Culture is real and very important. It is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. Culture can be used as a stabilizing agent and an effective tool for arresting the tide of poverty, unemployment and misery.
It can also be used to entrench progressive human development, enhance creativity and increase productivity for the common good, which in essence is what sustainable development is all about.
The world is filled with people who have different beliefs, religions, traditions, and ways of living. It is within our differences that we can find beauty. Both in educational and professional environments, cultural diversity benefits everyone.
A growing number of reports indicate that cultural diversity enables a community to be stronger and compete on a larger scale in the global economy in which we live. People from diverse backgrounds bring language skills, new ways of thinking, innovative ideas and creative solutions to difficult problems.
This is the main reason Cultural diversity is believed to be necessary for sustainable development. It is because of the coexistence of diverse cultures that the human race has overcome environmental change and continued to survive.
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The emergence of differing cultures and maintenance of cultural diversity has raised the possibility of the human race to adapt to environmental change in the future. For culture itself to retain its creativity and vitality, the existence of other cultures is a must.
Cultural diversity guarantees security and safeguards human rights for minorities. Lack of mutual understanding between countries causes war, conflicts and terrorism.
To build peace that leads to development, it is necessary to have mutual understanding and tolerance between cultures. If people accept cultural diversity and understand cultures other than their own, it will contribute to the prevention of conflict, building of peace and development.
Cultural heritage, culture and creative industries, sustainable cultural tourism, and cultural infrastructure serve as strategic tools for revenue generation, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria, giving her rich-cultural heritage and substantial labour force.
This is why the United Nations General Assembly Outcomes Document (2010) Millennium Summit, states that cultural and creative industries represent one of the most rapidly expanding sectors in the global economy.
Today, many cities use cultural heritage and cultural events and institutions to improve their image, stimulate urban development and attract visitors as well as investment to their economies.
If Nigeria wants to move away from its present chaotic and violent condition, building culture into the development process is the remedy. Hence, Cultural diversity in Nigeria nation should be seen as an asset rather than a burden.
Where culture is not incorporated in the development process, problems including loss of meaning in people’s lives, increase in alienation and anxiety, creeping disenfranchisement, an unprecedented rationalization of violence, and destruction of the environment will occur. Therefore, culture must be placed as the central pillar and fully integrated into that of the other pillars of the economy.
The communities should be involved in policy-making to safeguard their cultural heritage. The traditional community values and associated local and indigenous knowledge should be taught and transmitted in Nigeria basic education. For instance, Chinese language among other values is fast becoming an international language as it is now being incorporated into university curricular especially in the U.S. The same goes for French in France and Malay for Malaysia and probably India and Indonesia.
The Nigerian government should build capacities in cultural areas through education and training in the arts, arts and administration, heritage management and cultural entrepreneurship as well as invest in cultural industries to aid in the diversification of economies, and to reinforce and expand cultural confidence and ties with foreign countries.
If the following proposed measures are adhered to, Nigeria will remain the giant of Africa and also on the global success story of development.
