It was yet another evening of cultural renaissance at the reception hall of the Ooni of Ife’s palace. Theatre and media students of the Federal University in Oye Ekiti presented seven dance drama productions to an elite autience. Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME was there.
For two hours, students of Theatre and Media Arts of the Federal University in Oye-Ekiti kept the select audience on the edge of their seats. From presentation of six dance productions such as Obitun dance, Akotoi dance, Apepe dance, Drum evocation dance, Ugo dance and the Moremi drama performance, the student-thespians offered a special bouquet tagged An evening of culture with Oonirisa in honour of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi and his wife, Olori Wuraola.
At the start, it was a handful of guests. But, midway into the performances, the reception hall of the Ooni’s Palace, venue of the event, which started by 8pm was half filled. The hall got enlivened when Olori Wuraola joined her husband Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife who was the chief guest of honour at the presentations.
Expectedly, the student thespians offered rich performances that traversed the nation’s cultural heritage dating back to pre-colonial Nigeria. Obitun dance, an adaptation for salutation of the guest of honour, was the first to hit the stage. It is a dance that originated from Ile-Oluji in Ondo State. But before the opening dance the Dean of Faculty, Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Prof Ojo Rasaki Bakare said the university wanted to be the intellectual spine of the Ooni’s message of peace and unity using culture. He noted that ‘we want you to find in us a profitable partner.’
The university Vice Chancellor Prof Kayode Soremekun, who was represented by Prof Gbenga Amu, said the university was prepared to partner with Oba Ogunwusi in his pet project of turning Ile Ife into a tourism zone. He requested the Ooni to connect the university to the high and mighty in the country as well as have an Ooni’s zone or Arena in the university. Specifically, he requested the Ooni to start Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Centre for Cultural Research and Development within the Faculty of Arts, where ‘we will intellectually turn Oba Ogunwusi’s vision to another Singapore.’
Akoto dance from Egun in Badagry area of Lagos State was next on stage and it documented the major human activities that characterised the slave trade across the Atlantic. Apete dance from Ogun and Drum evocation were other thrillers for the guests. Coincidentally, Olori Wuraola walked into the hall at the start of the Ugo dance, a royal dance from Edo State her state of birth. This exciting performance was followed by Egwu dance from the Southeast of the country.
The climax was the presentation of Moremi, a 30-minute abridged version of Moremi Ife, a popular Yoruba classic that celebrates the heroic role of Moremi who surrendered her life in order to avert the frequent invasions of Ile-Ife by the Igbos.
The drama mirrored the frequent inter-tribal wars during which many communities were invaded and children, women and the weak were taken as slaves. Following frequent invasions of Ile-Ife by the Igbos, Moremi volunteered to take up the challenge of finding out the source of the Igbo’s power. She sought the assistance of Esimiri River and pledged that if the river helps her she will donate her son Oluorogbo to the river.
In one of the raids, the Igbos captured Moremi and three other women who they turned to slaves on their farms. But Moremi turned out to be the choice of the Igwe of the Igbos who wanted her as a wife. After a long while, Moremi returned to Ife with the secret of the Igbos which they later used to confront the invading soldiers of the Igbos. That was how Ife put a stop to the invasions.
Oba Ogunwusi expressed satisfaction at the performances by the students, saying Moremi play had a strong significance not only to the Yoruba but also to the world. “I am happy with all your presentations but unfortunately, we don’t appreciate our culture and heritage. The statue of liberty in US is a spiritual piece and a gift from France to US. There is a goddess of liberty behind it. This is the same story of Moremi,” he said.
He noted that Nigerian students must have other platforms within which to interact and socialise beyond the Nigerian University Games (NUGA). He hinted that he is considering initiating a cultural competition for university students to complement what the NUGA games is offering at the moment.
Sponsor of the evening Mr. Tope Agbeyo said it was his little way of contributing to the rebirth of the nation’s rich cultural heritage, which the Ooni has been championing since he got to the throne.
“Our policy makers should use culture to preach peace and unity. It is less costly compared with acquiring arms and ammunitions to maintain peace in the country. The proposed centre will surely come to pass and we need more of such partnership,” Agbeyo added.
On why he chose to support the productions, Agbeyo said: “I am a fan of culture and there is no culture that embraces chaos. If we can propagate our cultural heritage very well there will be peace everywhere in the world. Our embrace of civilisation that is not ours and which is alien to our culture, especially through the social media, is responsible for the violence we are experiencing across the country. We must demonstrate to the world the values of our culture which can be exported to the globe. It is a product that can serve us better than oil because it will never get exhausted.”
Agbeyo, who studied theatre art at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, said his contribution to the production is his own way of giving back to the system. He said that the support has been his desire and that he is happy when he gives to others. He described An evening of culture with Oonirisa as therapeutic outing for the audience that watched the performances.
The evening was attended by the university’s Registrar Mr. D.A. Adeyemo, Prof Wole Atere and some visitors from the US. The production was directed by Prof Ojo Rasaki Bakare while the executive producer was Prof Kayode Soremekun.
