By Sade Adewale, Ondo

The Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Adeyemi Federal University of Education (AFUED) Ondo, Dr Samuel Akintunde, has enjoined Yoruba indigenes to desist from street begging noting it is alien to the Yoruba culture.

He also stressed the need for Yoruba indigenes, home and abroad, to identify with their culture in order to preserve it from extinction.

Akintunde spoke at the 2023 Annual lecture, organised by a Yoruba youth organisation, the Oodua Youth Coalition (OYC) in conjunction with the Student Union Government (SUG) of Obafemi Awolowo University-Ile-Ife, Osun state.

Speaking on: “Preserving Yoruba Culture, Safeguarding A Rich Heritage from Extinction”, the AFUED DVC underscored the importance of culture and described it as one of the veritable means of identifying people and authenticating their history.

He described Yoruba people as unique and highlighted the importance which they ascribed to Ifa divination, as part of their cherished cultural practice.

The Acting University Administrator noted that because of the recognition that the Yoruba people placed on Ifa in the olden days, they always relied on it “for direction on individual, communal issues and solutions to social challenges.”

Speaking further on what differentiates the Yoruba people from other tribes, Dr. Akintunde described Yoruba people as idealist, and firm believers in what he termed the Universality of humans, noting that massive intra and inter-movements across settlements made the “Yoruba people greatly heterogeneous”.

The Acting University Administrator, also stated that the people of Yoruba race, have two unique means of identifying their relations which include family panegyric and giving of tribal marks, stating that while the former persists among the people, the latter is almost going into extinction”.

On how the Yoruba people could safeguard their cultural heritage, Dr Akintunde appealed to governments in all the states in the southwest, predominantly occupied by the people of the race, to ensure that there is peace in the region.

In addition, he sought regional cooperation among the South-West states of Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun and Lagos.