Professor Siyan-Oyeweso
A Professor of History at the Osun State University, Prof. Siyan Oyeweso, says the study and preservation of history is very important because it gives every man his own identity.
Oyeweso said this in a lecture at a two-day workshop on “Cutting-Edge Knowledge Production for 21st Century Historian and Diplomat”, at the Adeleke University, Ede.
According to him, every man has his own history and must learn how to preserve it.
“If you don’t write your history, they will write your history for you.
“They will give a different father, different mother to you,” he said.
He said that at the Osun State University, they prioritise “micro history” in the service of national development, explaining that it is little microchips (history) that could only become a national history, as history, according to him, is not taken at the top.
For his part, Vice President, Historical Society of Nigeria, Dr Fidelis Egbe, said the methodology workshop was intended to remove any bias about the discipline of History.
“I want you to understand that if you don’t know who you are, if you don’t know your history, you will lose your identity and once you lose your identity, you cease to be a human being,” he said, adding that the workshop had been held in Abuja by the society for four years, and that the council decided at its last meeting to decentralise the workshop.
He said that Adeleke University was the first to host it outside Abuja, urging participants to take it very seriously, “especially in the application of what we do on a daily basis”.
Dr Mary Alaba, the Acting Head of Department, History and International Studies, in the university, said the workshop was organised to foster an environment of collaboration and inquiry among the participants.
Alaba, who is also the Chairman, Local Organising Committee for the workshop, urged participants to reflect on the significance of historical methodology, noting that the study of history is more than memorising dates and events or the rise and fall of empires.
“Our methodologies allow us to analyse sources critically, interpret evidence, and construct narratives that resonate with both the past and present.
“It is about understanding the complexities of human experience and the contexts in which these events occurred,” she said
Gov. Ademola Adeleke, who was the Special Guest at the workshop, said a lot of historical facts were being distorted.
Adeleke, represented by a Commissioner in the Teaching Service Commission, Dr Abioye Oyewusi, attributed the cause of the ongoing communal crisis among Ilobu, Ifon, and Erin communities in the state to distortion of historical facts.
He said: “The conference has come at a timely period. History lets the facts speak for themselves.
“The best anyone can do is to narrate, but a lot of historical facts are being distorted.
“The communal crises going on in Ifon, Ilobu, and Erin Osun are about distortion of facts, and facts should not be distorted on any account.”
He advised participants (as historians) to always side with facts, saying, “no matter how we are emotionally attached to the subject, they should not allow the facts to get distorted.
“When cultural and emotional attachment to land becomes weaponised, it becomes a problem.
“Right now, it is a cycle of violence, where everyone just gets involved for the sake of violence.
“Not for the sake of winning, it is about causing as much damage as possible,” the governor said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was organised by Adeleke University, in collaboration with the society and 11 other universities in the South-West.
