dr. Adejoke Fatunde is the eldest child of the late professor of History, Joseph Adebowale Atanda. Recently, a three-day conference on Yoruba cum Oyo Empire’s political history and culture, where over 200 scholars participated, was organised at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, in memory of the scholar.
It was declared open by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi. In this interview with LAIDE RAHEEM, Fatunde, spoke more on the dynamism of Yoruba culture and traditions, as well as the need sustain them.

Why was the conference organized in honour of your father?
What turned out to be a conference is actually part of the J.A. Atanda Memorial Lecture Series whose vision is to attempt to recapture the horizons of Joseph Adebowale Atanda’s scholarly travels across institutions where he taught and had the opportunity to impact students of diverse cultures in his life time. We frequently heard him say: “The greatest lesson of history is that we do not learn from history.” With this as reference, the objective of each lecture was designed to engage the minds of history scholars and participants in discussions of historical events and statues and elicit their applications to issues of contemporary times.
Initially, the lecture series was scheduled to run in seasons, rotating through each of the five institutions where our dad served. In addition, his family planned to take him to “out of the box locations” that he never got to visit in person as a sixth location and then take a sabaticcal year off every seventh year before starting the next season.
Session I of the J.A. Atanda Memorial Lecture Series rotated through the University of Ibadan, Ibadan. Nigeria (2013), University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA (2014), Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda (2015). Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Nigeria, was scheduled as the venue for the 2017 lecture but the visionary Prof. Toyin Falola expanded the lecture in scope and form to an international conference featuring over 200 participants.
Professor Falola is the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at the University of Texas, Austin, Texas in the USA. He was the guest speaker for the 2014 J.A. Atanda Memorial lecture in Chicago, Illinois.

How would you describe your father?
He was a simple, quiet man yet, a man of an inestimable value to us. Four things were important to our dad, these are listed below but not in any particular order: His nuclear family and the larger Atanda family in Eruwa and Ibarapa, community service (Oyo State); the Ibarapa community was very dear to his heart.
He served as chairman of the old Ibadan-Ibarapa Health Board and at the state level as commissioner in different ministries in the old Western State and Oyo State. His God and the Baptist Church where he was a Deacon at Oke-Ado Baptist Church in Ibadan and New Eruwa Baptist Church in Eruwa. He served in various capacities with the Nigerian Baptist Convention, the Baptist World Alliance and the Baptist Seminaries both in and out of Nigeria.
And lastly, academia and history. His focus was history of the Yoruba, the Oyo Empire, being his area of expertise. He also ventured into history of the Buganda people and other topics. His most prized possessions were books.
He also loved to watch soccer. He captained the team at Baptist College, Iwo while there.
We are glad that, for the 20th anniversary of his passing, activities for the church, the Ibarapa community (football tournament between the seven Ibarapa communities) and the international conference on Yoruba Nation and Politics since the 19th century at OOU for the academic community were actualized to address his key interests.

What are the values he instilled in you?
I had the privilege of growing up at different locations – Ede, Ikire, Lagos and Ibadan – as my parents evolved in their in marital and career life. This gave me opportunity to appreciate the different experiences in our lives. We spent the most time growing up on the campus of the University of Ibadan. My siblings and I have many fond memories of UI.

Regardless of the location, our dad remained the same man, instilling in us the importance of hard work, self-discipline to achieve our goals and at the same time, personal sacrifice for the greater good and benefit of others. He would not compromise on good behavior and integrity, and being the best at what ever we did. He instilled the fear of God in each of us and taught by example that, faith in God, the author and architect of a man’s life is the key to fulfilling one’s destiny. Getting a great education and living a life of peace and contentment were his ultimate desires for each one of us.

Why did you not follow the footsteps of your dad, career-wise?
Dad encouraged each of us to follow our own path. I grew up with history; both my mom and dad are graduates of the University of Ibadan Department of History. I enjoyed discussing history with them, my dad especially, but, my calling was more in the medical field and he gave me all the support I needed and more.
The intrigue with my dad was his versatility; he had the capability to discuss many disciplines with fervor. We played a lot of games finding geography coordinates together, he taught me math and additional math and without his tutoring, I may not have passed A level Physics and be able to get admission into my desired field.
I once asked him why he chose History as his main discipline given that he was really good in the sciences? His response was: “You do your best and allow God to plant you where he wants you to be most fruitful for His glory.” One of my brothers read History for first degree, but once he finished at the university, he went into insurance and dad never had any qualms with that.
I spent some time in academia at both of my alma mater and maybe, one of these days I will return to academia, maybe not. One thing I have embraced from my dad career-wise, however, is love for community service in my own field. I find that being involved in dental missions in and out of Nigeria very fulfilling and a tool to serve those who cannot otherwise afford dental care.

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What is your opinion on the growth and acceptance of Yoruba culture especially by the younger generation?
Yoruba culture is accepted and still resonates with the younger generation. The children of Yoruba descent, especially in the Diaspora, have a great thirst for their culture. The significance of names we give our children is admired by other cultures as well as our concept of colorful celebrations.
That said, change is constant and as any culture mixes with other cultures and gets handed down between generations, there will be variation in how the culture is interpreted. In these days of internet technology and social media, it is only logical that the younger generation will adapt Yoruba culture for the internet and social media age.
It is imperative that we keep the base constant and relevant, so that future generations always have a reliable reference, even as they evolve with their unique interpretations and perceptions of the culture of their ancestors. The younger generations are our future, and there is never a future without a past.

Are you of the opinion that the Yoruba culture is dying?
No. It is only being adapted to the new world. The adaptations are necessary and will help our children understand their roots even as they strengthen and appreciate their connection to the root no matter where their branches in life ever extend to. They will understand where they are from and be able to pilot better to where they are going.

What should be done to help improve the growth of Yoruba language and culture?
I am yet to see a language as multidimensional as the Yoruba language. Its tonality is a source of unique diversity that exists with relatively few languages. We need to encourage conversation in the Yoruba language both at home and outside the home to encourage the young ones to be versatile in their understanding of their language.
The Demola Onibonokuta’s arrangement of music using stones was always a fascination for me as a child, but seeing the marimba played later gave me a greater appreciation of his ingenious “marimba” developed with such simple items as stones. It would have been great to see a concert featuring both types of marimbas! That would indeed be a musical delight!
Twins Seven-Seven was intriguing to me as a growing child; more for his braids initially, as that was unusual in guys at that time. Later, I was simply awed by his intricate paintings on my visit with dad to see his work in Osogbo.
However, I didn’t immediately understand the Yoruba folklore he depicted through these paintings until learning about the 1989 exhibition “Magiciens de la Terre” (“Magicians of the Earth”) at the Pompidou Center in Paris, which included his work. The contemporary African Art wing at the Indianapolis Museum of Art had and, probably still has, an exhibition that features his work.
The National Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian in 2000 also featured his work. If foreign museums of art can promote our artists, are we encouraging artists all over Nigeria to show case their work while we hold preserved, the collections of older artists for their inspiration?
School trips and family outings to see these collections could be a source of information and education about Yoruba culture as well as inspiration and relaxation. These collections are feasible and lasting tourist attractions, housed or moving and can be self-sustaining by charging nominal entrance fee towards maintenance cost.
Younger generation of artists has written Yoruba Apps, which can be downloaded to play on the phones. The younger artists should be encouraged to look at some of the work of older artists and promote what has been.
Initiatives should be encouraged. For example, Professor Wande Abimbola’s expertise on Ifa needs to be tapped and quickly too. I believe there are many more initiatives that we may not have paid adequate attention or not given deserved exposé. Yoruba culture is very rich and engaging. It is up to us to let the world know the value of what we have. But, we, the Yoruba people, must first have an in depth appreciation for our culture before we can interest others with it. This is the key to improving the growth and expansion of the influence of Yoruba art and culture.
Yoruba plays should be re-enacted regularly to introduce our heroes to a new generation and audience. In the 70’s as children, we watched a number of plays including “Kurumi,” “Langbodo,” “Won Ro Pe Were Ni,” at the University of Ibadan Arts Theatre, which also had junior casts under the directives of Prof Wole Soyinka.
The plays often served as points of discussion when we got home and we had the privilege of dad answering our questions, providing clarifications on what we did not understand and simply listening to our views of different aspects of the plays. “The Gods Are Not To Blame” was a debate pivot in our home. University of Ife Theatre was also known to produce many plays under Soyinka’s watch.
Department of Theatre Arts at our higher institutions can bring Yoruba plays to life not only to the students, but the community around them. Are travelling theatres such as Ogunde’s still operating? Nollywood is very much in operation and can probably put a modern twist on some of the folklores, holding an appeal for not only old and young viewers, international audience too, yet preserving the message.
The Alaafin of Oyo, the custodian of Yoruba culture, at the opening ceremony of the conference on Yoruba Nation and Politics since the 19th century at OOU in October 2017, very eloquently let us know how Yoruba tradition relates through indigenous religion such as Ifa with modern day Islamic and Christian religions, highlighting a dynamic approach rather than a divisive approach between the religions. He elaborated on how Yoruba tradition has been a fore-runner in different aspects of life, governance, medicine, education, law and the judiciary, family life etc.
We indeed have a rich heritage in the Yoruba culture and language that must be promoted in our homes, schools and across all corners of Yorubaland. Let us start in each home and then, the children will come out of their homes into the society with a deep appreciation of Yoruba culture and propagate it in their own unique way, each with his or her unique talents.

It was recommended that the event should be held annually. How do you plan to sustain this?
The J.A Atanda lecture series has been explained above. We are happy about the conference format the lecture series took this year. It not only allowed multiple speakers but also gave opportunity to junior scholars to participate and enjoy tutelage of senior scholars. Dad was always one for holding the hands of a younger fellow and encouraging him or her to climb the ladder to the very top. We will deliberate on the format/periodicity of the future events.

Any further plans to immortalize your father and preserve his scholarly works?
The focus is not immortalizing, but, sharing the father we had with a new generation who will know him, not in person, only through his legacy and scholarly activities. Our hope is that while networking and learning from others, each scholar, as well as we, his offsprings, may gain one or two perspectives from the life and times of Joseph Adebowale Atanda, be able to use these perspectives in our academic and or personal pursuits and pass them on to others coming along.

Our plans are always evolving, my brothers and I frequently bounce different ideas between us until we come to a consensus. When we reach what appears to be the right decision, then we plan for execution and the appropriate time to implement the decision.
The lecture series will take a sabbatical leave for a year to allow the family to deliberate on the format that future lectures will take starting Season 2.