Lagos: The Think Yoruba First Ogo Adulawo Socio-Cultural Association (TYF Worldwide) is striving for a genuine portrayal of Yoruba culture that will highlight the rich traditions, values, and heritage of the Yoruba people, ensuring that their cultural identity is accurately represented in various platforms.
Mr Oluwatobi Sanwo, Lead Legal Consultant of TYF, said on Wednesday in Lagos that falsified narratives threatened Yoruba civilisation and intellectual integrity globally.
He explained that the conference was convened to highlight cultural defamation and historical distortion against the Yoruba people, found in a recently published academic book.
According to him, the book falsely claims that the non-Yoruba group was the original inhabitants of Ile-Ife, alleging that the Yoruba were immigrants who usurped authority in their ancestral home.
Other falsehoods, he noted, included a fabricated empire preceding Ile-Ife, assertions unsupported by Ifa Corpus, oral traditions, or credible historical and anthropological research.
Sanwo condemned the distortions as cultural defamation, intellectual dishonesty, and potential ethnic provocation.
He stressed that Ile-Ife remained the undisputed cradle of Yoruba civilisation, recognised worldwide by scholars and authorities.
He said TYF had submitted petitions to Nigerian and international institutions, while raising public awareness to defend Yoruba heritage and intellectual truth against distortion and falsified narratives.
The association urged Yoruba people worldwide to unite in defence of Ile-Ife, while calling on the media to responsibly promote authentic Yoruba history and scholarship.
Sanwo reaffirmed TYF’s commitment to peaceful dialogue and collaboration with traditional rulers, academics, and the press, insisting Yoruba history was sacred, Ile-Ife non-negotiable, and identity indivisible.
He emphasised that TYF does not promote hatred toward any ethnic group, but would resist attempts to undermine Yoruba civilisation or distort ancestral history.
The association also appealed to government agencies, universities, and international cultural organisations to support Yoruba scholarship, fund research, and strengthen frameworks preserving African histories and indigenous knowledge systems.