When a rich community with a rich culture begins to lose its identity and redefining its rich cultural heritage, the conscientized elders in that community must have an emergency meeting to deliberate on how to halt the shenanigans and fashion the way forward in the community. A beautiful history must not be altered and rewritten for future generation. In the world, for centuries, there have been clashes of civilization. In Africa, everything African is being expunged and replaced by cultural imperialism. As Donald Trump, the Potus would say, “what a hell is going on?”
The metamorphosis of His royal highness, Oba Abdul-Rasheed Akanbi, the Oluwo of Iwo from the title of Obaship to Emirship sounds funny but also ludicrously frightening to future cultural heritage. It is a precedent that rattles our sense of concern for the future. The pertinent questions we should honestly ask ourselves are: Where do we situate the action of our people’s revered and controversial Oba, the Oluwo of Iwo in the contradiction? What are the motives behind this cultural misappropriation and mockery?
Meanwhile, we must understand the hue and cry of the concerned Yoruba citizens, their stupefaction has nothing to do with the title of our Nigerianess and national unity. We are only reiterating the need to showcase our rich cultural heritage, I see this circus shows in Yorubaland as a mockery of our culture. How many times do we see Hausa people engaging in cultural mockery or inferiority complex?
We shouldn’t politicize the bracing mockery of our culture. The unity in diversity in any nation is showcasing the individual cultural values and of each geopolitical entity. This writer might be wrong to some people but the actions of these players are not only clownish or political, it is a mockery of our proudly cultural heritage. This writer still stand to be corrected brother! We should not be hoodwinked by our politicians and political monarchs.
The politics of the land has brought the Yoruba rich culture to cultural nuisance and political apogee. It is now a culture of all-comers where the sacred and ancient scrutiny of the chosen ones is no more a norm. Once you are politically influential in Yorubaland nay Nigeria, you can easily romanticize with the council of elders to find your way into our monarchical system of government. Yorubaland is in the season of anomie in the beleaguered mini-universe called Nigeria. Yoruba ancestors and progenitors are turning uncomfortably in their graves as the new normal unfolds before our very eyes! But history is bunk!
Why do we continue to lose what is so dear to us and to our forefathers? History may not smile with our complacency and deliberate ignorance. Hausa people value their cultural heritage; they spice it with unity, pride, love, obedience, obeisance, and admiration. Yorubaland is becoming the hub of hate, pretense, resentment, rancorous acrimony and lost love. Our monarchs are in constant brawls for supremacy. Yorubaland must urgently reinvent itself to avoid the negative judgment of history.
Nigeria as a whole is in a state of confusion. The players and the stakeholders are in utter confusion and nauseating contradictions. Our Obas should revive decorum to foster unity and tranquility in the Yorubaland and its enclaves.
Proudly, sorry, but no sorry to my friends from other rich cultures in Nigeria. This writer is just being a ‘culturalist’ trying to showcase our rich cultural diversity in Yorubaland. The richest culture in Nigeria is a Yoruba culture. It is high time our monarchs and political elders reorganized themselves to reason together to revitalize our rich cultural heritage, mores, and values. We must begin the process of fostering unity and progress among our people. Enough of our cultural misapplication and misappropriation.
