The Role of Communication in Nation Building in Nigeria: A Reading of Genesis 11:1-9

Abstract

Information is powerful and important, but it remains futile in the absence of communication. Therefore, the relevance of communication as a vehicle of information cannot be overemphasized, and it encompasses all types of interpersonal contact in oral and written forms. The experience of the people in the story of men’s attempt to build a tower in Babel that will reach heaven; the abode of God explains the challenges faced by human beings when God confused their languages. Today, Nigeria lacks nationhood and there are multiple languages and multiple ethic groups. Ethnicity and tribalism has eaten dip into the fabrics of Nigeria and as such has stunted the developmental tendencies and nation building in Nigeria. This has not been positively managed, but rather it has remained a serious challenge to the nation. This paper examined the role of communication in nation-building through historical and hermeneutical methods of interpreting Genesis 11:1-9. Tracing the indispensability of communication in society ranging from the primeval period, the paper discovered communication as an effective instrument for maintaining peace, unity, and harmony in society. The political and economic development of a nation depends on the usage of communication either in print or verbal. The work identified some problems of communication in terms of ulterior motives, noise, nuisance and language barriers. The paper recommended moral, technological, lingual and human-divine communication improvement, for national development and nation-building.