The idea of writing this book was born
out of the perception that development is fast eroding Nsukka Town’s culture
and tradition and something needs to be done to safeguard and promote the good
cultural heritages of our land. Our culture (our identity) no doubt is at the
verge of extinction. It is diminishing every day both in respect and
follower ship due to so many conflicting variables.
These days, people do things without
recourse to the tradition; most times not because they do not like following it
but because they do not know what the tradition says. Many cultural activities
that help people to remember these traditions are no longer fashionable: people
do shun them and as a result, the knowledge and respect for Nsukka traditions
have drastically reduced. Our traditional
institutions, moral values, festivals, marriage ceremonies, our food and many
other good things that constitute Nsukka culture and tradition need to be reactivated,
promoted and redirected to keep abreast with present realities. The consciousness
of our people as regards our culture which translates to who we are needs to be
rekindled through every means possible.
The
cultural practices we observe today were passed on to us from our fore fathers
and they were sustained because the socio-cultural mechanism then could not
allow it to break. During the days of our forefathers, a greater number of the
population lived together in villages and everyone was either a participant or
observer of every cultural practice. There was no documentation, but elders and
parents were always there to educate the younger ones. Through this way they
were able to hold onto a pattern of life and sustain a flow of cultural values
that have made us a unique people different from others.
Because
they did that, we are able to meet a society that is stable and orderly. But
nowadays, the case is different. The greater population no longer stays in the
village to learn and understand the culture; they are scattered all over the
world for studies or business and only come home once in a while. Many are born
and bred abroad; and may never visit home until such visit is unavoidable. Even many parents that ought to teach their
children the cultural values of our land do not know them. The worst of it all
is that the elderly ones who know this culture very well are passing on at a
very fast rate. It seems that sooner or later there will be nobody who knows or
understands our culture any more. Culture, being the totality of a people’s way
of life, Nsukka people cannot therefore afford to lose it.
There
are bad cultural practices no doubt but, at the same time, there are many good
cultural practices and traditions that need to be upheld. It is not wrong for
one to know those cultural practices that existed and why they did. According
to Akajiobi (2006: 21), having this knowledge does not make one guilty of such
practices even if they were bad. Similarly, writing about them does not mean
you are supporting or encouraging such practices. Before you can handle a
situation very well, you must have thorough knowledge of it. Writing and
knowing about them can help us to eliminate the bad ones and strengthen the good
traditional practices.
Furthermore,
this book is intended to diffuse the misconception some people hold concerning
our culture and tradition. Some people are opposed to certain cultural issues
and practices just because they were fed with wrong information about them. This book will give these set of people the
opportunity to review the understanding they have. They might turn out to
promote the very practices they thought were evil; on seeing how useful they
could be for communal peace and integration. More so, through measures like
this, there can be understanding that will help in reducing the tension and
conflict that exist between groups in our society like the Christian bodies and
traditional believers. There is a need for a meeting point for all opposing
groups so that there will be clear understanding of issues involved.
Also,
there are people and events that shaped our society for good but nobody
remembers them. It will amount to gross ingratitude should we allow such noble
men, women and events fade into oblivion without due recognition and
appreciation of their impact. Giving
them their due place in history can be a way of igniting or transferring the
fire of patriotic zeal they had into our own being and those of future
generation.
It
was therefore factored that having a document of this nature that describes the
traditional life, events and culture of Nsukka people will help us to preserve
and promote our cultural identity. Generations unborn will not be in dark as to
what Nsukka culture and tradition is. Our sons and daughters across Nigeria and
overseas no longer need to come home first before knowing what the culture of
their land says in a given situation.
They can pick up this book or download it from the internet and get fed;
and when they come home, they would blend easily.
Nsukka
has many good cultural values the world needs to know about and this book will
go a long way in projecting Nsukka culture to the world. Also, I want to direct
the attention of the government and investors to the numerous tourism
potentials of Nsukka for revenue generation, job creation and overall
empowerment.
This
publication therefore explains cultural issues in detail as they are in Nsukka
Town. Because we are bound by a common cultural history in Nsukka zone, this
book can also be used to understand issues as they are in other towns around
Nsukka Town. This book shall in future be reviewed to include those other
issues as they are in other towns that are not fully explained here. The
publication answers all the historical, cultural, social, economic and
political questions about Nsukka as a whole. Through reviews new things will be
included and mistakes corrected. I will appreciate contributions, arguments, corrections
etc. What i will not consider are those things that will not bring peace, unity
and progress. This book will give birth to a new cultural, political, economic
and social renaissance in Nsukka that will lead to greater prosperity and
development.
Eneje
Peter Chinedu : Author 08177406085
