Portrayal of Yorùbá sociocultural heritage in the practice of the Kegite Movement in Nigerian tertiary institutions

Abstract

A discourse on Yorùbá sociocultural heritage is an excavation of aspects of the people’s ingenuity in an attempt to conquer nature and create a peaceful social existence. An exemplary Yorùbá person should have good knowledge of his/her cultural past and be able to transmit this to the future generation. The knowledge required in this area is acquired informally through participation in community activities. The objective of this article is to examine some aspects of Yorùbá sociocultural heritage as portrayed in the practice of the Kegite Movement in Nigerian tertiary institutions. The participant observation method of data collection in the research setting was adopted. The article also adopted a sociocultural theory for its analysis. Among the findings revealed in the study were that the Kegite Movement promotes aspects of the Yorùbá heritage which involves entrenching associations, teaching and enhancing morals through music, the method of selecting a king and his chiefs, use of language, and use of palm wine for entertainment purposes. This article concludes that the Kegite Movement has been a virile organisation in promoting Yorùbá sociocultural heritage and in uniting the youth in Nigerian tertiary institutions.