Ooni Charges Yorubas to Value Their Traditional Culture, Heritage

Ooni Charges Yorubas to Value Their Traditional Culture, Heritage

 The Ooni of Ife, HIM Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, has charged Yorubas to value their traditional culture and heritage, for their culture is their identity.

Ooni, who was represented by his Olori Aderonke Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi, stated this at Heritage Conservation Awareness Roundtable Workshop, on Thursday , in Ile-Ife.

The Workshop was organised by Sungbo Archaeology Team in collaboration with the National Museum, Ile-Ife & AG Leventis Museum of Natural History,  (OAU),sponsored by Nigeria Institute of African Studies University of Ibadan.

The Royal Father said Potsherd was everywhere at the nooks and crannies of Ile-Ife, whereby our fore-fathers had used different types to decorate and tiles their houses and road then.

Ooni lamented that because we didn't value what we have, foreigners have too some away from us, while majority has been wasted today through our lackadaisical attitudes.

He admonished the custodian of the heritage sites not to  look at the short hungry food offers to them, but to look at the long-term capacity for generation yet unborn.

He commended the organisers of the programme for presenting the Potsherd Heritage Conservation Awareness, saying that potsherd pavement is at any museum abroad and online.

Oba Ogunwusi charged people to preserve this Potsherd for younger generations to know about it and to embrace other cultures like: language, dressing among others.

Also, Prof. Adisa Ogunfolakan, Former Director, AG Leventis Museum of Natural History (OAU), tasked the participants to spread the news of preserving our cultural heritage, especially Potsherd which God has bestowed on our ancestors.

Ogunfolakan called on all and sundry not to destroy the remaining Potsherd pavement but to preserve them and called the attention of Museum staff to it for younger ones to know part of our heritage.

In the same vein, Mr Joseph Ayodokun, the General- Manager, Solidarity Fund for Innovative Project (FSIP) at Nigeria Institute of African Studies University of Ibadan, thanked all the participants, appealed to them for more sensitization of the awareness .

Ayodokun urged Yourbas to take ownership of their heritage as we all know that our heritage is our identity and the more we value, embrace and preserve it would surely be conserved.