…Says digital innovation should preserve, not erode, Yoruba values
By Kehinde Ajayi
A Professor of History and African Studies at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof. Akinkunmi Alao, has charged Yoruba youths to emulate the humility and value-driven leadership of the Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, describing him as a living model of the Omoluabi ethos in public service.
Delivering the keynote lecture at the International Conference of the School of Humanities, Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology (BOUESTI), Ikere-Ekiti, themed “Humanities in the Digital Age: Challenges and Prospects,” Prof. Alao stressed that the humanities remain essential to preserving the moral compass of society in an age dominated by technology.
According to him, digital innovation should not destroy ethical foundations but rather serve as a bridge to preserve, protect, and transmit cultural values and traditions for future generations.
“The digital revolution is not here to replace the humanities,” he said. “It should help expand and amplify human values, ethics, and communal identity. We must use technology to project who we are—not to forget where we come from.”
Prof. Alao cited Governor Oyebanji’s humility and reverence for elders as exemplary, recalling the Governor’s visits to Ekiti icons such as Aare Afe Babalola, Chief Deji Fasuan, and his former teachers.
“If a sitting Governor can bow in honour of his mentors and teachers, it shows that humility and gratitude remain the true marks of greatness,” he noted.
The Special Guest of Honour, Dr. Moyo Ekundayo, Special Adviser and Director-General, Office of Transmission and Service Delivery, Ekiti State, represented by Dr. Buhari, Senior Special Assistant, OTSD, commended BOUESTI’s School of Humanities for sustaining an intellectual dialogue that bridges ethics with digital transformation. She reaffirmed that Governor Oyebanji’s administration is deeply rooted in value reorientation and service-based governance.
Also in attendance was Barrister Wale Ojo-Lanre, Director-General of the Ekiti State Bureau of Tourism Development, who attended to honour Prof. Alao, his former lecturer at the Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo. Ojo-Lanre described his teacher as “a timeless fountain of wisdom whose teachings go beyond history into the soul of humanity.”
He added:
“The humanities are the soul of our civilization — they remind us who we are, even in the noise of algorithms and artificial intelligence. The digital age offers us a new canvas to tell our stories, but it also challenges us to retain the human heartbeat behind the data.
In Ekiti, we see digital tools not as threats to culture but as bridges — bridges connecting our past to the future, our oral traditions to global audiences, and our heritage sites to the curiosity of young people.
The real task before us is to humanize technology — to ensure that the digital revolution does not erase our values but amplifies them. If we can preserve our humanity in our technology, then the future of the humanities is secure, vibrant, and proudly African.”
The conference drew scholars, policymakers, and students from across Nigeria, who deliberated on how the humanities can evolve within the digital era while nurturing Africa’s enduring moral and cultural heritage.