LAGOS – The Proprietor of Starfield College, Fagba, Lagos, Mr Christopher Eigbe, has emphasised the need to pass down the diverse cultures and traditions to the younger generation to avoid extinction.
The Director of Studies, Mr Christopher Eigbe made a case for this as the College celebrated the 2024 cultural day themed: “My Culture is Beautiful! What About You? The event was held at the College auditorium.
Speaking at the colourful event attended by parents and students, Mr Eigbe said before now African cultures and traditions were in their natural forms and undiluted, saying they have moved from their natural state to modernised form and were influenced by European and other foreign cultures.
“We are no longer strict with culture and tradition as it used to be in the African tradition of the past. Our cultures were deep and were not mixed. But now, culture has moved progressively to modernised forms. Now, you can see that our culture has mingled with the European way of life.
“We are no longer as strict as we used to be in the past. In all aspects of culture, tradition and the food we eat. Now, we eat all types of junk things called fast food which are now alien to African cuisines. Foreign culture has eroded all we do from food, clothes, dances, and music genres that are now predominantly European and American.
He expressed the commitment of the College to re-orientate the students to sustain the existing cultures and traditions of every tribe, saying the displays and understandings by the students have given the hope that the various cultures will not go into extinction.
Mr Eigbe lamented that the threat posed by foreign music to Juju, Apala and other types of traditional music calls for serious redress, saying failure to embark on a rescue mission would amount to complete erosion and death of African cultures and traditions.
To redress the dangerous trend and prevent the various cultures from going extinct, Mr Eigbe said: “The College has instituted the Cultural Day Celebration as an annual event and platform to reinvent the culture of different cultures and traditions by the students.
“If we continue with that trend, we may forget our cultures, who we are and where we are coming from. So, while we are modernizing, we must still take a step back and take a look at our culture.
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“We are doing this in line with government policy so that our children can remember who they are and where they are from. We will continue to promote it because an African is an African. An African cannot become a European person or cannot become an American.
“We can only take elements of their culture into our own without throwing away ours. Our languages must be preserved. That is the fact that we have because most of the public discussions in public life are held in English Language.
“The traditional languages must also be maintained. And that is what you are seeing today. Traditional cuisines must also be preserved for our children to admire, learn to cook and savour. That explains why we are holding the Cultural Day Celebrations. See the enthusiasm and how beautiful our students and their parents looked in the various traditional attires representing the different cultures and traditions of the entire country. As a school, we are at the forefront of passing these cultures and traditions from generation to generation.
“There is no way you can transform an African person to become a European. You can see that the issue of discrimination between the white and the black cannot disappear overnight. It is a century-old issue. So it will continue from where they left it off, where we met them. We must realise that we are Africans as we modernize without forgetting who we are.
He emphasised the need for Africans to rediscover themselves, adding that much as we admire the Whiteman we must come back to know ourselves and evolve a strategy that will free the Blackman.
“We are free in terms of enslavement and still enslaved in mind. We must set our minds free. Appreciate the black man. Appreciate ‘our Nigerianness’ and this can only be done through culture. Once our children start appreciating our cultures compared to the other areas they have been visiting, they will come back one day to rediscover who they are by promoting their cultures. “
Responding to parents’ objection to the use of the mother tongue at home for communication and instructions, the Director of Studies urged parents to encourage their wards to communicate in the mother tongue, saying they must continue to realise that language is part of the African message and must not be allowed to evaporate.
In her contributions, the Principal of the College, Mrs Sarah Oyinloye, stressed the importance of culture in the food we eat, the mode of greetings at different times of the day, the way we dress, and what we eat, saying it is a way of life as Africans.
The event featured cultural music and dance, debate, choreography, games, presentation of traditional cuisines and a debate themed: “6-3-3-4 Education in Nigeria has done more harm than good”.
The Vice-Principal, Mrs.Taiwo Deborah commended the students for their active participation and opinions in the debates.
