A frontline traditional ruler and the Olowu of Kuta in Osun State, Oba Adekunle Oyelude, on Tuesday, said that many traditional rulers that are being referred to today as custodians of cultures are naive about what cultures entail.

The monarch asserted after receiving an award in recognition of his activities towards the promotion of Yoruba culture and tradition at the Osun State University, Osogbo, on the sidelines of the 14th Toyin Falola International Conference on Africa and the African in Diaspora held on Tuesday at the UNIOSUN main campus in Osogbo.

Oba Oyelude who pointed it out that, it is unfortunate that, such traditional rulers are occupying the esteemed cultural positions that characterized with culture, traditions and norms of the people, called on government authorities in charge of the appointment of royal fathers and scholars in the nation’s ivory towers to fish out those cultural misfit traditional rulers.

“We have a lot of cultural misfits among us. Please help us to fish them out and correct them for posterity.

“There exist in the rank of traditional rulers in the country some cultural misfits who would not want to uphold the culture and tradition of their people.”

“Within the traditional institution, don’t shy away. Some of us (traditional rulers) thought we could be on the throne and change the goal post halfway.

“No, we are installed culturally and we don’t have any role articulated by the Chieftaincy Law other than being traditional rulers for the maintenance of tradition and culture, ” he said.

Speaking on the project of UNESCO partnering with the University of Texas in Austin and Osun State University (UNIOSUN), the monarch said, “It is not a small feat. It is something to reckon with when we use culture to reshape our image worldwide.”

Other traditional rulers honoured alongside Olowu Kuta were the Orangun of Oke-Ila, Oba Adedokun Abolarin, Eburu of Iba, Oba Adekunle Adeogun-Okunoye and the Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Abdulrosheed Olabomi.

In his welcome address titled ‘Culture Matters,’ Prof. Toyin Falola described culture as indispensable in any given society and charged people to always embrace their cultures, which he claimed, remains a catalyst for creativity.

He said, “Culture plays a role in development because, when development projects are initiated with minimal or no understanding of the culture of the people they aim to help, the result is often failure, resistance and waste.

“To lose culture is to lose a part of ourselves. But to protect culture, to invest in it, to learn from it and to pass it on is an act of survival. It is resistance.

“Throughout history, colonisers did not just take the African land. They tried to erase the African culture. They changed African names, outlawed African languages, made a mockery of African religions, and imposed foreign systems. They did all of these because they understood that to capture a people, you must destroy their culture.

“Culture, hence, is a tool for political power. Our ancestors resisted the colonisers not always with weapons but many times with language, with the rhythm of their drums, with their knowledge of culture. In the present day, symbols of culture like statues, official languages and holidays are still political tools.

“They pass across messages about who belongs, who matters, who is remembered. That is why decolonising African education, literature, and public space is not merely symbolic but a fight to reclaim cultural dignity.”

However, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Clement Adebooye appreciated the Board of Toyin Falola International Conference on Africa and African Diaspora in conjunction with the UNESCO-IFCD-UNIOSUN Cultural Project, the UNIOSUN College of Humanities and Culture, and the Department of History of the University of Texas, Austin, United States of America, for organising the international conference.

He said the conference would remain a never-to-forget event in the memories of all and sundry who appreciate the values of cultures and traditions.

He described the organisers as great thinkers of history whose efforts in promoting cultures will forever linger in the minds of the Titans.

The Vice-Chancellor, who revealed that the institution had the honour of being the first university in Nigeria to win the UNESCO Research Grant on culture, described the conference as historic and commendable.

He further disclosed that every necessary arrangement had been concluded by the university management to add more value to culture in the institution.

“We are planning to improve our research productivity of the academic staff in the broad area of culture and at the same time, strengthen our teaching capacity,” he concluded.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE