Funmi Olaitan, Ibadan

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State on Monday, said the incursion of foreign culture and selfishness eroded cultural values, ethics and heritage of our people, urging that all hands must be on deck to revive the dwindling cultural values of our society.

He said this while leading members of the State Executive Council from their weekly executive council meeting to meet a procession of different cultural groups representing various notable ethnic divisions in Nigeria when they visited the governor’s office to celebrate the 2017 World Culture Day.

He said, “African culture depicts respect for God, elders, constituted authority and good deeds but what we have today is different from what we used to get in the past. The importation of foreign culture of impunity, culture of greed, selfishness has badly affected our society.

"Culture is not only reflected in our mode of dressing, it is the combination of what we speak, eat, and how we relate with others and our God. It is very important to say that culture is about Godliness,” the Governor explained.

Ajimobi added that imported culture which attached low value to hard-work would always breed laziness and leading to low delivery of positive deliverables to the society, adding that the attitude of the people to their work also reflects their culture.

"Most of what we were taught in the olden days were attached to the need for us to be hardworking and diligent, we were taught not to look for quick ways to affluence and riches. Today, those are no more and we have all forms of vices like kidnapping, armed robbery among others that are capable of tarnishing good family name. We should all put hands on the deck to revive our culture,” he stressed.

The cultural procession which started at 10am at the Cultural Center, Mokola Ibadan went through Mokola towards Total Garden through Agodi-Gate and berthed at the Governor's office.

Different shades of masquerades and traditional garretas were on display to entertain the people of Ibadan as the procession moved within the city.