By Meletus EZE’
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the wife of Ogun governor, Mrs Funmilayo Amosun and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi Adeyeye, have advocated the promotion of the nation’s culture to check extinction.
They spoke on the third day of the running of “Queen Moremi, The Musical Stage Show’’ directed by Bolanle Austen-Peters at Terra Kulture Arena, Lagos, on Sunday night.
According to the trio, the country is blessed with a rich culture and history which should be told to the younger generation to keep history alive.
The minister, while commending the production, described Austen-Peters as a treasure in the entertainment industry.
“Bolanle is Nigeria’s gift to the world of creativity, we need more like her to tell our history to our children before the foreign culture takes over the younger generation, “he said.
According to the minister, the nation has many hidden treasures that should be brought back to life.
Similarly, Amosun commended Austen-Peters for taking up the project.
“We thank Austen-Peters for being an instrument for the projection of our history.
“We have similar histories in other zones, but we need people to actualise the story to our present generation, “she said.
She also thanked Ronke Ademiluyi, the cultural ambassador, for promoting culture through entertainment, adding that this had become the most effective means of communication.
The Ooni, on his part, described Amosun as the living legacy of Queen Moremi due to her constant support in promoting culture in the country.
He, however, said that there remained a powerful struggle between religion and culture.
“The clash between religion and culture is being addressed through the struggle to tell the story of who we are; if we don’t tell our story, no one will do it for us.
“The children of this generation do not believe in our culture, without the victory of Moremi, there would have been no existence of Yoruba people,” he said.
The Ooni urged Nigerians to stop demonising their culture and history, noting that they were being admired globally.
“It’s not good to do evil things under the cover of culture, our heritage is so rich for our youths to embrace it, be proud of it and project it positively, “he added.
Austen-Peters, in her remarks, urged the creative industry to support the initiative carried out with the support of Amosun.
“I hesitated when her Excellency asked me to do this production because I thought it was fetish, but I have come to realise the beauty and reality of our culture.
“Moremi is the story of sacrifice, it is so rich and worthy of emulation, we need to promote our culture and history, it is our pride.
“There are several other histories from other tribes that should be brought back to life, we urge the creative industry to key into this laudable project,” she said.
She also said that the creative industry was a good way of creating jobs for the youths, thereby reducing unemployment and crime in society.
The 12-day stage production, which started on Dec. 21 would end on Jan. 2.
Other dignitaries at the show included traditional rulers, political office holders and artistes.
