A Professor of Fine Arts and Arts Education at Kwara State University, Professor Binta Ajibola Sulyman, has called for urgent and deliberate steps to preserve Ilorin’s revered royal dance tradition, Ijo Ọlọ́mọ Ọba.
She made the appeal on Wednesday June 3 while delivering the university’s 21st Inaugural Lecture. According to her, Ijo Ọlọ́mọ Ọba remains a powerful symbol of Ilorin’s historical identity and cultural unity, reflecting the shared heritage of the Yoruba, Fulani, Hausa, and Nupe communities in the city.
She stressed that preserving the dance requires a broad-based strategy involving education, policy backing, community participation, and creative innovation. She advocated the integration of the dance into arts education at all levels. She also urged cultural practitioners to modernise its appeal through creative fusion with contemporary genres.
Professor Sulyman urged government agencies, educational institutions, and private stakeholders to collaborate in providing funding, infrastructure, and policy frameworks needed to sustain the tradition.
She concluded that a holistic approach—anchored on education, innovation, community engagement, and institutional support—remains essential to safeguarding the future of Ijo Ọlọ́mọ Ọba, and projecting it internationally as part of Nigeria’s cultural heritage and creative economy.
Leave a comment