NATION BUILDING IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

Introduction

Multiculturalism describes the existence of multiple cultural traditions within a given territory. This usually occurs through amalgamation or through immigration. A multicultural society can be described as a society in which many cultures live aside each other and each culture is respected. Multiculturalism is the acceptance of multiple ethnic cultural practices at the organizational level. This is applied to the demographic makeup of a society, where people from different religious backgrounds, countries and traditions are wielded together and given equitable status in education, politics and the general administration of the country.

In the 19th century, for instance, America experienced massive immigration which gave rise to its multiculturalism. Today, America has become amalgamated with mixed culture, comprising immigrants, natives and minorities: a situation that has earned America the ‘melting pot’ metaphor. The reality of American cultural situation has been described as ‘melting pot’, ‘salad bowl’, ‘cultural mosaic’ or ‘tomato soup’ in which the blending of new ingredients adds spices without compromising the essential character of tomato. However, to some writers, the melting pot imagery has some contention with the idea of multiculturalism whereby the immigrants retain their own national characteristics while integrating into a new society.

Nigeria is another example of a multicultural society. The Nigerian society is heterogeneous in nature with ethnic pluralism that is rooted in diverse cultures. There are over 250 distinct ethnic groups in Nigeria with very diverse socio-cultural system deeply rooted in ethnic segmentation. These various ethnic nationality groups have their own history, institutions, culture, language, interests, cleavages and worldview. The cultural variability in the country is represented through ethnic categorization which collectively forms ethnic plurality, culture multiplicity and ethno-linguistic groupings.