Oba Ewuare II of Benin Kingdom has always expressed the essence of the unity of Nigeria through the instrumentality of culture, saying in simple terms that, culture brings about the unity of the nation. Oba Ewuare II always gives goodwill messages to propagate cultural values. According to Oba Ewuare, the uniqueness of the Benin art, culture and traditional heritage was yet to be surpassed or dominated by the rest of the world. Oba Ewuare said that the exhibition of African art by Nigerians in Diaspora in Benin marked the beginning of cultural intellectuals.
This cultural dance competition that had picked up its footing on the social scene in Ikpoba Okha local government, Benin City is one of the most fierce and unique musical competition in Edo State. Traditional dances are part of Edo’s heritage. This competition gives us another platform to support the preservation of our cultures. But on return, the organisers, The Chairman of Ikpoba Okha, Dr Eric Osayande seemed to have come back with lessons learnt from mistakes committed the past. One contentious issue was bringing in more schools from the villages, especially the rural areas, to the competition.
Oba Ewuare II Cultural Dance Competition organized by the Ikpoba-Okha Local Government has taken a new dimension, Ikpoba Okha local Government is now pioneering the reawakening of cultural values in schools in Edo State. At the conclusion of the Ikpoba-Okha’s Oba Ewuare II Cultural Dance Competition where Niger College came 1st, followed by Ogunbor, while Goretti clinched 3rd. The Chairman of Ikpoba Okha, Dr Eric Osayande in his welcoming address, stressed on the need for Nigerians to reawaken our cultural values – languages, dressing, food and others, as they are all going into extinction. He stressed the need for parents to inculcate cultural awareness in children at the early stage of their lives, given that it will help to mould their individual behaviours, cultivate proper relationship with one another, and uplift the societal cultural values as with regards to language. The Chairman said the Godwin Obaseki led-administration intends to inculcate cultural norms and values in children in secondary schools, noting, “This will be done in such a way that the children will grow up with our cultural norms and values.
According to him, a well-cultured child will become a properly educated man and a quality future leader for the society, maintaining that it behoves mothers, who are the custodians of culture, to play their roles effectively by inculcating those cultural values in their children. What kind of culture pervades in our schools? Do staff members feel like a family? Or is it like a factory or a Little Shop of Horrors? One way to assess school culture, and then strive to improve on it, is school culture which is the set of norms, values and beliefs, rituals and ceremonies, symbols and stories that make up the ‘persona’ of the school. Ikpoba Okha has showed how you can create a positive culture in your school. The cultural display has been awesome, classy and very colourful; while the various schools battle to give their best, the judges who were highly professional definitely had tough times getting the best.
18th May was the grand finale of the Ikpoba-Okha’s Oba Ewuare II Cultural Dance Competition; it has been weeks of captivating cultural display by schools in Ikpoba-Okha; our professional judges have had great challenges getting the very best from excellent
cultural presentations by our school children from over 45 schools
The schools that were involved in the final of cultural battle were St. Maria Goretti Girls Grammar School, Ogunbor Group of Schools, Classic Academy, Niger College, Osemwende Secondary School, Idogbo Secondary School, Urora Secondary School, Harvard Educational Centre and Cream Crest Secondary School where only 3 will be the eventual survivors
I must commend Ikpoba Okha local government for the patriotic initiative of introducing cultural competition in public schools in the state. The step would help in stimulating the interest of the youths in the rich cultural heritage of the state and Nigeria. The move by Dr Eric Osayande is not surprising in view of the cultural antecedents of the state.
Edo state has a rich cultural history and tradition which are as old as the ancient Benin Kingdom and are reflected in the various art forms such as sculptures, paintings, bronze works, dances, oral tradition, among others. Most of the vices in Nigerian society today are largely due to the deterioration of traditional value system, occasioned by the undue influence of foreign cultural values, adding that for the country to make significant progress, it must return to its value system. “The best starting point is to consciously socialise our children in our core national values, using the family, the school and other agents of socialisation.
School culture is the set of norms, values and beliefs, rituals and ceremonies, symbols and stories that make up the ‘persona’ of the school “The culture of a school consists primarily of the underlying norm values and beliefs that teachers and administrators hold about teaching and learning. Culture is also composed of “traditions and ceremonies schools hold to build community and reinforce their values.
Every school has underlying assumptions about what staff members will discuss at meetings, which teaching techniques work well, how amenable the staff is to change, and how critical staff development is. That core set of beliefs underlies the school’s overall culture. In a school with a positive culture, there’s an informal network of heroes and heroines and an informal grapevine that passes along information about what’s going on in the school. A set of values that supports professional development of teachers, a sense of responsibility for student learning, and a positive, caring atmosphere” exist.
Staff and administrators in a positive school culture believe they have the ability to achieve their ambitions. Their counterparts operating in a negative school environment lack faith in the possibility of realizing their visions. School culture has a profound effect on staff development. “It affects attitudes toward spending time to improve instruction, motivation to attend workshops, and the [activities] people choose to participate in.
When administrators and staff collaborate in a strong push to foster an environment in which learning blooms, they will decrease such negatives as student misbehavior and faculty grousing and create an overall positive school culture with a flourishing staff and students.
The Chairman of Ikpoba Okha, Dr Eric Osayande has identified that positive school cultures can be developed through assessment, analysis, improving and strengthening a school’s identity, and then monitoring progress. The three major indicators of a healthy school culture are collaboration (do people work together and share information), collegiality (is there a sense of belonging and emotional support), and efficacy (do stakeholders feel as if they have control of their destinies or do they view themselves as helpless victims of “the system?).
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Inwalomhe Donald writes from Benin City [email protected]
