Fatai Adiyeloja, Abeokuta
Osun State Governor, Asiwaju Ademola Jackson Adeleke, has assured the good people of Iba in Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state of full government participation and support in the celebration of the wave-making Oriki Yoruba next year December
Obviously impressed by the rich content of this year’s offerings , the array of distinguished Nigerians home and Diaspora academics of no mean repute , fronline traditional rulers , culture connoisseurs, poetry chanters, professionals and up-coming chanters, Special Adviser to the Governor on Traditional Matters, Hon. Oloke Kehinde Alexander, unequivocally stated that the festival keyed into his Excellency’s agenda of cultural reawakening, reinvigoration and reorientation and will henceforth be adopted as the state government’s project.
Oba (Prof) Adekunle Adeogun -Okunoye Oyedeji, while welcoming attendees, reiterated his commitment to rejigging the fast-fading panegyrics, which in the day of yore served as medium of education, entertainment, socialisation and value reorientation, drawing a line between culture and religion.
IBA is a gold mine waiting to be tapped but for government to reap abundantly, there is need for massive infrastructural renewal and expeditious rehabilitation of the road networks; this the monarch asserted will shore up the state of Omoluabi’s internally generated revenue.
The keynote Speaker, Prof Olukoya Ogen, Director UNESCO Cultural Programmes, commended Eburu’s intervention through Oriki Yoruba festival.
He enjoined all present to take advantage of the paradigm shift, the traditional rulers in particular, saying time to put an end to unnecessary supremacy battle and work assiduously towards impactful administration of their communities.
His Imperial Majesty, the Ooni of Ife and Orangun Oke-Ila, he told the large gathering of participants at the festival, have taken up the gauntlet through intervention in the educational sector, “as Eburu is leaving no stone unturned we go back to our roots.”
He canvassed exploration of entrepreneurial dimension to our culture, making it not only a medium of entertainment but sellable commodity.
Gone , he said were the days Obas were always at the receiving ends, stressing time to embrace what he called “monarchical philanthropism” is now.
Oriki Yoruba festival, in keeping with tradition, kicked off with the well-attended Mountaineering programme, climaxed with rendition of panagyrics and other side attractions and award presentation to notable figures in culture/academic arena while outstanding chanters got monetary rewards.
What other assurances do we need than the superlative performances of the greater tomorrow’s, that no force under the sun can extinguish the enviable Yoruba Culture and tradition.
