A Canada-based Nigerian Cultural Ambassador and Founder, ‘Asa Day Worldwide’, Prince Joel Olaniyi Adeyemi Oyatoye, has called on governments at all levels and corporate organizations to channel resources towards the promotion of cultural heritage, describing it as a catalyst for sustainable development.
Oyatoye made the call in an interview with Journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, North Central Nigeria maintaining that if the promotion of cultural heritage is given the required attention, it would bring more opportunities for Nigeria in the comity of nations.
Oyatoye, who is the royal Prince of Oro Kingdom in Kwara State and President of Asa Day Worldwide, also appealed to Nigerian parents and guardians to, as a matter of priority, inculcate cultural values and tradition in their children to bring the best out of them.
The cultural heritage promoter also reiterated the need to encourage and empower the youth through the introduction of technical education that will give priority to handiwork, stressing that black and white education alone does not encourage artwork education.
“We got it wrong from our style of education. Artworks should also be considered as formal education and not apprentices, and whoever that specialises in handiwork or artworks should also be accorded the same opportunity because theirs is also an education.
“We got it wrong from the education. We must start from the education. In the past, education didn’t start with practicum; it started with white and black, and that is why we see those that do the handwork as apprentices, but it shouldn’t be. Education is education, be it practical or theoretical.
“The erroneous belief is that parents of those that learn handwork don’t have money to send them to school that is why they learn roadside mechanics. But that is practical aspect of education. As a matter of fact, those with practical education perform effectively more than people with black and white knowledge only.
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“Our artworks need to be projected to the international community. A lot of what we bring out from the clay, palm tree and other natural resources need to be showcased to the world. These are the things that are projecting and preserving our culture and also a viable way to move our economy forward and bring more opportunity for us as a nation,” he added.
Commenting on whether the civilization is making Nigeria’s culture go into extinction, the Founder and President of Asa Day, said the promotion of cultural heritage will also serve as a civilization to other cultures.
“We can project our culture to the other countries as a civilization tool. What we need is to blend it to meet up with new life and the latest style.
“We want to change the narration. We are able to achieve this in all our activities and programmes in Canada. Canadians attend our Asa Day programme in large number, starting from Premier, Deputy Premier, City Mayor and many highly placed Canadian government officials,” he hinted.
Youth empowerment
Oyatoye commended the Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, for adequately carrying the youth along in the scheme of things, and encouraged other state governors in the country to take a cue from him.
He said, “If the youth of other states are empowered and encouraged the way the Kwara State governor is doing, I believe Nigeria and economy of this nation will be different from the way it is presently.”
