The Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University, Ojo, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, has advised Nigerians not to relegate their tradition because of religion.
Fagbohun said this while fielding questions from journalists after the delivery of the 57th inaugural lecture of the university by Prof. Danoye Oguntola-Laguda, a professor of Philosophy of Religion at the University Main Auditorium recently.
The VC warned Nigerians against becoming extremists, because of religion, adding that people should not be enslaved to religion. He said, “I believe so much in tolerance, when it comes to religion.
We should not judge others based on their religion. Rather than concentrating on religion, we should focus on the progress of the nation, think of how to make a difference to humanity, impact on others and treat others like human beings.”
On the lecture of the day entitled “Esu, the Individual and the Society,” the VC said that the inaugural lecturer traced the origin of the deity called Esu by Yoruba traditional worshipers to the context of African religion to make people realise that unlike what they see as a bad deity, he’s actually the one charged with monitoring the morals of people.
“That is why when people do bad things, they should not attribute it to Esu but to their own desires, because they have the power to make their choices.
The negative concept that people have of the deity is the after math of what Christianity and Islam had impacted to demonise the Esu deity.
Meanwhile, all the deities are more or less like servants of God. We must recognise our traditional values as Nigerians,” he said. In his lecture, Oguntola-Laguda said that the influx of imported religious ideologies such as Christianity and Islam to Yoruba religious space had affected the traditional concept of Esu.
He said, “The pristine traditional conception of the deity as noted in Yoruba traditional religion has been abandoned and positions of Christianity and Islam on the deity have become popular.
To these religions, Esu is evil and works against the salvation plan of God for mankind. He should, therefore, be avoided at all cost. “The general belief is that Esu leads men astray and encourages them to do evil, thereby determining their negative actions and immorality.
However, Yoruba Muslims and Christians are convinced that man is a determined moral agent who has come into the world to act according to the script as designed and sealed by Olodumare (God).
Therefore, man cannot do otherwise since there are no alternative courses laid out for him.” The inaugural lecturer said people placed their evil and immoral activities at the door steps of the Esu deity with the popular saying, “It is the work of Esu.”
