From Sade Adewale, Ondo

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A professor of stylistics at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Ayo Opefeyitimi has charged the Federal Government to consider employing traditional methods to tackle security challenges in Nigeria.

Prof. Opefeyitimi gave the charge at Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, School of Languages 10th Biennial Conference held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Auditorium.

He enumerated some of the security challenges currently being experienced in the country as kidnapping, banditry, violent activities of the dreaded Boko Haram sect, as well as regional agitations for self-determination and protests.

Admitting governments efforts in addressing the challenges, the OAU don lamented that the strategies being used to nip the problems in the bud have been unsuccessful. So, he suggested the use of traditional method, employing traditional diviners and healers to apply the knowledge of Ifa oracle to tackle the problem.

Besides providing solutions to the security issues, stated that these Ifa religion practitioners could also help in the treatment and prevention of dreaded diseases such as coronavirus, measles, smallpox and asthma.

The keynote presenter also made a case for involving traditional diviners in planning curricula of subjects such as English and Literature, stating that the move would facilitate easy teaching and learning.

He emphasized the importance of effective communication in the society, saying, if the right strategy was adopted, it would help in promoting social, economic and political development of the country.

Additionally, he said the use of good communication strategies would help in educating Nigerian citizens on the effect of COVID-19, kidnapping, ritual murder as well as preventing a repeat of #end-SARS# protest.

In his remarks, the College Provost, Dr Samuel Akintunde described the conference themed, Language, Literature and Communication in Emerging National Trends as suitable, noting that it could not have come at a better time than the present when the country stands in dire need of global solutions to a plethora of challenges bedevilling it at all fronts.

Congratulating the School of Languages for organizing the conference, he opined that the development aptly demonstrated the maintenance of a high standard of an academic tradition that the founding fathers of the school bequeathed to them.

Dr Akintunde described language as all-important characteristics that elevate human beings above lower animals,” noting that the ability of humans to resolve their multifarious challenges has been made possible through the instrumentality of language.

Earlier, the Dean School of Languages, Dr Mrs Taiwo Fawehinmi stated that the aim of organizing the conference was to create an avenue for academic brainstorming in form of cross-fertilization of ideas and engaging in intellectual discussions on existing knowledge across languages, literature, culture and communication.