Traditional Religion Worshippers’ Association has urged the Federal and State Governments to establish schools where traditional religious knowledge would be taught as a subject.
The Secretary of the Oyo State branch of the association, Fayemi Fakayode, who stated this in a statement on Wednesday, said that the teaching of the subject will help the younger generation know about their culture and tradition.
He stated that just like Islamic and Christian Religious Knowledge are included in the primary and secondary curricula, traditional religious knowledge also needs to take its place as a subject in schools.
“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,”he said.
Fakayode, who is the Founder of Olodumare’s Temple of Light International, emphasized 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.
“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.
“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.
Fakayode argued that if the traditional religious knowledge is included in the curriculum, the children will know their culture and religion and will not be misled by any foreigner aiming to lure them away from their culture.