Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Sunday emphasised the importance of preserving African cultural heritage, affirming his respect for the traditional Ifa religion and its role in African identity, despite being a Christian.
Chief Obasanjo disclosed this at a luncheon he organised to celebrate the 50th birthday of the renowned woman drummer, Aralola Olamuyiwa held at the Green Legacy of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta.
Obasanjo lamented that it is unfortunate that lots of rich African cultures are being relegated to the background in the name of embracing western culture.
He said "Culture is the totality of who we are, unfortunately, we have relegated some of our culture to the background, our food, our language, our dress and so on
"They even say Yoruba is vernacular, that is not right, Yoruba is Yoruba, it is the authentic and we must learn to celebrate what belong to us because that's the authentic
"I am a Christian, I have been to two churches today but whoever say Ifa Orumila is nothing must be a bloody fool because Orunmila has been with us before the advent of Christianity or Islam".
The former President said that he decided to celebrate the female talking drum expert for being a cultural icon and ambassador in her own right.
Obasanjo "While I growing up there are two things you will never see a woman doing. A woman will never be seen climbing palm tree, you can't see a woman on top of palm tree and you will also not see a woman drummer.
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"But Ara with her tenacity and focus has however broken this taboo. She is now known all over the world as a drummer.
"We now have a woman who can beat the drum better than the men. She is helping a lot to sustain our cultural heritage and that is why I have decided to celebrate her so as to further encourage her to keep up the good job.
The former President urged youths to take a cue from the celebrated drummer saying that "whatever good your hands find to do, do it well and I will celebrate you, the lesson here is that nothing is unimportant in every area of human's endeavours".
Speaking earlier, Ara thanked the former President for the honour done her, saying that it was a gesture she would ever cherish for the rest of her life and career.
The renowned Ondo State born drummer said that she had thought that she would not be alive to celebrate 50 years having suffered a life threatening ailment last year.
Ara explained that the celebration was to return the praises to God who had preserved her and has supported her to be on the global stage despite all odds.
