Traditionalists want traditional religious knowledge to be taught in school

Traditional Religion Worshippers’ Association has appealed to governments both at the state and federal levels to establish schools where Traditional Religious Knowledge (TRK) would be taught as a subject.

Making the call in Ibadan on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, the Secretary of the Oyo State branch of the association, Fayemi Fakayode, said the intention behind the idea was to impart the younger generation with Yoruba culture and tradition.

This is contained in a statement he signed, where he also urged the governments to include Traditional Religious Knowledge as a subject in the primary and secondary school curricula, like Islamic Religious Knowledge and Christian Religious Knowledge.

Fakorede emphasised the need for proper education to disabuse the minds of the younger generation about Yoruba history and antecedents.

The secretary, the Founder of Olodumare’s Temple of Light International, noted that the miseducation of Africans about their origin and identity had created wrong perceptions about their traditional religion.

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The traditionalist said, “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.

“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.

“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.”

Fakorede said the introduction of TRK would expose the children and grandchildren to their own culture, tradition, religion, and history, thereby shielding them from foreigners and practitioners of other religions that want to paint the religion in a bad light to make it unappealing.