Traditional rulers have been urged to promote the rich and cultural heritage in their domain for peace and national unity among Nigerians.

Dr. Francis Ogege, Director, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Auchi Polytechnic, made the call at the maiden edition of UNESCO Cultural Festival in Auchi, Edo, on Monday.

The festival which had as its theme: “The Role of Culture as Tool for Fostering Peace, Social Inclusion and Social Cohesion”, was organized by the UNESCO-Nigeria TVE Project, Auchi Polytechnic.

According to Ogege, a culture is a veritable tool that can be used to build values of love, peace and tolerance among Nigerians.

“In this challenging time facing our peaceful-coexistence as a nation, traditional institutions should use culture to promote and sustain what bind us together.

“Our traditional rulers should reinforce culture tendencies that promote our unity in diversity,” he said.

The UNESCO director also said the rich and cultural heritage of the country was going into extinction due to western civilization.

He urged traditional institutions to use their rich cultural heritage in their domains for positive social re-orientation of citizens for national integration.

“Culture is a powerful tool that should be used deliberately and consciously for peacebuilding, and there is the need to stimulate the change by our traditional rulers,” he said.

Earlier, the Acting Rector of the institution, Al-Hassan Zakariaya, said the program became imperative to reawaken the cultural values and norms among students, staff, and the people of the community.

“Culture is a way of life of a particular people and we need to sustain our rich cultural heritage to showcase it outside the world,” he said.

The highpoint of the event was a display of the rich cultural heritage of the Binis (people from Benin City), Igbo cultural group, the Afemai cultural group, the popular acrobatic dance of Esan people and Yoruba cultural group, amongst others.