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{
    "id": 380675,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/380675/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 221,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "July 24, 2013 SENATE DEBATES 35 Sen. (Dr.) Kuti",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Thank you Mr. Temporary Speaker. I want to take this opportunity to thank all those who contributed to the Motion. It is unfortunate that this Motion landed at a time when Senators had already voted on the County Allocation of Revenue Bill and after debating it for long, they went out. However, I appreciate those who have found time to contribute to it. Those who have contributed to the Motion have recognised the fact that if not checked, there will be a decay of the societal fabric and loss of cultural direction in our young people. A culture is just like a foundation. A house that stands on sand will always be carried away. A house whose foundation is not strong will always collapse. That is why we see many buildings collapsing because they are not well established. Equally, our society should look critically at our upbringing. A human being is just worth his upbringing. If the upbringing is solid, correct values are inculcated, hard work is appreciated and meaningful successes are celebrated, then we will have strong nations because nations are made up of me, you and all of us who are here as individuals. There is no block referred to as a nation. Individuals have to be taken care of just like fertilizer. You have to put fertilizer in plants if you want to get good harvest. You need to invest in that plant from the time you put the seed in the ground. Therefore, from the time of birth, we should not be carried around by other cultures. There are good practices in African cultures. There are also good practices in the foreign cultures. We cannot avoid the fact that we are urbanised. I am not saying that we should go and apply red soil on our faces and put on cultural gear. We must be practical. We must mix good practices from the African culture with the urban culture that is becoming universal worldwide. Although we talk about the Western Culture, look at Britain. Today, Britain is at a standstill because a future King has been born. It is not only Britain but the whole world that appreciates the fact the British have retained their culture for thousands of years. When the young King to be was born to Prince William and the Princess, 8,000 other children were also born on the same day. The mothers of the other 8,000 children who were born in London withheld naming their children until the young King to be had been named so that they can be give the same name. That is something which is appreciated. It is something that has been carried along for thousands of years. This culture has now been fine tuned. The King used to order that some people be killed. That is no longer there. The King used to run the Government but that is no longer carried out. Democracy has come up and there is now a Prime Minister who governs the country. However, Britain still invests so much money to keep the monarchy and the Kingdom since this that is where they came from. They are always fine tuning it. There is a time when the royal family did not mix with people. They were isolated and looked at like demigods. However, for them to remain meaningful, they now come out to show people the King to be after he has been born so that people start accepting it. We need to fine tune our culture. We do not need to dump our culture. The British got rid of some of the cultural practices that had negative components. We need to let go of the negative components and remain with the positive component. This is what we need to do. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}