Professor Adetunbi Ogunleye, a scholar of African Traditional Religion and Cultural Studies, has urged Africans to return to their cultural roots as a way of rebuilding moral values, strengthening social harmony, and restoring a sense of identity.
He made the call on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, while delivering the 49th Inaugural Lecture of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, titled “Resting in Peace? The Dilemma of the Living Dead.”
According to him, culture represents “the sum total of both material and intellectual equipment which people use to satisfy their biological and social needs.” He lamented that the moral and social values that once defined African societies, particularly among the Yoruba, are fading fast under the weight of foreign influence and modern lifestyles.
He explained that long-standing traditions such as naming, marriage, and burial ceremonies have been reshaped by Western education and imported religions, making them lose the deeper meanings they once carried.
Ogunleye observed that many parents now give their children names without considering their meanings or the circumstances surrounding their birth, adding that this trend has weakened the moral bond people used to have with their identities.
He said that Western civilisation, foreign religions, and modernisation have collectively weakened the moral and cultural pillars that held African communities together, leading to growing cases of moral decline and social disorder.
The professor condemned the increasing acceptance of cohabitation and same-sex relationships, describing such practices as contrary to Yoruba values and harmful to the sanctity of marriage. He linked the trend to the collapse of family values and rising divorce rates.
“In the traditional Yoruba worldview,” he explained, “sexuality is not merely about pleasure or personal freedom. It is a sacred act tied to procreation, spirituality, and community continuity. The harmonious union between male and female is not just natural but essential for societal balance and moral order.”
He warned that the steady erosion of traditional norms has worsened the moral crisis in society, as seen in indecent dressing, sexual promiscuity, killings, and growing disregard for communal ethics.
Ogunleye also connected the weakening of ancestral influence to the abandonment of traditional burial rites, stressing that such neglect has broken the sacred bond between the living and the ancestors, who were once regarded as custodians of morality.
He noted that the rise in failed rituals and misfortunes has made some people doubt ancestral powers, but said the perceived silence of the ancestors was the result of neglecting customs that once gave them authority.
The professor said that abandoning indigenous practices has created an inferiority complex among Africans, reducing their pride in ancestral heritage and weakening their moral consciousness.
He therefore called for the reintroduction of cultural education, more research into vanishing traditions, and a balanced approach that allows modern development to coexist with cultural preservation.
He urged academics to document and promote African values to help sustain the continent’s true identity.
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University, Professor Olugbenga Ige, who chaired the lecture, commended Ogunleye for his insightful presentation.
He said inaugural lectures give professors the opportunity to share their intellectual contributions with the public and reflect the university’s commitment to scholarship and knowledge advancement.
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