Thursday, 5 September 2013

UNESCO urges southwest governors to rescue Yoruba cultural value



For cultural heritage of one of Africa’s oldest monarch the Oyo royalty in South -West, Nigeria to be preserved, governments have been advised to support the traditional ruling system.
 
Alaafin of Oyo, Oba {King} Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi-111

This much advice was offered by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation {UNESCO} during the second edition of the World Sango Festival held in the ancient town of Oyo, Oyo State. In giving the advice,, the Director of Country Representative of UNESCO in Nigeria, Hassana Halidou stated: “’The uniqueness of Oyo traditions is worthy of emulation”.  Halidou cited as “examples the respect Yoruba people have for the institutional authority, clothing and mode of dressing”. She noted that the Yoruba values have no equal anywhere in the world. “Tthe beauty of Yoruba language with its semantics, the use of proverbs and aphorism, different satires of Yoruba poems full of wisdom and philosophy have no equal all over the world’’.

Halidou’s representative at the event, Ayanwande Olayanju who relayed the message therefore urged the governments of the six states of the Yoruba’s southwest to come to the rescue of the people’s culture. The South-West states include Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti.

The throne is known as Alaafin of Oyo and is currently headed by the Oba {King} Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi-111. The monarch derives its existence from Oyo Empire of ancient Yoruba era {14th - late 18th Century}. The empire has been regarded as one of the most-organised traditional monarchy of pre-colonial Africa eras.

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