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The University of Ilorin joined the global community to celebrate this year’s cultural day, with a call on Nigerians in their diverse cultural backgrounds, to liberate themselves from the residual foreign cultures that dictate how they dress, speak and imagine themselves.
The Director, Centre for Cultural Studies and Creative Arts, University of Ilorin, Prof. Raymond Ogunade, speaking on the theme, ‘Celebrating the Beauty of our Cultural Diversity’, said the topic transcends just a slogan, but a pointer to the urgent need for Nigerians to embrace and project their cultures.
According to Professor Ogunade, cultural attire is not just fashion, but a statement to who people are.
He warned that if Nigerians do not promote their cultural nuances such as language, dressing, arts and crafts, they will gradually drift into extinction.
“The significance of the cultural day celebration is to rekindle the renaissance of why we should be who we are, embrace our culture, practice it, be proud of it and promote it,” he said.
In a remark, author and literary critic, Professor Olu Obafemi, stressed the need for stakeholders to begin to think of how to take the country’s diverse culture to the globe in this age of development in all human endeavour.
Professor Obafemi also called on the younger generation Nigerians to rise for their cultural essence and replicate their greatness in the comity of nations.
In his address, the Vice Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Professor Wahab Egbewole, highlighted the significance of the richness of the Nigerian cultural heritage, adding that the establishment of centre for cultural studies in the university was deliberate.
The Vice Chancellor, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Management Services, Professor Gboyega Fawole, said the school would continue to support ideas geared towards promoting the cultures of the people of Nigeria.
By Sola Rotimi
