The Orangun of Oke Ila Orangun, Oba Adedokun Abolarin on Monday in Osogbo, Osun State capital described the traditional institution as the greatest tool for societal development.
He underscored the need for Nigerians to support initiatives capable of sustaining and promoting our tradition and cultural heritage, saying we must not allow our culture, language and custom to go into extinction.
Oba Abolarin spoke at the 60th remembrance anniversary of the late Olokuku of Okuku, Oba Moses Oyinlola, which was held at the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU), Osogbo.
Describing Oba Oyinlola as a popular monarch who during his reign transformed Okuku from rural to the urban community, Oba Abolarin said “culture, history is not static. If culture is static, Greece would have been the greatest country in the world.”
According to him, “we must have to ensure that our culture is intact. Our culture must be in tandem with the aspirations of the 21st century.
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A leader that does not feel the pulse of his people is not a leader. Late Obafemi Awolowo believed that traditional institution is the soul of the people. A traditional institution is the greatest institution for development.”
“I want to urge you not to lose hope in the traditional institution. The late Olokuku of Okuku, Oba Moses Oyewole Oyinlola contributed immensely to the transformation of Okuku from rural to the urban community”, Oba Abolarin stated.
Earlier in his remark, the executive director of CBCIU, Professor Siyan Oyeweso charged the people to enhance the promotion and sustenance of African culture, just as he emphasised the need for royal fathers to imbibe royal etiquette and manner in the discharge of their traditional responsibilities.
However, in a paper presented by the research fellow of CBCIU, Mr Raheem Oluwafunminiyi titled “Every Inch a King: Appraising the Life and Time of Oba Moses Oyinlola, the Olokuku of Okuku 1934-1960, “the late monarch was a leader in his own right gifted with rare native intelligence that assisted him once he became the king and his vast experiences counted well for him to run a traditional institution in the model that modernity of that time required.”
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