YORUBA ORAL NARRATIONS SHOULD NOT BE DISTORTED FOR SELFISH GAINS- Lasunkanmi Tela

Lagos, Nigeria- Yoruba Lakotun, the quarterly cultural flagship programme, took place on September 4, 2016 at Ethnic Heritage Centre, Ikoyi amidst pomp and pageantry. The first anniversary celebration was heavily decorated with the talking drum and the beaded gourd (sekere) because of their significance as royal musical instrument that elicits excitement at all celebrations.

The special guest at the programme, Pa Lasunkanmi Tela, author of Egun Ori Ikunle, spoke about the way in which Yoruba Oral Narrations has been distorted by many people for their selfish gains. Some of the distorted narrations caused by colonialism and other selfish reasons are Yoruba history, traditions and even the culture.

According to him, ‘the Yoruba nation should be united since we are all progenitors of Oduduwa. It is unnecessary for people to tweak histories of their communities in order to pursue their selfish ambition because it would mislead a lot of generations after them and engrain hatred. The damage done by the colonialist still abound in the ways in which names of communities and families have been changed to suit their understanding.’

Tela called for the preservation of various Yoruba traditions which are gradually fading away. These traditions include building reputable family names cum legacies; respect for elders; background check of the families before marriage; the dignity of hard work and contentment.

Olutayo Irantiola and Khalid Ayanshina

Another great feature of the evening was the Bata dance class led by Khalid Ayanshina, the renowned Eesa Egungun chanter and dancer, from Oyo town. Ayanshina unveiled that Yoruba oral chant is a specialist art that has different from one type of chant to another. Some of the specialist chants are ekun Iyawo; Rara; Ijala among others. While Edaoto Agbeniyi, the renowned guitarist and folklorist, was on the bandstand dishing out melodious folk songs to the delight of the audience.

The host of the event, Olutayo Irantiola, dedicated the anniversary edition to the media houses that educate and inform Nigerians about the different cultures in the country. He encouraged the media to carry out investigative research to produce ingenious documentaries that would enhance the knowledge of Nigerians about their immediate environment.

Charles Obioha of Ethnic Heritage Center & Olutayo Irantiola

Ethnic Heritage Centre is a foremost learning centre for the learning of Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa and French that exposes people to the cultural elements surrounding Nigerian languages thereby promoting and preserving our cultural heritage. This is achieved through a modern, creative and innovative method of learning. The centre also has a library stocked with books in all the languages for everyone. The centre also ‘Kasuwa’ which means Market in Hausa where different creative works can be purchased.

The edition of Yoruba Lakotun was attended by cultural enthusiasts drawn from Corporate and Social Nigeria.