Date: 2015-01-10

"We are so eager to forget our language, culture and tradition. And if this issue is not arrested, we may lose the referred culture of Ilorin to industrialisation and westernisation".

Above is the view of the Vice-Chancellor of Kwara State University, (KWASU), Malete, Professor AbdulRaheed Na'Allah, who was a guest lecturer at the second public lecture of the Centre for Ilorin Studies (CILS), University of Ilorin, Ilorin, during the week.

Professor Na'Allah, who said that unless urgent steps were taken to preserve the cultural heritage, language and oral traditions of Ilorin, "generations to come would forget totally anything inherent in, and deep about Ilorin".

The don maintained that the crave for industrialisation should not prevent the people from holding on to their culture.

In the lecture, entitled "Contributions of Ilorin Islamic Oral Genres to Yoruba Tradition", the KWASU Vice-Chancellor expressed worry over the overbearing influence of foreign cultures on the Ilorin heritage and tradition.

Professor Na'Allah lamented that the younger generation had not imbibed the Ilorin culture, describing the situation as a "mistake".

He stressed the need for the preservation of the culture and oral traditions of Ilorin for the sake of the present and unborn generations so that they would not go into extinction.

The KWASU Vice-Chancellor said: "For us, we are so eager to forget our own language, to forget our own culture and to forget our own tradition. Ilorin, which is the topic of this discussion, is making a major mistake and if it continues the way it does, generations to come will forget totally anything that is inherently and deeply Ilorin", he said.

While noting that Ilorin, as an Islamic community, had contributed significantly to the Yoruba culture and tradition, the KWASU helmsman stated that Islam had immensely enriched the African oral culture, saying that "it has been able to make Ilorin culture unique and special".

Professor Na'Allah highlighted Ilorin's contributions to the socio-cultural development of Nigeria through the traditional 'waka' and 'were' poetry, which he said later metamorphosed into 'fuji' music, as well as Islamic religious songs during Ramadan.

He explained that they were a major source of wisdom narrations and historical analysis, containing profound philosophical messages and moral convictions.

In his address, entitled "Yes, Ilorin ni", the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor AbdulGaniyu Ambali, noted that the CILS Public Lecture was in furtherance of the university's community service.

He extolled the uniqueness of the historic city both in terms of its composition, diversity of human resources as well as scholarship.

Prof. Ambali observed that "the location and ambience of Ilorin have contributed immensely to the greatness achieved by the University of Ilorin".

"To many people in Yorubaland and beyond, Ilorin is the quintessential "Ilu Aafa" or "city of scholars", and this is why when we talk of the most prominent scholars of Islam and Arabic, not only in Nigeria, but also across West Africa today, scholars of Ilorin would naturally be mentioned and celebrated.

"Besides, in other professions, including legal practice, in which the first Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) from the whole Northern Nigeria is an Ilorin man, you will still find sons and daughters of the city as front-liners", the Vice-Chancellor added.

In his goodwill message, the Grand Khadi of the Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal, Justice Salihu Mohammed, recalled, with nostalgia, the traditional role of the Ilorin people and asked rhetorically, "What is happening to us?"

Justice Mohammed, who attended the event in his traditional Fulani attire, said that rather than embrace the culture, "our children would prefer to spend their time watching Chelsea and Arsenal matches".

Also speaking at the event, the President of the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), Alhaji AbdulHamid Adi, appealed to the leadership of the Centre for Ilorin Studies to continue to reach out to the Ilorin community, saying "the IEDPU will try as much as possible to make sure that some of the past activities that we are doing in Ilorin come back Insha Allah".

The chairman of the occasion, who is also an external member of the Board of CILS, Alhaji L.A.K. Jimoh, in his remarks, highlighted Ilorin's contributions to sustainable development in Nigeria, especially in the field of politics, judiciary and security, saying, "I do not know of any other single community in Nigeria that has contributed so immensely to human resource development in this country.2

The renowned historian added: "What the Centre has done so far is just a tip of the iceberg compared to what we are planning to do; many more aspects of Ilorin's contribution to the development of this great country are going to be highlighted in subsequent activities".

Commending the immediate past Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, for setting up the Centre, Alhaji Jimoh noted that the current Vice-Chancellor, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, "is leaving no stone unturned in making sure that every today of this Centre is better than yesterday and every tomorrow better than today".

The Director of the CILS, Professor Z.I. Oseni, in his address, stressed the importance of guarding the mother tongue, noting that it was not enough to learn English or Arabic.

He pointed out that "the more languages you know, the better, especially your mother tongue, as this is what will benefit the younger ones more".

A major highlight of the events was the presentation of awards of excellence to some personalities who have contributed to the Centre, including the former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor R.A. Lawal; CILS Foundation Director, Professor A.G.A.S. Oladosu; Mallam A.M. Mukhtar, who assisted in the collection of Arabic manuscripts for the Centre and Mr. B.O. Atanlogun.