Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigerian President, has said that the Ifa traditional belief system is central to Yoruba culture.
He spoke at a reception in honour of renowned female talking drummer, Olumuyiwa Aralola, popularly known as Ara, at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta on Sunday, stressed the importance of safeguarding Yoruba traditions, including Ifa, language, and cultural practices.
He implored the Yoruba people to preserve their heritage and reject attempts to undermine it.
He said partly, “We must not joke with our culture. We are being relegated to the background, our language is being relegated, as are our food, our dress, and others. We must not allow it. They are authentic things. Yoruba is not vernacular.”
According to him, despite being a devoted Christian who attends two churches, that has never deterred him from respecting and protecting Yoruba culture.
He added that before the introduction of Christianity and Islamic religions, there was the Ifa traditional belief system, which was a vital part of the Yoruba people.
“I am a Christian, I attended two churches today, and that does not mean that I should forget my culture. Whoever says Ifa is nothing, I will say that person is a big fool. Before Christianity and Islam, we have Ifa Orunmila meaning Olorun lo mo eni to ma la, ‘It is Heaven that knows who will be saved.’”
The former president praised Ara for her role in promoting Yoruba culture through her mastery of the talking drum, traditionally dominated by men.
“For whatever reason, we must preserve our culture, Ara is a woman of culture, she is our cultural ambassador, she has lifted our culture and has broken the taboo on what was formerly believed to be exclusively for male gender. She had not only excelled in this but was already building young ones to preserve her legacy.”
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