Literature icon Professor Wole Soyinka delivered a passionate call for Nigerians to reconnect with their ancestral healing practices during yesterday’s Isese Festival commemorations in the Ogun State capital.
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Speaking at the government-backed cultural event marking the annual August 20 celebration, the Nobel Prize winner noted the enduring value of indigenous medical knowledge, calling it humanity’s longest-standing and most proven healthcare approach.
“What the western world now terms pharmacology is simply our traditional herbs and roots,” Soyinka declared, highlighting how contemporary medical practitioners increasingly turn to natural remedies despite their conventional training.
The celebrated playwright expressed concern over the tendency of many Nigerians to dismiss local healing methods in favour of hospital treatments, despite the continued potency of traditional botanical remedies.
“Those in the traditional medicine field should proceed with confidence – this represents our future path and deserves full backing,” he stated, encouraging a return to cultural foundations.
Government Pledges Continued Support
Governor Dapo Abiodun, through his Culture and Tourism Commissioner Sesan Fagbayi, extended congratulations to traditional practitioners while reaffirming state backing for cultural preservation initiatives.
The governor praised the unity demonstrated by traditionalists and pledged his administration’s dedication to fostering religious diversity across Ogun State.
Nurudeen Olaleye, who chairs the state’s Alternate Medicine Board, acknowledged the governor’s fulfillment of his electoral pledge by establishing August 20 as an official Isese Day holiday. However, he urged additional measures to advance alternative medicine development, describing the sector as an untapped “global goldmine.”
About the Isese Festival
The annual celebration honours Yoruba traditional spirituality, falling under the Ancient Religion Societies of African Descendants International Council. Practitioners engage in ceremonial prayers, cultural dances, and ritual offerings involving livestock such as cattle, goats, and fowl.
Different deities receive offerings at designated locations – river ceremonies for Osun worship, while Oro rituals occur at dedicated shrines. Participants traditionally dress in white garments, often accented with red and black elements, reflecting the spiritual significance of these colours in Yoruba cosmology.
Originally centred in Osun State, the festival has gained recognition in neighbouring Ogun State.
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