Group seeks accurate representation of Yoruba culture
By Babajide Awoyinfa
The Think Yoruba First Ogo Adulawo Socio-Cultural Association (TYF Worldwide) has called for accurate representation of Yoruba culture to safeguard its heritage and identity.
Mr Oluwatobi Sanwo, Lead Legal Consultant of TYF, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos that falsified narratives threatened Yoruba civilisation and intellectual integrity globally.
He explained that the conference was convened to highlight cultural defamation and historical distortion against the Yoruba people, found in a recently published academic book.
According to him, the book falsely claims that the non-Yoruba group were original inhabitants of Ile-Ife, alleging Yoruba were immigrants who usurped authority in their ancestral home.
Other falsehoods, he noted, included a fabricated empire preceding Ile-Ife, assertions unsupported by Ifa Corpus, oral traditions, or credible historical and anthropological research.
Sanwo condemned the distortions as cultural defamation, intellectual dishonesty, and potential ethnic provocation.
He stressed that Ile-Ife remained the undisputed cradle of Yoruba civilisation, recognised worldwide by scholars and authorities.
He said TYF had submitted petitions to Nigerian and international institutions, while raising public awareness to defend Yoruba heritage and intellectual truth against distortion and falsified narratives.
The association urged Yoruba people worldwide to unite in defence of Ile-Ife, while calling on the media to responsibly promote authentic Yoruba history and scholarship.
Sanwo reaffirmed TYF’s commitment to peaceful dialogue and collaboration with traditional rulers, academics, and the press, insisting Yoruba history was sacred, Ile-Ife non-negotiable, and identity indivisible.
He emphasised that TYF does not promote hatred toward any ethnic group, but would resist attempts to undermine Yoruba civilisation or distort ancestral history.
The association also appealed to government agencies, universities, and international cultural organisations to support Yoruba scholarship, fund research, and strengthen frameworks preserving African histories and indigenous knowledge systems. (NAN)
Edited by Kamal Tayo Oropo
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