Old Bende Development Association (OBDA), yesterday urged the Federal Government to ensure justice and equity across the country in order to engender lasting peace and stability.
It further noted that with the rate at which cultures are eroding, particularly among younger people, there is a need for a revival in order for the country not to lose its identity and itself.
Speaking during the Old Bende Cultural Fiesta, the President of the Association, Dr. Emeka Nwosu said: “You cannot talk about a country if there is no peace and unity. Peace is precedent to unity. We need peace, but that peace must not be that of a graveyard. It has to be peace founded on justice, equity and fairplay. If there is no justice to all sections of the country, then there will be no peace. When there is no peace, there can never be stability.
“On this occasion, we call for unity among all Nigerians. We can for tolerance because as individuals, we have our differences. We must be able to understand each other because there is unity in diversity. We must respect and leverage our diversity to give us strength.
“The essence of this is to showcase our rich cultural values in terms of our dances, artifacts etc. Culture is very important because it defines an individual. You can’t talk about a group without their culture – food, language, thought processes, governance.”
The Chair Person of the Organizing Committee of the event, Chief Mrs. Ann Nwaogu, added: “Majority of us have forgotten the culture of our land, mostly the Igbos. We want to show the world that culture is very important, and want to start from here, especially for our children that cannot speak our dialect. In a lot of homes, English is what they speak, and cannot speak or comprehend their dialect. I believe in a few years, we will come up with something more than this.”