The Federal Government has established the Nigerian Academy for Cultural Studies (NACUS), a specialized institution dedicated to training individuals in innovative studies and the development of Nigeria’s culture and history.
The academy will also ensure certificates are accepted in the civil service and beyond.
The Executive Secretary of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Otunba Biodun Ajiboye stated this.
He disclosed that according to Hannatu Musawa, the Honourable Minister of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, the institution shall have campuses in four geographical zones of North, South and East and the FCT.
Ajiboye stated that this academy, approved by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), would function as the premier institution for cultural training in the nation.
Originally a training school within NICO, it now offers a programme leading to a National Diploma in Cultural Administration & Management (NDCAM).
Additionally, its Postgraduate Diploma programme is affiliated with Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK). The accreditations and affiliations allow those who have earned the Diploma to pursue a Postgraduate Diploma and eventually a Master’s degree.
What he said
Otunba Ajiboye pointed out that the rebranding and elevation of what was formerly the Training School of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) into a full-fledged higher institution for cultural education and training underscores the critical importance of culture and the necessity for a cultural renaissance to be a central focus in policy-making processes.
He emphasized that this transformation clearly signifies the emphasis placed on culture within these processes.
“With the approval of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the consent of the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, it is here on note that the government of Nigeria will begin to view culture as an important element in our day-to-day life.
“This first specialized institution to teach culture; the Nigerian Academy for Cultural Studies (NACUS) is a bold step and innovation of the current administration.
“We appreciate the federal government for the rebranding and elevation of the institution, which was hitherto the training school of NICO, to a full-fledged higher institution for cultural education and training”, he said.
He also posits that the nation has recognized the importance of incorporating sufficient cultural content into the school curriculum at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, which means shedding the foreign cultural influences that have been inadvertently adopted over the years. Now, there will be a realization of the importance of our inherent cultural essentials, which will endow the people with a great sense of originality and pave the way for establishing a strong cultural identity.
Importance of cultural awareness in making policies
Otunba Ajiboye explained that this institution will enable society to shed the foreign cultural influences that have been inadvertently adopted over the years and recognize the importance of its inherent cultural essentials.
This recognition will endow the people with a strong sense of originality, thereby paving the way for establishing a robust cultural identity.
“What this means is that once we are able to shed off the foreign cultural antecedents that we have inadvertently imbibed over the years we will then begin to realize the importance of our innate cultural essentialities which will confer on us as a people, a great dose of originality, thereby paving way for adequate cultural identity”.
He stressed further that no nation can attain a state of National identity without cultural identity.
