From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo.
Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, has said “the true answer to national grief is that leadership must have moral courage, and possess superior moral qualities necessary for proper guardianship of a human society”.
He said past style of coward leadership are not based on the courage of convictions, and the promotion of a visionary ideas about the future greatness, as well as improvement in the total physical and moral condition of society.
According to him, ”we have a society without discipline and higher goals to pursue other than personal desires, and in which therefore, everyone who has the chance subjects the larger interest of the society as a whole to grief. This brings us to the principle upon which the moral system of a future Nigeria should be established.
Alaafin also called for critical appraisal of the loss of important and essential values that may be traditional and old but are highly cherished.
These, according to the monarch, include the concern for brotherhood and neighbourhood which are now lost to the process of achieving the material world.
Oba Adeyemi, who spoke in his palace, pointed out that character is more important than the vigour of body and keenness of the intellect, adding that “it is the soil on which all else must grow or else nothing can come into fruition.
“People must be faithful to their word, respect mutual obligations and be kind to one another and place the welfare of others above personal gains. Unity and progress of the country will continue to be threatened until core values that should promote law and order, respect for elders, sanctity of human lives, brotherliness, honesty and tolerance are appreciated and adhered to’’
Alaafin also stressed the need for reassessment of the values of Yoruba cultures, in order to preserve them from extinction.
Said he: “Oral traditions, for instance, have been operationally defined to include formal historical accounts recited by professionals or those handed down from one generation to another, as informal narratives of past events within orally-literate societies. Within the contrast of the rapid changes in techniques and methods of African historiography,
oral traditions are increasingly no longer mere adjuncts to written documents. They are no longer looked upon as mere enrichment or compliments to archival materials.’’
Alaafin, however, lamented: “What do we have today? Our children take solace in Western-oriented cultures and music to the detriment, if not near extinction of our rich and incomparable praise poetry and other delightful traditional
music. Hip hop and other meaningless foreign music are now order of the day in the name of globalisation. Rarely will you find Yoruba sons and daughters appreciating praise poetry of their ancestral lineages.’
