Yoruba History: Ooni Challenges Academics Over Proper Documentation

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi has challenged academia in Nigerian Universities to dissipate energy on proper documentation of the history of Yoruba race rather than relying on jaundiced history.

He said proper documentation will not only foster unity but reveal the ties that exists across ethnic group, saying evidence showed that the Igbo race migrated from Ile-Ife.

The monarch put the challenge before the academia while addressing journalists ahead of an International Conference on, “Ile-Ife and Yoruba Civilization: the Nexus between tradition and Modernity”, at his palace in Ife.

He said Yoruba race has about a quarter of its history documented, hence, the reason he is collaborating with selectee Universities in the country on the need to properly document the history of the race with a view to enhancing cohesion among the people globally.

“We have good evidence to believe that Igbo race has its root here in Ile-Ife, there is Ile-Igbo here in the palace which was not a recent creation but had been existing here for decades. For this and many other reasons, I believe we need proper documentation of our history.

“We are not involving government in this project so that we can just place all the facts together, we must write our history properly and put things the right for the coming generations”, he said.

Also speaking, a renown Professor of History, Siyan Oyeweso said the conference is aimed at bringing scholars together in the country to discuss on how to properly document the history of Yoruba, with focus on Ile-Ife as the source of the race.