Nigeria
is a nation that comprises about 527 diverse Ethnic languages with different
cultural heritage. This implies that Nigeria is a nation that is made up of
different culture and ways of communication. The main three tribes that are
well recognized and accepted in the same nation are: The Hausas’, The Yorubas’
and The Ibos’. These three tribes form the Northern, Southern, western and
Eastern part of the nation. But one thing is remarkable and that is the same political
system becomes the umbrella governing the whole tribes as well as regulated
from a particular constitution made and approved by the federal republic of
Nigerian government headed by the President as the head of state, the senate
and the Federation Attorney General. Based on these facts, Nigerian citizens
respond to different cultural background and heritage which sometimes goes
against the statutory law and these diverse cultural rules and regulation
become the foundation for customary law as well as practices which also may not
be acceptable or approved by the statutory Nigerian constitution. And these
customary practices are being inducted to natives of the custom; which at the
end of the day becomes their moral ethic to the detriment of the basic rules
and regulations of Nigerian constitution. This is where the instability begins
in Nigerian constitution and socio-environment.
Now,
what is instability? It is the state of being unstable. It can also be defined
as lack of stability or firmness. Especially to the acceptable rules that
governs the nation. Our socio-cultural environment has diverse promulgated laws
by customary standard which basically is against the statutory law from the
Nigerian constitution. And having inducted their natives with these unrefined
laws makes them looks stupid as well as ignorant of the main laws that governs
the land from Nigerian constitution. For example the activities of the BOKUHARAM INSURGENCY might be justified
by cultural heritage due to religious background but a threat to the nation and
the constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria which is totally against
terrorism. Now, the route of terrorism is traceable to Socio-Cultural Heritage.
One may ask, “What does this Socio-Cultural
heritage means?” It can be defined as the combination of Social and
cultural factor as an inheritance. Nigerian social cultural environment is made
up of three tribes and they are Hausa,
Yoruba and Ibo tribes.
The
vacuum that socio-cultural environment has created in our society due to
indoctrinated laws is a foundation for man’s instability and ignorant to
socio-cultural environment as well as Nigerian as a nation. This is why Nigeria
cultural societies and Norms need to be scrutinized to drop some certain habits
and practices which are uneducated acceptable standard to improve our society. Habits
like women circumcision due to
religious background is still a practice in some native societies in Nigeria especially
in the Northern part of Nigeria which is not acceptable by world Health Organization (WHO) Standard. Also giving out female
gender to marriage at the tender ages of 12 to 14 years upward is an act
condemned by Nigerian constitution but adopted by tribes like the TIV and IDOMA tribes of middle belt of Nigeria, again is the beheading
practices by the ABRIBA people in
Ibo tribe for condolence of their bereaved chiefs is also an indoctrinate
practices which is totally brutal to Nigerian constitution because it involves
murdering of innocent ones to bereave a Noble chief. And as a result, though
customary laws but totally against Nigerian statutory laws in line with the constitution
of federal republic of Nigeria; it also makes those that practice it unstable
to the Socio-cultural environment as well as Nigerian constitution.
Finally,
the effects of these instabilities in indoctrinated believes in our society are
obvious when the 250 Chibok girls were abducted from government secondary
school Chibok in Bornu State Nigeria on the night of 14th – 15th
April 2014. This is one of the events that shake the nation Nigeria till date.
But the solution to such practices is to take formal and acceptable standard of
education introduced to Nigerians by the British Colonial masters to the grassroots
and curb ignorant of indoctrinate customary and cultural heritage that pollutes
our society. Thanks
Written
by
ONYIA EMEKA HARFORD
+2348186388641
