Effectiveness of NICO and NCAC Cultural Programmes in Promoting National Integration in Nigeria

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@article{1725040,
      author = {Onwe Margret Member, Dr. Philip J.  Umaru, Dr. Daniel J. Chikada, Dr. Sunday O. Igbaba},
      title = {Effectiveness of NICO and NCAC Cultural Programmes in Promoting National Integration in Nigeria},
      journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
      year = {2026},
      volume = {10},
      number = {5},
      pages = {2798-2807},
      issn = {2456-8880},
      url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1725040.pdf},
      abstract = {Nigeria's multi-ethnic and multi-religious composition makes national integration a recurring policy concern, and successive governments have relied on culture as a unifying instrument through agencies such as the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) and the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC). This paper examines the effectiveness of NICO and NCAC cultural programmes in promoting national integration in Nigeria. Anchored on Cultural Nationalism Theory, it treats the programmes as the independent variable and national integration, measured through unity, mutual understanding, inter-ethnic coexistence and social cohesion, as the dependent variable. A survey design was adopted, and data from a structured questionnaire administered to 220 staff of the two agencies, complemented by document review, were analysed using frequencies and percentages. The programmes are perceived as contributing positively to national identity, mutual respect and social cohesion, with 83.2% of respondents agreeing that they are effective, but their effectiveness is significantly constrained by inadequate funding, political interference, shortage of trained personnel, poor logistics and weak inter-agency collaboration. The paper concludes that cultural programmes have real but underexploited potential for national integration, and recommends improved funding, stronger monitoring and evaluation, greater inter-agency synergy and sustained public enlightenment.},
      keywords = {NICO, NCAC, cultural programmes, national integration, cultural policy, Nigeria},
      month = {November},
  }