EXCHANGE OF TRIBAL ATTIRES AMONG NIGERIANS: A TOOL FOR ETHNIC COHESION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Nigerian civil war threw Nigeria into further disunity than was the situation before the crisis that led to the war. It is therefore necessary to garner measures that will stimulate ethnic cohesion in Nigeria today. This study proposes the integration of the exchange of indigenous garments of Nigeria’s ethnic groups amongst ethnic groups into Nigeria’s “National Friday Wear” programme. This is a situation, whereby, on every Friday, every Nigerian will dress to work in a Nigerian outfit that is not of his own ethnicity. For instance, the Hausa-Fulani people will dress in Igbo attire to their offices and terminate the dressing of themselves in Hausa-Fulani fashions. Likewise, the Igbo will dress in Hausa-Fulani gear to their places of work and discontinue kitting themselves in Igbo indigenous garment designs. The same becomes of Yoruba, Bini, Ijaw and other ethnic groups in Nigeria. This effort will encourage friendship amongst diverse ethnic groups. It will generate development in Nigeria’s indigenous textile and fashion design industries and boost in the sales of her indigenous textile and fashion design products. The post-civil war resolution, reunion, reconstruction and restoration of marginalised ethnic groups in Nigeria stand to be achieved if the proposals made here are given a trial. Data that informed this paper were gathered from books, book chapters, magazines, journal articles, newspapers, the internet, oral interviews and observations of the researcher. The method of data interpretation adopted in this study is descriptive as qualitative research methods of data collection and analysis were engaged.