Traditionalists want traditional religious knowledge as subject in schools

Traditional Religion Worshippers' Association, on Wednesday, urged both the Federal and State Governments to establish schools where traditional religious knowledge would be taught as a subject to impart the younger generation with the Yoruba culture and tradition.

The Secretary of the Oyo State branch of the association, Fayemi Fakayode, who made this call in Ibadan, the state capital, further urged the governments to include traditional religious knowledge as a subject in the primary and secondary school curricula like Islamic Religious Knowledge and Christian Religious Knowledge.

Fakayode, in a statement personally signed, stressed the need for proper education to disabuse the minds of the younger generation about Yoruba history and antecedents.

He explained that the miseducation of Africans about their origin and culture had led to many wrong perceptions about their traditional religion.

The secretary, who is the Founder of Olodumare's Temple of Light International, said, "We made this call during the installation of two Brazilians, Awoyomi Fakayode and Iyanifa Ifatayo Obemo as Mayegun and Yeye Mayegun of Ìjọ Ìmọ́lẹ̀ Olódùmarè Àgbáyé, respectively, on Sunday at Alade Town in the Akinyele Local Government Area of the state.

"The time has come for both the Federal and State Governments to include TRK as a subject in the primary and secondary school curriculum, like they have the IRK and CRK, respectively. There is a need for proper education to impart to the younger generations the needed knowledge of our traditions and religion.

"Also, there is a need to equip the younger generations with culturally based knowledge which will make them useful for themselves and their land as well as implanting in them the spirit of patriotism that will make them unyielding to the spirit of betraying their ancestors.

"We call on the traditionalists to start making efforts to establish this subject in our primary and secondary schools, while the Federal and State Governments will give it the needed support by approving its inclusion in the school's syllabus and curriculum."

He said with TRK in place, the children and grandchildren would not be taught about their own religion, culture, tradition, and history by foreigners and those from other religions, who have painted the religion in bad light to lure them away.