THE Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has called for cultural rebirth to overcome the country’s multifaceted problems.
He spoke yesterday as the guest lecturer at the University of Lagos School of Postgraduate Studies 2015/2016 Annual Lecture.
The lecture was titled: “Redefining the Role of Traditional Institution for National Development”.
The monarch said the adoption of western culture has led to loss of African values, noting that traditional rulers have been relegated.
He explained that traditional institution, which used to play dominant role before independence, had been incapacitated by the 1999 Constitution.
Ogunwusi said politicians, who ought to defend the institution, refused to fight for it, a situation, he said, led to societal decadence.
“Traditional institution is very important in nation-building because it is closer to the grassroots. The institution was well-recognised in pre-colonial days and during the constitutional development days.
“The various constitutions put forward then recognised the importance of traditional institutions. But unfortunately, the 1999 Constitution whittles the influence of traditional institutions.
“Our political leaders were so afraid to defend the institution, which is closer to the people and where electoral success of any politician in the country is derived.”
The Oba said he would continue to promote the course of traditional institution because it is the bulwark of national growth.
“We will live by example, bring back the values that promote our well-being; the value that enhances peace and progress. It is a place where the people look forward to for solution anytime things went wrong.
“Incidentally, we have everything to make us great but we don’t believe in ourselves; rather you see brother rising against brother, lawlessness in what we do and disobedience to rule and regulation of the country.
“The West cash on our ignorance by adopting those vital things that can make a country great and use them for their own advantage. We are all aware that civilisation started from Africa, but the Blackman sees what they took away from us as fetish.
“There is the urgent need to look inward, particularly those things that our ancestors bestowed on us. They gave us the Ifa, which research has proven that most scientific terms and method use world over were borrowed from it.
“We must support government to attain progress because the government alone cannot do it. I, therefore, urge leaders to show compassion, love, accommodation toward their people, only then will they not be forgotten,” he said.
The Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Fola Adeola, said the university’s post-graduate studies should be supported in its plans to assist students, who need finance for researches.
He said there were postgraduate students, whose research works have been constrained for lack of fund, adding that it was time special funds be created to help indigent students pursuing scholarship.
Adeola thereafter demonstrated his astuteness as a banker with the way he managed the launch of the N100 million Postgraduate Trust Fund.
Adeola, employing a lot of wit, personally went round the auditorium distributing pledge sheets to visitors and workers of the universities, including principal officers seated on the high table.
This exercise yielded well over N1 million in cheques, pledges and cash from lecturers, which he read out before announcing a N10 million donation on behalf of the Ooni and his friends.
