By Our Correspondent
A Yoruba socio-cultural group, Egbe Yoruba Ni Wa, has decried the attitude of parents who discourage their children from embracing Yoruba culture, describing it as a dangerous trend capable of eroding the identity of the race.
Convener of the group, Mrs. Titilayo Ajoke Ojeleye, who spoke yesterday at an event organised to mark the 2021 World Children's Day celebration in Ogun State, berated parents who scold their children for speaking Yoruba language, describing the act as unfortunate.
Highlights of the event included cultural display, quiz competition, poem recitation, rendition of folktales and folksongs, among others.
Ojeleye said parents must not destroy Yoruba heritage by discouraging their children that its culture.
She attributed the prevalent moral decadence and degeneration of value system in the society to the erosion of Yoruba culture and values, saying no culture of any ethnic group in Nigeria encourages violence and immorality.
Ojeleye stressed the need for parents to teach their children the right values and prepare them for future leadership positions, saying "Our children are our future and there is need for us (parents) to ensure that our children continue promoting our tradition and culture.
She said, "It is unfortunate that parents are no longer encouraging their children to embrace the Yoruba culture. Our culture, which is our heritage is fast going into extinction and this is worrisome.
"Civilisation and Western culture have almost eroded the Yoruba culture, this is the reason for this event. It is a platform for putting our children on the right path to becoming the future leaders.
"It is dangerous for parents to always discourage their children whenever they speak Yoruba language. Although, it is good for our children to know how to speak English language, but that should not be to the detriment of our own language.
"Our tradition, culture, language and heritage must not be allowed to go into extinction.
"This is why, we the custodian of Yoruba tradition and culture decided to bring our children together to teach them more about the Yoruba culture."
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