Speaking recently in Ile-Ife at the declaration of the city as a free tourism zone, Professor Soyinka, who was represented by Professor Wale Adeniran, stated that steps must be taken to ensure that they are not given replicas in place of the original ones.
Nobel laureate: “Some names have been mentioned, names like Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary General of the Commonwealth; Koffi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations; Henry Leegate, a distinguished Africanist at the Yale, who owns a university; Professor Bolanle Awe; Prof Oyayi; Mr Edison Arantes do Nascimento, Pele of Brazil and the representative of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments.”
He noted that when these artifacts must have been returned to their original home, the pilgrims will never cease to leave Ile-fe with the dynamism, energy, drive and solomonic wisdom of Oba Ogunwusi.
Soyinka expressed the confidence that this feat can be accomplished.
He explained that what is happening now at the palace ground is long overdue given the status of Ife as the city of art and world’s famed tribe of ancient and modern art.
He observed that it is the belief of many that Ile-Ife is the centre of the world, and that Olodumare has made Otu Ife a focal point of the universe.
The erudite professor stated further that with the infrastructure being put in place by Oba Ogunwusi, one can foresee an endless procession of pilgrims and tourists continually converging on the ancestral home of Ile-Ife from far and near.
He commended the efforts of the Kabiesi, stressing that if this is adopted and supported, it will contribute in bringing back the golden days of 1970s when the then University of Ife used to organise the Ife Festival of the Arts which attracted participants from far and near, including the Negritude poet and the then President of Senegal, Léopold Sédar Senghor, who participated in one of such festivals.
Soyinka maintained that the Obafemi Awolowo University still has a major role to play in strengthening the organisation of the festival of arts by engaging in sustained research into the history of Ile-Ife.
In the light of this, we have to bring back the programme of the study of archaeology at the undergraduate and post graduate levels, he said.
Speaking earlier at the event, Oba Ogunwusi called for a concerted effort to take the continent out of impoverished level of poverty, “because God gave us everything.”
He said it is important “for us to come together as one happy family and channel the course and make Africa a better place, not only Ile-Ife, not only Osun State, Yoruba land or Nigeria, but the entire Africa.”
He explained that today our traditional religion is the fastest growing in the world, faster than Christianity, faster than Islam.
The Ooni maintained that the entire world is moving towards the African traditional religion, while the custodians do not even appreciate it nor value it.
He disclosed that it is evident that every square metre of Ile-Ife is full of mysteries.
The Ooni said the alternative we have is to keep all those mysteries that have been existing for million of years or open them to the world for them to know and experience those mysteries.
“Out of that, we are going to have movement in terms of tourism because any development in life is all about tourism. Movement of slave trade is now our past, but it was a movement at some point because some humans moved all the way from Africa to Europe, South America and other places. Movement brings every other thing. It brings development, prosperity and progress, so we need to focus well on movement in the entire Africa because every part of Africa is full of mysteries and I will start from Ile-ife”, he said.
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