By YUSUFU IDEGU, Jos-
Ron Kulere people of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau state have been called upon continued to promote and preserve their culture because it foster community peace, unity and love in the society.
The State’s Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Hon John Akans gave the advice in a public lecture during the 2021 edition of Ron Kulere Day organized by Ron Kulere Students Association held in Bokkos LGA of the state.
Mr. Akans who centered his presentation on the theme: “Culture and its Societal Impacts”, noted that culture which is as old as man itself, has been serving as a bond of unity and love in various communities since time immemorial and must be sustained by the present generation.
According to Akans: “Cultural celebration is a very remarkable day particularly when appearing in your colorful native attires that showcase and demonstrate culture from the various tribes”.
“Cultural celebration foster respect and open mindedness, and it help in uniting, educating the people with a gained sense of pride, also through culture we learn how to be better people in the society living in unity as brothers and sisters. It’s very hard for a person to live without culture because it’s like an antelope at the middle of hungry lioness”.
“Human being is a very complex creature. Every individual human has a distinguished attitude, behaviours as well as traits. It is only through culture where human beings act uniformly and live as a society”.
“Africa is believed to be the cornerstone of culture and every year, thousands of people from all over the world visit Africa to witness the beautiful culture”.
“Other amazing natural phenomena which Africa is blessed, are the earth surface features, wild animals, water bodies, songs ,customs as well as hospitality of the people in African just like what we have in Bokkos and Plateau state”.
“The way, we plateau people handle our lives and whatever surrounds us; that is actually our culture, and it is through which we are identified. However, there are many different cultures from other communities and from other parts of the state and the world, which remain to be the part of great adventure and identity to those people who live in those communities. We also recognize and appreciate their cultures. Wherever you are and wherever you live, your culture is of great value since it is the one which made you to be who you are today”.
“Under no circumstance, a brave should not abandon his or her culture because if one abandons his or her culture, I dare to say he or she has abandon him or herself.
“It is high time for us to protect all what we have in our culture and whatever is good should be taken to great heights and we should try all our level best to eliminate all those practices which are against our culture and against human rights even if they have been practiced in our environment”. He explained.
Mr. Akans however advocated for a cultural reform so as to do away with certain harmful practices that borders on human right abuse like female genital mutilation, gender discrimination of any kind, child abuse etc.
He also called for improvement in planning and organization of cultural festivals as it is now consider to be a global tourist attraction capable of improving local economy.
“Today, I strongly call all students, parents, political leaders and the government to try all their best to love and feel proud of their culture. This is because it is believed that you will not know the importance of things unless they are taken away from you”, he said.
DISCLAIMER
The OPINION / COLUMN is authored by independent contributors to the National Accord Newspaper. While contributors adhere to our editorial guidelines, they are not employed by the National Accord Newspaper. The perspectives and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of the National Accord Newspaper or its staff.