Terrorist Cultural Heritage Destruction and Ecotourism in Nigeria: Philosophical Perspectives

Abstract

Cultural heritage is an important aspect of a people’s life. Without cultural heritage, a people lose their sense of identity, cohesiveness, values; and their entire wellbeing is gravely impacted. Cultural heritage includes a people’s customs, places, practices, values, artistic expression, and landscapes. It is made up of tangible and intangible resources. Especially for tangible or material resources they are vital for eco-tourism. There will be no base for eco-tourism without the land, places, cultural artifacts, and monuments. Though cultural heritage is very important to cultural wellbeing and tourism in Nigeria, it is endangered by the activities of terrorists. This paper critically analyses the cultural destruction and threat posed by Boko Haram and other terrorist activities and how these have impeded eco-tourism in Nigeria. It will use viewpoints from both the western and indigenous philosophical tradition to highlight the significance of cultural heritage, the immorality of cultural destruction and the ethical imperative to promote eco-tourism. The paper finds that cultural heritages are being destroyed in Nigeria by terrorists and thus impeding ecotourism. It concludes that there is need to end terrorist cultural heritage destruction in Nigeria to promote ecotourism.