MOVING BEYOND CULTURE SHOCK IN DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT

MOVING BEYOND CULTURE SHOCK IN DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA
Introduction
The current security situation in Nigeria suggests that all is not well with the country. Among many other problems (Niger Delta crisis, kidnapping and the like), there is a nationwide fear of possible Boko-Haram attack all over the nation. This is probably one of the reasons, perhaps, why our usual October 1 independence anniversary celebration could not be done openly this year (2011) both at national and state levels. At the University of Ibadan where I am a postgraduate student of Peace and Conflict Studies, every individual and vehicles coming into the campus are thoroughly searched and for the first time in the history of the University, staffs of the security unit now bear arms. All these are signs that our nation is not doing well. My careful consideration of the situation takes me back to the existing debate on “culture shock”. How does this apply to our present situation in Nigeria?

The concept of culture shocks assumes that when cultures meet as was experienced in 1914 when the Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and several other ethnic groups were brought together to form the Nigerian state, the groups would initially be shocked by the diversity of the people they have to work with whether privately or publicly. On the other hand the concept assumes that with a period of interaction, the diverse groups would get over this initial shock and blend into one family. The present situation in Nigeria shows that since 1914, Nigerian groups still find it difficult to blend and still manifest culture shock. Hence, what we have now is the Hausa nation, Yoruba nation, Igbo nation and so on. The way and manner these ethnic groups attack each other suggests that it would take a very long time for Nigeria to overcome its state of culture shock. I am particularly bordered by the fact that it is the young ones in the society that serve as the cannon fodders of many of the inter-ethnic and inter-religious crises in the country.

My main argument in this paper is that while our older generation can make culture shock become a national crisis, it is important for the youth in the country to work speedily towards overcoming the problem. It is by so doing that we would all be building a new Nigeria in which diversity is turned into an asset rather than a liability.

Culture Shock
The concept of culture shock was coined by Dr Kalvero Oberg (1960), an anthropologist, to characterise the feelings of surprise, disorientation, uncertainty, and confusion common to those arriving to live in a new culture, one they are unfamiliar with. Culture shock is a feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life or set of attitudes. It is the trauma one experiences as well as the impact one feels when entering a culture totally different from one to which an individual is accustomed. It is brought on by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse. These signs which may be words, facial expressions or customs are acquired by all of us in the course of growing up and are as much part of our culture as the language we speak or the beliefs we accept. It is pertinent to state that we all consciously or unconsciously depend on these signs for our peace of mind. Oberg further stated that, ‘all or most of these signs are removed when an individual enters a culture’.

Culture shock occurs in the context of human diversity. In this case, diversity means different things to different people in different locations. However, Diversity is a condition or instance of being different or having differences. When related to humanity, diversity refers to differences in sex, cultural practice, ethnic origin, religious affiliation, ideological stance and place of habitation. Cultural diversity is used in describing a society with people of different ethnic roots, which manifest in their language, mode of dressing, arts as well as other traditional practice which are similar or different from each group. In most cases, we all are helpless about our diversity. For example, I did not choose to be Edo, God made it possible. I did not choose to be female. It was so decided by God. I am a Christian because my parents are. Others got their identities from the same process. It is thus absurd for anybody to be blamed from being naturally different from others.

Experts describe culture shock as consisting of four phases. To illustrate the foregoing, it would be stated that not everyone passes through these stages and not everyone in the new culture stays long enough to pass through all four phases.

At the first stage, everything encountered is new and exciting ,for example, the food, the people’s habit and this stage is full of observations and new discoveries, as he/she will also experience difficulties with language ,work, housing and friends.

The second stage showcases an attempt to adapt to a new culture that is very different from the culture of origin. The individual encounters some difficult times in daily life .Excitement eventually gives way to unpleasant feelings of frustration and anger as one continues to experience unfavourable events that may be perceived as strange and offensive to one’s cultural attitude. More importantly at this stage, communication is unique, as new comers would have to adjust to the new culture and get used to the new environment as well as meeting people they are not familiar with, thus the feeling of loneliness. The pressure of adjusting to the new culture at this stage is high, most especially when the culture distance is wide.

At the third stage, the individual experiences psychological balance. Familiarity with the environment and the new culture is evident, as the new culture is accepted with a positive attitude and the individual demonstrates the need to belong. Surprisingly, negative reactions and responses to the new culture are reduced.

At the fourth stage, individuals are able to participate fully in the host culture. They incorporated the good and the bad aspects of the new or host culture into their own life. Acculturation at this phase refers to the process by which members of one culture adapt to the presence of another culture as people acculturate when confronting a new culture and learning a second language.

Culture shock has no fixed symptoms ascribed to it as each individual is affected differently and this ranges from anger, depression, feeling vulnerable, stereotyping of the new country and its citizen, changes in temperament, loss of identity, feeling of insecurity, developing stereotype about the new culture, feeling of being lost, exploited or abused, etc.

Culture shock becomes a problem in a society where individuals fail to recognise the worth of others or try to perpetuate the belief that his/her own culture is superior to others. This mode of thinking is called ‘ethnocentrism’. When two ethnocentric people from different cultures interact, there is little hope that they will achieve an understanding of each others world views. It could also happen in the realm of religion. Hence, one religion would claim to be better than the other and within this framework the adherents of the “condemned religion is stereotyped and demonised. This kind of situation often leads to anger and violence. Examples of this kind of situation include the Ijaw/Itsekiri crisis in Warri (Delta state), the Ife-Modakeke crisis (Osun state), the Shagamu crisis (Ogun state), the incessant Muslim/Christian clashes in Kaduna State and the ongoing Boko-Haram crisis. All these crises suggest that Nigerians still find it difficult to overcome culture shock.

Diversity Management
The main point of this paper is that in order to have a peaceful society, it is necessary for us to move beyond culture in diversity management. Diversity management, in this case, is a strategy to promote the perception, acknowledgement and implementation of diversity in an environment. The underlying principle of diversity management is ‘acceptance’. While individuals retain their values and ethics, diversity management encourages individuals to recognise that not everyone is alike as well as promoting the idea of not only ‘remembering our differences but respecting our differences’. Ensuring that diversity is made visible and fruitful remains a central concern of diversity management. In doing so, individual and structural representation of perception and appreciation maybe reflected upon. For example, in the struggle for autonomy in Eritrea, the people had to put away their ethnic and religious differences to pursue a common goal. To this day, the symbol of Eritrean nationalism is a large fist surrounded by 9 smaller fists, indicating the nine(9) different ethnic groups that exist within Eritrea.Therefore,in other for us as Nigerians to attain unity and development, we must look beyond our varied culture and religion.

Acceptance is a two-edged sword. It requires that a person entering into a new culture area is accepted by his/her hosts. But more importantly, it requires that the person entering the new culture area respects and accepts the host community. Where any of these is lacking, culture shock would remain a permanent feature of the relationship between the two groups. This is probably what we have in Nigeria today, where people are unwilling to accept others.

To effectively manage diversity, we must suspend ethnocentric judgements and question why particular things are done. Frustration often occurs when two people with different world views interact frequently, neither feels valued or understood. More often, one or the other practices ethnocentric thinking. When ethnocentric thinking pervades an organisational culture, the result can be exclusion of some, favouritism towards others and intra group conflict. To successfully achieve this, we must understand that culture differences exist, acknowledge your stereotypes and assumptions, develop consciousness and acceptance of your own cultural background, learn about other cultures, treat people equitably, but not uniformly at workplace and encourage constructive communication about differences.

In the corporate world, promoting recognition and acceptance of diversity among employees can transform a hostile workplace environment into a calm, peaceful and productive environment, where people communicate freely and support each other. In the real sense, diversity in a workplace does not have to hamper productivity or create conflict but should promote the attainment of goals and objectives, as this will invariably lead to an increase in productivity and an enhancement in communication. In the management of diversity, issues of employment, equity, bias-free selection, respect in the workplace, building diverse teams as this recognises the value of each individual, should be taken into consideration.

Government through its operating constitution and legal documents has a role in promoting a more collaborative society that attempts to be diversity blind and capable of promoting social order. In the United State of America, a social policy was enforced that allows residents six(6) months stay in any State of the Union before earning full State right of that State including running for public office. For example, Mrs Clinton, wife of former President Bill Clinton of the United States was born in Illinois but was able to represent New York based on this law. Nigeria needs to learn from this. Most of the indigene/settler conflicts that we have in the country revolve around the inability of the constitution of the country to clearly guarantee the rights of people outside the immediate communities where they were born or where their parents come from. For now, only an individual whose ethnic group originate from the area is considered ‘indigene’ while a settler might have been born where he or she lives but will always be considered a ‘settler’ because his or her ethnic group do not originate from that particular area. Settlers are denied equal access to educational opportunities, employments and other benefits open to Indigenes. For example, I recall the case of a friend, who was born in Akure (Ondo State) and whose family still live in Akure. He was denied a teaching appointment, practically because he was from Edo State. He was told that the vacancies the state had were not sufficient for the indigenes and was asked to go back to apply in his state of origin. Indeed, a Nigerian who cannot prove that he is an indigene of a particular place by producing a certificate of ‘indigeneity’ is discriminated against and barred from taking up opportunities.

The Youth Beyond Culture Shock
The point was made above that the youth are the ones used for fighting ethnic and religious wars in Nigeria. This is not good because these young people are the leaders of tomorrow. If the present is crisis-ridden in Nigeria, the only way we can make for a better Nigeria is to get the youth to move beyond culture shock in relating with other Nigerians. Many things are already being done by the government to deal with this issue. The most important is the one year compulsory youth service imposed on all Nigerians graduating from tertiary institutions.

The NYSC scheme is built around the belief that people get to know others when they move outside their own immediate environment. This exposes one to a way of life so radically different as well as providing new insights to the original culture. It also puts you on the path to becoming interculturally fluent, as well as increasing ones level of intercultural adaptation and ability to reach optimal goals. To achieve this entails:
a. keeping an open mind because religion ,food, thought patterns and social habits will appear odd and allow oneself to be open not only to appreciate but to fully participate and try new things.
b. communicating with host culture towards developing a positive relationship. It is also necessary to be courteous , respectful and aware of cultural differences and taboos
c. discouraging oneself from negatively comparing host culture to one’s culture. Definitely, things will be different, instead of looking at these new environments, customs and behaviour with criticism, one should learn from them. It is neither good nor bad, it is just different.
d. Seeking out new experiences and this could be in the form of eating in a local restaurant. Patience is a virtue, therefore be patient as one will need time in order to fully acclimatize to the new surroundings.
Beyond the foregoing, the point must be made that cultural acceptance can be learned in a classroom setting and must be encouraged. Culture is a way of life of a people as it constitutes everything that is learned and shared in every given society. Man by nature has evolved norms and values that guide relationship in the society. Inspite of man’s frailties, man has been able to survive and the product of his survival is the means to interact by creating values and norms which are used to induct members of the society into greater horizon. The more of others’ value that one learns, the better one is able to accept others.

Hence, it is recommended that from time to time, young Nigerians should attend training programmes or workshops where inter-cultural communication is taught. This will encourage one to know more and appreciate other cultures beyond theirs, as this is a form of cultural re-orientation. In addition, as youths, lets imbibe the spirit of tolerance, discipline and respect for each other’s culture and religion, that in spite of our differences, we are all same and need to be committed to the greater work of preserving our identity as a nation . More so , it is important we erase the biases and stereotypes that we all nurture in our hearts of other ethnic/religious groups, as this will help promote a peaceful environment .Indeed, no ethnic group is superior or inferior to the other as we all are unique in our own form.

WRITTEN BY:
OSARIEMEN AMAS-EDOBOR (OCTOBER, 2011)

Paper presented at a book launch by Heinrich Boll Foundation in Nigeria