ARTICLE WRITTEN BY ONYIA EMEKA HARFORD TITLED: “THE INSTABILITY OF MAN IN NIGERIAN SOCIO-CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT”

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 14^th – 15^th 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

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