Culture as key to fruitful foreign relations

Information and Culture Minister Alhaji Lai Mohammed has said that one of the ways Nigeria can achieve good relationship with her neighbours is through cultural diversity and enhanced foreign relations. He stated that culture is key in establishing cordial and fruitful foreign relations with other nations and it is part of the developmental agenda of the current administration that gave the sector pioneer status.

Mohammed spoke at this year’s quarterly lecture organised by National Institute for Cultural Orientation tagged Culture as effective tool for foreign relation, held at the NIIA Victoria Island, Lagos recently.

According to the minister who was represented by acting Director-General CBAAC, Mrs. Ndidi Aimienwamwu, there is an urgent need for ‘us to preserve, promote nd present our unique cultural heritage for the socio-economic growth and development of our country.’

He described the lecture as apt and timely as it came at a time when the government is concerned in entrenching its foreign relations with other countries of the world through strengthened cultural diplomacy. “Nigeria’s foreign relation policy thrust has been pro-African with critical attainment of the fundamental principles of objectives of African unity, independence, decolonisation, peaceful settlement of disputes, peaceful co-existence, social integration, non-alignment, regional economic cooperation and development.

‘Nigeria‘s foreign relations principles are dependent on the prevailing internal, political economic and socio-cultural realities and current happenings in the international community. In carrying out these principles the country participates in activities of the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWS) the non-aligned Movement, the Commonwealth, the United Nations and agreement with friendly countries,” he noted.

Executive Secretry NICO, Mr. Louis Eriomola said the lecture was conceptualised as strategic platform where the nation can benefit immensely from the intellectual knowledge and wealth of experience of eminent scholars, renowned cultural administrators top government functionaries and other stkeholders.

He stated that culture has been used for foreign relations since ancient times by diplomats as they carried messages, delivered their own culture to foreign lands and brought back foreign ones. This, he said, was done by the traditional exchange of gifts, usually cultural artefcts. He however noted that modern day cultural interventions have taken the form of the establishment of institutions such as Alliance Francaise, the British Council, Goethe Institut, Yunus Emre Institute among others which perform similar functions.

He stressed that culture was also used as weapon by the super powers like US, Russia and Germany.
“Culture can be positively deployed in our foreign relations to create understanding, promote our national heritage and market the Nigerian brand,” he added.

Eriomola however lamented the misconception many Nigerians have bout culture, which they see s primitive. “Some Pentecostal Christians see it as paganism and believe that the problems of Nigeria began with the hosting of FESTC 77, while the larger majority see it as entertaining visiting dignitaries. The 1998 Cultural Policy for Nigeria defines culture as “the totality of the way of life evolved by people in their attempts to meet the challenge of living in their environment, which gives order and meaning to their social, political, economic and religious norms and modes of orgnisation, thus distinguishing people from their neighbours,” he said.

According to him, culture is beyond the food we eat, the language we speak, the clothes we wear, as it is what we are, our existence and cultural heritage, which some have argued is greater than all the mineral resources of nation put together.