Oba Adekunle Oyelude, the Olowu of Kuta, has urged the government and academics to find traditional leaders who fail to preserve their communities’ customs and culture.
Shortly after winning an award for his efforts to promote Yoruba culture and tradition, Oba Oyelude made this plea, calling them cultural misfits.
Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Osogbo, sponsored the 14th Toyin Falola International Conference on Africa and the African Diaspora on Tuesday, where the prize was given out.
“Within the traditional institution, don’t shy away,” Oba Oyelude remarked during the event. Some of us, the conventional rulers, believed that we could take the throne and alter the course of events in the middle of the game.
“No, we are culturally established, and the Chieftaincy Law only specifies our position as traditional rulers for the preservation of customs and traditions. There are many cultural misfits in our group. For the sake of future generations, kindly assist us in locating them and fixing it.
Oba Oyelude asked academics and cultural guardians to hold monarchs responsible for their duties, while highlighting the significance of making sure that those who ascend traditional thrones respect and safeguard cultural values.
Other monarchs who were honored included Oba Adekunle Adeogun-Okunoye, the Eburu of Iba; Oba Abdulrosheed Olabomi, the Aragbiji of Iragbiji; and Oba Adedokun Abolarin, the Orangun of Oke-Ila.
Oba Oyelude cited the work of the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola in promoting cultural repatriation and international acknowledgment of African history, urging scholars and the media to advance Nigeria’s favorable image worldwide.
“The late M.K.O. Abiola initiated the reparations project in the past, and we are currently witnessing the results of his labors,” he stated. Many of the antiques including the bronzes stolen from our parents are being brought back.”
As a major step in promoting African history, the monarch also hailed the joint cultural endeavor between UNESCO, the University of Texas, and UNIOSUN.
Professor Toyin Falola clarified in his speech titled “Culture Matters” that colonizers targeted African culture, language, and religion in an effort to eradicate African identity.
They took these actions because they knew that destroying a people’s culture was necessary to subjugate them.
“Culture is a political power tool.” In addition to using weapons, our ancestors frequently used language, drumming rhythms, and cultural knowledge to resist.
Prof. Falola emphasized that cultural knowledge is essential for successful growth and cautioned against the disregard of cultural values.
“To lose culture is to lose a part of ourselves. But to protect culture, to invest in it, to learn from it, and to pass it on is an act of survival. It is resistance.
“When development projects are initiated with minimal or no understanding of the culture of the people they aim to help, the result is often failure, resistance, and waste.”
When he opened the meeting, Osun State University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Clement Adebooye called it historic.
He pointed out that the first university in Nigeria to receive a UNESCO research grant on culture was UNIOSUN.
For their efforts to promote culture, he praised the organizers, who included the University of Texas, the College of Humanities and Culture, and the UNESCO-IFCD-UNIOSUN Cultural Project.
The institution is dedicated to growing its cultural research programs and enhancing its academic capabilities in the humanities, Prof. Adebooye reassured.
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