, there are Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10%, the estimated population of the country is 174,507,539 (July 2013 est.) Nigeria is a multiparty government transitioning from military to civilian rule in 1999. Nigeria is a middle income, mixed economy and emerging market, with expanding financial, service, communications, and entertainment sectors. It is ranked 30th (40th in 2005, 52nd in 2000), in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) as of 2012, and 2nd largest within Africa (behind South Africa), on track to becoming one of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020. Nigeria culture includes varieties in types of clothing as there are different groups of people living in the country, what is common in their dressing style is the conservativeness. The Benin Kingdom, well-known for its arts and sculpture, covered parts of present day South-Eastern States and was linked with the Igala Kingdom, and the Kingdom was connected to Ife while its influence extended eastwards to Onitsha Olona. The Sokoto Caliphate comprised parts of present day Niger Republic, while the Oyo Kingdom with a Province in Abomey extended to parts of present day Benin Republic.

There is a rising compromise among nations that peace and democracies are the preferred ways to bring peace and harmony which will settle the effects of wars and conflict. Cultural diplomacy is art of winning peoples hearts by attracting them with cultural activities and exchange such as arts, beliefs, customs, etc., cultural diplomacy encourage dialogue and values sharing, its provides the meeting points between cultural and policy makers, cultural diplomacy seeks to propagate a positive image towards a better mutual understanding. This article intends to review the important of cultural diplomacy and to highlight the significance of culture and Cultural diplomacy as the multi-cultural engagement Nigeria, and show how the National Institute for Cultural Orientation is using culture, culture diplomacy to orientate Nigerians. The institute was established by Act 93 of 1993, which their primary responsibility of harnessing cultural resources to meet the challenges of social integration, peace, unity and national development. It also serves as vital force for promoting Nigerias program of cultural diplomacy and energizing the various cultural establishments in the new direction advocated by Nigerias Cultural Policy and the World Decade for Cultural Development (1988-1997) declared by the United Nation. Culture is a total way of life of a social groups or organization. This includes the way they dress, the food they eat, their language, marriage dance, and so on. In a heterogeneous society like Nigeria, dressing, like many other cultural traits, has taken a different dimension. Nigerian culture gives a lot of importance in treating the guests with paramount care and warmth. The hospitality of people represents this tradition. Nigerian culture is as old as 2000 years and what makes it stand out is its diversity. The Nigeria Culture and National Orientation institute, Minister of tourism was present at the annual centre for black African Arts and Civilization, lecture series which was initiated by the centre to employ dialogue to engage some of the cultural religious and history political issues that derail the path of progress and impede peace and process in Africa and Africa Diasporas. The minister spoke to the audience about how culture can be used in aiding the nations quest for true democracy, his lecture titled Cultural Diplomacy in the making of a new Nigeria was apt given his pedigree as both the Head and the iconic cultural symbol of the Nigeria in the United State of America.

Drawing from his experience, he explained that culture plays a vital role in the establishment of viable and sustainable diplomatic relationships among nation, he further said that one of the ways which a country can sought to win friendship with other nation is by establishing, maintaining and straightening cultural links between both nations, he also pointed out that, Culture, in its dimensions, is a fundamental component for sustainable development and has important roles to play in maintaining and sustaining our country in the path of greatness. The minister also assured Nigerian that the Federal Government would include Nigeria Culture studies in the school curricula in Nigeria stressing that it will give priority to the incubation and development of technology that can assist the process of using our culture to remake our country. Violence is a common feature of social life in all types of societies. The scale, trend and patterns of violence vary across societies and periods (Alemika 72). The frequency of violence both locally and internationally has demonstrated a lot of destruction in human civilization. Violence has in no small degree incapacitated advancement in developing countries. Even in the developed countries, the occurrence of violence has continued to be a reoccurring tale and thus poses a need for collaborative efforts in combating its threats. Most of the various social groups and religious believers consequently are influenced by the act of violence which has affected their behavioral pattern and have continually drown the attention of various government, voluntary agencies, religious organization and academia towards controlling the ranges of its resolution. Nigerian condition presents a good case for examining the complex patterns of persistent violent actions. Also, Islam and Christianity are pitched to be the major rallying forces in escalating the scale of violent actions in Nigeria. There are various religious faiths with different doctrines and traditions in Nigeria. These differences have also affected the attitudes of various religious believers and have habitually widened their ethical dimensions towards violent actions. Ethnic violence have a long history in Nigeria, Thus, before the present democratic in Nigeria, there were ethno-religious conflicts that claimed so many lives and property (Mohammed, 2005). Notable among such crises are the mainstream religious conflicts in parts of Kano and Maiduguri in the early 1980s; Jimeta-Y ola religious disturbances (1984), and Zango Kataf crises in Kaduna State (1992). Others are Kafanchan College of Education Muslim Christian riots; Kaduna

Polytechnic Muslim-Christian skirmishes (1981-1982); and the Cross vs. the Crescent conflict at the University of lbadan (1981-1985) early ethno-religious conflicts include the Bulumkutu Christian-Muslim riots (1982); Usman Danfodio University Sokoto (1982); and the MuslimChristian Clash during a Christian procession at Easter in Ilorin, Kwara State(1986), Cities remain largely segregated along ethno-religious lines, and hostility between ethnic groups is common. Often, ethnic clashes in one part of the country can set off a chain of retaliation riots and attacks in other parts of the country. Major ethnic groups have formed militias to protect their own interests and commit violence on other groups. While illegal, these vigilante groups continue to act with impunity for lack of stringent law enforcement. In view of the aforementioned, tackling the crises in Nigeria is a daunting issue present to the Nigerian Government; for the last past three years a violent Islamic sect called Boko Haram has been terrorising the population in the northern provinces of Nigeria. At first, it targeted moderate Muslims, before turning to attacks on the Christian community. The situation now threatens to spring into a full-scale religious war. Thus, the use of force to resolve the issue presented no resolution. The Nigerian government to use soft power which is using national diplomacy, and gave the group amnesty for peace to prevail, which they once did to the militant group in the Niger-delta of Nigeria. The National institute for cultural orientation have done so much to enlighten Nigerian using cultural medium to reach communities. The Institute carries out public enlightenment programmes in the form of lectures, conferences, seminars, workshops and special courses for a target group of the society on specific themes. NICO is essentially made up of five departments namely: Administration & Human Resources, Finance & Accounts, Orientation & Cultural Affairs, Research & Documentation, and Training School. Each of these departments is headed by a Director, who reports directly to the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer. Similarly, there are units, such as Corporate Affairs, Legal, Protocol, Budget, and Procurement Units, which are directly under the Office of the Executive Secretary. Each is headed by an Assistant Director or its equivalent. The Institute has also opened offices in all the six geo-political zones in the country, in addition to the Lagos Liaison Office, which is presently hosting the Training School.

Furthermore, State Offices are being opened in Enugu, Ibadan, Minna, and Gombe, to effectively carry the Institute's programmes and activities to the grassroots. The institute organises seminar and workshop on different issues and also publications, among them are Culture and Education for Peace, Perspectives in Nigerias Cultural Diplomacy, Cultural Diversity and National Development and Culture of Morality in Nigeria and cultural festival and they also conduct research programmes. Nigeria is known to have many colourful and fascinating cultural festivals. These festivals, which date back several centuries ago, are usually celebrated with beautiful masquerades and energetic dances. An interesting feature of Nigerian festivals is the celebration of virtually every aspect of life. This unique opportunity brings Nigerian together, among the festival includes the Argungu Fishing Festival, Eyo Festival, Osun Oshogbo Festival, Abuja Carnival, Iwa-Ji Ndi Igbo, Nwonyo Fishing Festival, Calabar Carnival, Igue Festival which is a perfect places to bring Nigerian together and show case our various cultures and norms from different ethnic backgrounds and to celebrate our diversity and tolerate our difference. The National Institute for Cultural Orientation are doing their best with the resources they have, but Nigeria is a very complex society, therefore, they should try to do better. The Nigerian government should implement programs and encourage civil society to partner with them in combating this problem as the government is expanding the concept of cultural diplomacy involving trade in cultural products from Africa in partnership with the U.S.A, Europe, Asia, and other development partners. Nigeria's cultural diplomacy must become more practical and more robust. The Nigeria Ministry of Foreign Affairs should emulate the German example where the German foreign policy is cultural diplomacy oriented. Establishing Civic Culture in Nigeria would resolve on the need for Civic Education to be entrenched in primary and secondary schools to build positive early civic culture. Intensive sensitization should also be carried out to eradicate ignorance that propels unethical behaviour and violence. Voter education should be carried out in schools and communities targeted at youths and women who are ignorant of these civic right. Need for more integrated and articulated programmes of conflict prevention. Such programmes should be able to effectively resolve and prevent ethno-religious conflict as the case may be. Emphasis should be on Early Warning Signals (EWS) monitoring and detection.

Encourage the formation of effective and functional platforms for ethno-religious leaders so that through them it would be possible to establish a network for conflict prevention and management at the grass root. The youth in particular in school and out of school should be targeted education and sensitization on conflict prevention/management, peace building and reconciliation. Therefore, in a multi-ethnic and religiously diverse society like Nigeria, with some forms of contextual discrimination, relationships between people may be characterized by lack of cordiality, mutual suspicion and fear as it is the case among the ethnic and religious groups in Nigeria. In fact, this mutual suspicion and lack of cordiality among the various ethnic components explains why ethno-religious conflicts have become a permanent feature of Nigeria nation. Given the deplorable state of Northern Nigerian development indices, Muslims and Christians have opportunities to engage in programs that will alleviate poverty, advance the freedom of the citizens of the country. The dialogue of action is an important means of curbing religious violence in Nigeria. Both Islam and Christianity preach peace, social justice, and charity. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility and to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership according to Albert Chinualumogu Achebe. Finding a solution may require deeply assessing issues such as the African philosophy, interreligious dialogue, tolerance, or lessons from global ethics. Cultural diplomacy can help citizenship anchored with other supporting institutions that offers the only viable platform for meaningful dialogue. . Mathias S. Akaazua