Glo urges continental action to save African cultures from extinction •Backs 2016 Ojude Oba Festival

Stakeholders in the African cultural spectrum have been called upon to salvage the continent of Africa’s belief systems from near extinction.

Next generation network and Nigeria’s biggest corporate supporter of cultural Renaissance, Globacom, made this call on Monday in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, during a press conference to formally announce the company’s sponsorship of 2016 Ojude Oba Festival.

Mr Folu Aderibigbe, the company’s Commercial Coordinator, Business Enterprise who represented the Globacom at the occasion, stated that provision of strong platforms for the diverse people across the country and empowerment for them to fully express their cultures and traditions have become more expedient now, adding that this would help to preserve Nigeria and Africa’s cultures and prevent it from being swept away by the rising tidal waves of globalisation.

According to him “the new wave of modernisation in our country has made our young people to believe that age-old cultural activities which are mainly synonymous with Africa are primitive and should be exterminated.

“Unfortunately, this has become an ill-wind that will blow no one any good because the effort to downplay our cultures and traditions has also come with the jettisoning of sound moral values which were the hallmark of traditional African societies,” he observed.

According to Aderibigbe, “the so-called modern lifestyle and values cannot be said to be a good replacement for the teaching of morals among our youth which our cultures and traditions offered through the ages. The challenge has been further compounded by the decision of educational authorities to abolish the teaching of History in our schools. We, therefore, wish to align with the school of thought which has appealed to our leaders to reintegrate History as a subject into the country’s academic curriculum as it is often said that someone who does not know where he is coming from will not know where he is going.”

The Glo Commercial Chief emphasised further that “our youth have been so much influenced negatively by unbridled modernisation that the equilibrium that results in complete integration between our culture, social values and modernisation has been lost.”

Aderibigbe further observed that “what prominent now among our youth are borrowed cultures and poor imitations of Western ways which are detrimental to our identity as a race. This trend has also culminated in near annihilation of our local languages in a way that parents would rather teach their children English than our own language. Mothers no longer use our language, proverbs and local ballads to tell the stories of our past in a way that underscores the importance of those past occurrences towards charting a path for our future.”

According to him, Globacom believes that as a proudly Nigerian telecommunications company with global footprints, “we owe it a duty to the present generation and posterity to collaborate with all men and women of noble intentions to sustain the renewed drive towards the cultural renaissance of our great nation.”

“This is why Globacom enthusiastically backs the custodians of our cultures like the organisers of Ojude Oba Festival for the painstaking efforts they have made to celebrate our cultures and reinforce our values of integrity, hardwork, excellence and creed,” he said.

Globacom, therefore, restated its determination to support the government in promoting commerce as well as tourism which is a revenue earner worldwide, as well as echoing that the need to diversify the economy, especially given the dwindling revenue from oil, has made tourism the route to go if the Nigerian economy must be revived.

Aderibigbe said that Globacom is proud of being described as the biggest corporate promoter of the traditions, cultures and desires of the Nigerian people, adding that the company is proud of being honoured by Nigerians.

“In addition to our continued support for Ojude Oba Festival, we wish to assure all Ijebu sons and daughters of our unflinching commitment to providing them with high quality telecom infrastructure that will continuously enable them to communicate seamlessly with loved ones and business associates,” Aderibigbe added.

Globacom has also packaged first-class entertainment for the participants and guests to this year’s Ojude Oba Festival as two block-buster musicians, MI and Katapot exponent, Ricardo Banks are billed to perform at the festival which holds in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State two days after the upcoming Eid El Kabir festival slated tentatively for September 11.

A beauty contest where the most beautiful lady of the pageantry will be crowned as Miss Ojude Oba will also be staged, in addition to assurance of mouth-watering branded gifts for its teeming subscribers in and around Ijebu Ode by Globacom.

This is being packaged in order to make the yearly musical carnival memorable as the total telecoms solutions provider marks 10 unbroken years of sponsorship of Ojude Oba festival,

The Ojude Oba Music Carnival featuring comedy, dance and drama will hold on September 14 at the Equity Resort, Ijebu Ode. It will be coordinated by ace comedian, Gbenga Adeyinka alongside DJ Top who will man the juke box.