Modernization, Globalization and the Transformation of Indigenous Cultures in Nigeria: A Critical Study of Owerri Culture

Abstract: Across Nigeria, indigenous cultures are increasingly being reshaped by education, urbanization, digital communication, migration, consumer culture and transnational media. While these forces have widened access to knowledge, technology and cross-cultural interaction, they have also altered the older structures through which communities transmit language, values, beliefs, festivals, moral codes and communal identity. This study examines the consequences of modernization and globalization on Owerri culture in Imo State, Nigeria. It argues that Owerri culture has not simply disappeared under modern and global influences; rather, it is being reconfigured through cultural erosion, adaptation, negotiation and selective preservation. In this study, Owerri culture is operationalized as the inherited and evolving system of language, festivals, kinship values, food, music, dressing, religious memory, moral instruction and communal practices through which Owerri people express belonging and transmit identity across generations. Drawing on cultural imperialism and cultural hybridity/glocalization perspectives, the study shows that globalization may weaken indigenous cultural confidence when Western language, media, religion, fashion and lifestyle patterns are treated as superior to local cultural forms. At the same time, it recognizes that modernity can support cultural documentation, digital preservation, diaspora reconnection and wider visibility for Owerri cultural practices. The article therefore recommends family-based language transmission, school-supported cultural education, digital archiving, community-led festival documentation, youth participation in cultural activities and responsible digital media use for cultural preservation.