YORUBA O! -O’DUA MUSEUM ATI HALL of FAME OPENS AT COCOA HOUSE,IBADAN!

O’dua Museum, Hall of Fame: Preserving a people’s legacy

Posted by: Our Reporter

on April 13, 2013

in Travels on Saturday

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The transformation was rapid and dramatic. Suddenly one was transported from the sophistication of a cosmopolitan high-rise building in the centre of a city to a rural setting more than 40 years ago.

Such is the transformation that one experiences on visiting the recently commissioned O’odua Museum and Hall of Fame in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

As the guard opened the wooden door with intricate designs to usher one in, the voice of the late Hubert Ogunde could be heard singing in Yoruba. It was as if he was just around the corner. As one climbed the staircase to the museum floor, one was no longer on the 20th floor of the Cocoa House.

One was transported back in time to the years gone by. What one felt all around was the African essence.

Both sides of the wall are decorated with batiks. A traditional African mat is rolled out on the floor.

The next point is the corridor with a signpost signalling that the museum is on the right, while the Hall of Fame is on the left. Museums, all over the world, always have special appeal. So, the first place to visit was the museum. Even before seeing some of the artifacts, the ambience created was purely rural: local mats used on the floor, red earthen walls, bamboo sticks used as part of the declaration.

The museum captures the totally of Yoruba way of life in the old days. Pots and bronze carvings of different sizes are displayed. The different kinds of Yoruba drums are also arranged neatly.

Appurtenances of royalty such as beads, horse-tail, crowns and walking sticks are displayed at the royalty section.

One of the most interesting section of the museum is the war section where old war weapons such as guns are on display. The treaty that brought an end to the Yoruba war of the 19th century titled Proclamation of Peace at Kiriji-Mesin Battlefield was boldly displayed.

Professor Wole Soyinka, who declared the place open early this month, commended the management of O’dua Investment Limited and had this to say: “The museum showcases the beginning of Yoruba technology and the ingenuity of our forbearers, but I want to say there is still more to do now that an appeal has been made to people to donate materials to enrich the arts, crafts and antiquities contents of the museum.

“Let me say that it is with a thought of nostalgia that I return to the Cocoa House and I must say I am very happy with what I have seen here.

”Cocoa House is one of those firsts Yoruba recorded in Nigeria. This area specifically used to be the centre of arts and Yoruba culture. But the negative side of it is that Nigeria once went into a downward spin, including Cocoa House and the University of Ibadan. The deterioration was much. Everything decayed and the famous Cocoa House could not save itself. But what we have seen so far impressed me, from the Ground Floor to the Top Floor of this building. This Cocoa House is the contemporary Oranmiyan staff for Yoruba.”

The curator of the museum, Mr. Babajide Famuyiwa, explained the reason behind the establishment of the museum: “ It is created to showcase the essence of the Yoruba people. What the Yoruba call Omoluabi. The Yoruba people have played a major part in the economic development of the country. They have helped in the development of every sphere of endeavour in the country. So in that wise, it was decided that we should look at these and bring them in focus. That informed the creation of the O’odua Museum and Hall of Fame.

“It is not only about the pre-colonial artifacts that are on display. Colonial era items that had influenced life in the past are also there. For those who may not have heard of gramophone, polaroid camera, type-writer and so on, they will find the museum useful. The museum would be a treasure trove for many young persons wishing to know more about the past.

“The Hall of Fame section is a kind of pantheon for Yoruba personalities from all walks of life. They include the late Professor Awojobi, Hubert Ogunde, Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti , Rashidi Yekini and many others.

“A tour of the hall of fame and museum has an icing. One has an opportunity for a wonderful bird-eye view of the Ibadan city. There are also strong binoculars that one could use to view any part of Ibadan.

“There are two sections to it, the museum and the hall of fame. Let us start with the museum.

In the museum, we try to showcase some Yoruba artifacts. There are certain peculiarities with the ancient civilization in the ancient time. This is reflected in the collections we have in the museum. We have musical instruments, pottery, craft in terms of traditional weaving. What we try to do is to exhibit and display some of the things that the Yoruba used in those days.

“We tried to look at the concept of Omoluabi, that is, those who have lived according to certain Yoruba societal moral values and made remarkable success in life through these. We like achievements of Yoruba sons and daughters in the area technology, politics, sports, arts and many other endeavours. This is what have done.

“At the Hall of Fame, we have people like Professor Soyinka, the late Hubert Ogunde, ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo , M.K.O. Abiola, Rashidi Yekini, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the late Chief S.L. Akintola, the late Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and many others.”

He talked also about the media viewing centre: “The media viewing centre can take about 20 persons. The idea is that when people go round, they could come to see the video clips of some of these personalities on display in the hall of fame. They would hear there voice, see them in action through these video clips.

“The place is opened to everybody coming to the city of Ibadan. We encourage school children, university students, researchers and so on. It is open for now from Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm. We believe as time goes on, the management would consider adding weekends to the opening days. For now, the fee has not been officially sanctioned. It is not likely to be more than 200 naira per person. “

The O’dua Museum and Hall of Fame has succeeded in adding to the richness of the essence of the ancient city of Ibadan. Before it used to be the University of Ibadan and few other places.



BLACK VIRGINITY!–This Yoruba GIRL STANDS UP for VIRGINITY!–FROM THE NATION NEWSPAPER,NIGERIA

A vote for chastity
These South African Virgins Are Celebrating Their after being TESTED!

From thenationonline.com
Posted by: Adebisi Adeniji

on April 18, 2013

in Campus Life

The term “virginity” has returned to be the discourse in certain circles. Coming in an age when obnoxious words reign supreme, of course, it could not have come at a better time.

Nowadays, it is hard to define who is a virgin in the real meaning of the word. The general meaning of the word “virgin” refers to a girl who keeps her chastity. Such a girl can be said not to have slept with the opposite sex at the time of being called a virgin.

However, people believe that such a girl is scarce in today’s world. Much emphasis is not placed on male virginity because the gender does not have hymen. The attention is on women.

According to an online statistics, 95 per cent of Nigerian teenagers cannot boast of being virgins. In an era where premarital and casual sex abound, girls who are as young as 14 have started experimenting with the forbidden fruit, causing an upsurge in teen pregnancies and abortions. Such act has also resulted in psychological breakdowns with the rejection of unwanted children.

There are many factors that contribute to the sexual decadence in our society. It should be noted that the mass media, which has, over the years, served as a source of socialisation, also has its negative effect on the society and the people. The media’s portrayal of sexual images to an already vulnerable audience has helped to increase the level of decadence.

Corporate advertisers are particularly guilty of this; bits of sensuality are infused into every advert they place or show on television. Even when it is not necessary, they employ skimpily dressed girls to advertise their products, passing a wrong message to the audience.

Peer pressure is also a factor. Teenagers, who do not indulge in the practice, are seen as greenhorns by their peers, who have had the experience. In order not to be the butt of jokes among their friends, some teenagers make wrong decisions.

Today’s forms of entertainment are also to blame. Songs with weird lyrics are the favourites of the young. Some of them would say: “We only love the beat; we don’t practise the message”. But, in reality, the songs are like radioactive wastes; they slowly destroy whoever listens to them. There is no way a 14-year-old girl would listen to songs, such as Lay on me, without having certain thoughts.

Some people have argued that virginity is not important in this globalisation age, claiming that in the olden days, girls married relatively early as soon as they reached puberty. Such early marriages, they argued, kept promiscuity at bay.

However, times and civilisation have changed the practice. Nowadays, the first 20 years of any girl are spent in the classroom. But, by that age, her features would have developed. It is reasonable for an unmarried 25-year -old woman to be sexually active.

It is so bad that many teenagers know some things about sex, which their parents probably might never know. A newspaper cartoon was circulated sometime ago, where a man was seen telling his teenage son that it was time for sex education. The boy answered: “Sure, what part do you want to know, daddy?”

Everyone has a reason for making certain decisions but it would be advantageous if such decisions are not based on external influence. Abstinence is the surest way of preventing sexually-transmitted diseases. The slogan “abstinence is the best method to prevent diseases” attests to this fact.

My advice to teenagers and the youth is that they must abstain from premarital sex. And those who are still chaste, should maintain this status. We must not allow ourselves to be the butt of jokes in the society.

There is a Yoruba adage that says anything that is protected doesn’t lose its value. We must not be deceived by the argument that virginity is an outdated value. It is not; it is a value we must nurture to ensure our society is free of decadence.

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Yeye Afin Monilola TENABE TELLS US to SPEAK YORUBA to oUr CHiLDREN ATI She lives 30.YEARS. NOW in AMERIKKKA! -WHAT ARE YOU IN Yorubaland SPEAKING to Your CHILDREN! EEWO!


Thursday 18 April, 2013

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Cultural lessons from North America

2013-04-17 01:18:33

Monilola Tenabe has lived in the US for about 30 years. But her manner of speaking shows that Yoruba culture still flows in her blood. She has, understandably, gained a distinct measure of American accent and does not need to stammer between English words whenever she is speaking.

Listening to her as she speaks Yoruba, however, you would think you are listening to a woman who has lived in a ‘traditional’ town like Ibadan, Osogbo or Abeokuta. She cannot speak the language for two minutes without throwing a strong proverb into it.

She was at such her cultural best on Thursday when she spoke in Lagos on the mission of her and some other members of the National Association of Yoruba Descendants in North America. Established some 22 years ago, the group otherwise called Egbe Omo Yoruba is the umbrella body of all Yoruba groups in the Diaspora.

According to Tenabe, they are in Nigeria to explore ways in which they can contribute to the development of the South West.

“We are on this trip to see what we can do with government and other stakeholders to move the Yoruba nation forward,” she says. “We want to continue the progressive ideas championed by the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. We have carried on with the legacy he left and we want to do all we can to move the Yoruba nation forward.”

Also on the trip are Dr. Ayo Famuyide and Mrs. Modupe Adeyanju. They have been visiting governments of the states in the region, with Tenabe, a university administrator, saying they are offering themselves for service in whatever areas they are called to intervene. But part of their crusade is also that whenever government is asking for foreign investment, it should not focus on foreigners alone.

Says Famuyide, who is the group’s public affairs secretary, “We have enough talent to turn this country around if government will give us the same concessions it gives foreign investors.”

On how Tenabe and her colleagues have been preserving their Yoruba legacies abroad, she notes that they regularly organise programmes where they discuss home and design projects that keep them in tune. During holidays and the association’s conventions, they organise Yoruba lessons for their children, while they invite experts to lecture people on the region’s heritage. Adeyanju, a teacher, is often in charge of grooming the kids culturally.

“I also speak Yoruba to my children,” Tenabe adds. “We must take our culture seriously. And this is one of the messages we have brought home.”

>BACK TO AFRICA! – THESE BLACK MAYORS/SISTER VANESSA WILLIAMS WEPT WHEN THE OBA(KING) WELCOMED THEM BACK HOME! -GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER,NIGERIA,FEB. 2011

>

FROM ngrguardiannews.com.

Why Yoruba Obas Kept Vigil For Ooni In 1903

Sunday, 13 March 2011 00:00 By Tunde Akingbade/in Ile-Ife and Osogbo Sunday Magazine – Sunday Magazine

ITwas the day of historical facts. It was an evening of reminiscences. It turned out to be another occasion for flashbacks. And the spot was the palace of His Imperial Majesty, Ooni of Ile-Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II, the Aroole Oduduwa, progenitor of the Yoruba race.
Prof. Siyan Oyeweso, Provost, School of Humanities and Culture, Osun State University, Ikire campus and Chairman of 4th World Conference of Mayors went down historical lane. Oyeweso narrated how the great grandfathers of Oba Olubuse II and the institution of the Ooni was revered and feared as the spiritual head of Yoruba nation.
The story went thus; the Ooni was asked to come to Lagos in 1903 by the British Colonial government to testify in a case between the Akarigbo of  Remo and Elepe. In those days, no one could look in the face of the Ooni. All Yoruba kings under his authority and who domiciled along the route the Ooni was to pass to Lagos moved out of their bases and they did not sleep until the Ooni returned to Ile-Ife.
The Ooni was feared as a spiritual head. Yoruba Obas had reasoned that what the colonial government demanded from the Ooni was an abomination. For him to leave his palace at Ife and journey to Lagos was unfathomable. A sacrilege!
As Prof. Oyeweso recalled the historical feat, Oba Olubuse II who sat in splendor on the throne, nodded. Then Oyeweso, threw another historical bombshell.
“Only Ede and Ibadan remain cities that developed from military settlements (Army) to state that has people and not state (People) to army!” he said.

That night a crowd of Mayors from all over the world had paid a courtesy visit to the Ooni in the course of the World Conference of Mayors, which took place in Osogbo. Oyeweso, the Chairman of the organising team for the conference, which was supported by the Federal Government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Osun State Government, said, “he is a son of the palace because the former Timi of Ede was one of those who used to pay his school fees in those days. This appeared stunning to the Ooni. Oyeweso called himself the ‘son of the warlord’ — the Timi of Ede who was a warrior in those days. It was believed that the arrows of the Timi carried furnaces whenever he shot them. That has become the praise name of descendants of the town.
The professor said Ile-Ife, the cradle of Yoruba race was not a kingdom but an empire. The Ooni of Ile-Ife then gave Prof. Oyeweso an assignment to find out if Ile-Ife, which existed about 8,000 years ago and 4,000 years before Abraham, the patriarch of Jews and Arabs was a Kingdom, Empire or what?
Earlier, Ms. Vanessa Williams, Executive Director of the National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM) thanked the Ooni for the warm reception and for his leadership and for being the king of all kings in Nigeria.
“I have had the opportunity to see the Presidents and Kings all over the world. I have never been so nervous as I have been tonight,” said Ms. Williams.
Robert Bowser, President of NCBM looked in her direction. Tears began to roll down her cheeks. Then she added; “we are happy to be back home. We thank you for preserving our history here.”
It was an emotional moment. The entire hall was in deep silence. Then the royal court’s praise singers interjected; Omi ki o! The King is greeting you! The Ooni beckoned on Ms. Williams to move closer to him. He then began to comfort her. The other visiting Mayors were also moved into tears. They were introduced one after the other.
More surprises were to come. Just as Ms. Williams introduced Dr. Jeffrey, one of the members of the American Mayors entourage, Oba Aderemi Adeniyi-Adedapo, the Olojudo-Alayemore of Ido-Osun, one of the Obas in the Kingdom exclaimed: “that’s my teacher!”
Oba Adeniyi-Adedapo called on Funlola Olorunnishola, the Media Advisor of the Ooni, Folusho Adedigba and Mr. Smollett Shittu-Alamu — members of the committee in charge of the visit to the palace to give him the microphone. Oba Adeniyi-Adedapo began to make some revelations.
The Oba told the gathering that Dr. Jeffrey was his teacher in the United States when he was studying for a degree in Architecture.
Said he; “Dr. Jeffrey, you will remember that I used to tell you in America that I am a prince in Africa. I am so overwhelmed tonight. I want to let you know that I am now a king under His Imperial Majesty, the Ooni of Ile-Ife, Kabiyesi, Oba Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II”
Turning to the Ooni, Oba Adeniyi-Adedapo said: “these are the people who made me what I am when I was in America for 25years. Architecture was my major. Dr. Jeffrey gave us moral, financial support and everything when I was in America. He was a father figure to us.”
Looking in the direction of Dr. Jeffrey, the Oba said; “I cannot thank you enough. You are back home in Nigeria even though I am aware you are very close to Ghana. But this is your real home. The Ashantehene and the King of Accra know their father king is His Imperial Majesty, the Ooni of Ile- Ife. You are welcome back home. I thank you and I thank America your country for harbouring me for 25years. I went there with nothing and I came back home as an Architect and I am so proud of that country. God bless America, God bless the black race, God bless Ooni and God bless Nigeria!”
The Ooni later told the visitors that the population of those who claim ancestry to Yoruba race is about 240 million. They are found in Nigeria, USA, the Caribbean, Haiti, Venezuela, Argentina etc. He said even though in a place like Argentina, you have predominantly white people, a large percentage became white because of years of inter marriage.
The Ooni noted that there are several countries outside the USA where blacks also rule like President Barak Obama.
Earlier, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the Governor of Osun State said at the opening ceremony that urbanisation in Nigeria had brought municipal challenges like insecurity, housing, food, transportation, health care provision, education, jobs, waste disposal and social welfare.
“While the development countries still grapple with these problems, the situation in developing countries can be worse”, said Aregbesola. 
At the closing ceremony of the one-week event Mr. Robert Bowser, President of National Conference of Black Mayors, Atlanta, said that it was a great opportunity for the Mayors to be present in Osun State. Bowser said the Mayors had seen Osun State and they had also seen the challenges the people face in the area of health, waste management, sanitation, infrastructure, education etc. He called on the state government to involve them in schemes to tackle some of the problems facing the state.
A Feast of Return, a dance drama written and produced by the poet, Odia Ofeimun, was performed at the event with other cultural dances. Present at the event were many traditional rulers in Osun State including Oba Oladele Olashore, the Aloko of Iloko-Ijesha; Oba Dokun Abolurin, the Oragun of Oke-Ila, Oba Rasheed Olasubomi, the Aragbiji of Iragbiji.