By Charles Pemu The recent controversy over the burial rites of the late Awujale of Ijebu-Ode has rekindled the enduring tension between culture and religion in Nigeria’s public consciousness. That a revered traditional monarch was laid to rest under Islamic rites eschewing certain customary practices has triggered reactions ranging from confusion to indignation. But beneath the surface lies a deeper, more urgent conversation: one that forces us to confront the evolving complexities of identity, belonging, and moral progress.
Culture and Religion: Kindred, Not Contradictory
Culture and religion are often treated as opposing forces, yet they are inextricably linked. Religion offers metaphysical guidance beliefs, rituals, and moral frameworks while culture shapes the lived realities of those beliefs. Far from being in competition, religion is typically a product of its cultural environment. Christianity in Brazil bears little resemblance to Christianity in Finland. Islam in Morocco expresses itself differently from Islam in Malaysia. Each is molded by the language, customs, and histories of its host society.
To claim religion is superior to culture is to misunderstand both. Religion is not immune to cultural expression it is shaped by it.
Culture Must Evolve Or It Dies
Culture should not be a cage. While it roots us to memory, heritage, and shared meaning, it must remain dynamic. Practices once widely accepted like the killing of twins in pre-colonial Efik communities are today condemned, thanks to cultural evolution sparked by moral awakening and activism.
To cling to outdated rituals under the guise of “tradition” risks turning culture into a fossil. It becomes a museum piece: admired, but no longer lived. The goal of culture should not be to resist progress, but to absorb it with dignity and wisdom.
When Cultural Identity Is a Target
This is not an abstract debate for those of us who have experienced the sting of cultural erasure. When one’s language is dismissed, when one’s history is rewritten, when identity is denied it is not just offensive, it is a form of symbolic violence. These erasures often lay the groundwork for real-world marginalization and injustice.
Culture is not merely decorative; it is existential. To strip someone of cultural belonging is to render them invisible—and ultimately, disposable. That is why neutrality in such debates is a luxury some of us cannot afford.
Cultural Identity and National Development
Contrary to popular belief, culture is not a distraction from development, it is its bedrock. A people confident in their identity are better equipped to innovate, collaborate, and contribute meaningfully to nation-building. Cultural pride fosters resilience, creativity, and social cohesion qualities sorely needed in today’s fractured world.
In postcolonial societies, where mental health crises and generational dislocation are common, cultural affirmation is therapeutic. It grounds the young and gives them a framework to interpret the world meaningfully.
Modernization with Moral Clarity
To modernize culture is not to destroy it—it is to refine and redeem it. A forward-facing cultural identity must be guided by reason, human dignity, and moral clarity. We must carry our past with reverence, not in bondage. We must inherit without being imprisoned, and question without becoming uprooted.
If we insist on using hoes for large-scale farming just because our ancestors did, we aren’t honoring tradition we are sabotaging development.
In the end, the debate over how a king is buried speaks to something larger: the right to choose, to adapt, and to evolve without losing oneself. The fight for cultural freedom is the fight for human dignity. And that, surely, is worth standing for