Nigeria’s Wikimedia groups donate educational audiovisual material to U.I, UNILAG

Oral knowledge as a form of human communication involves the oral reception, preservation, and transmission of cultural content from one generation to the next. Folktales, ballads, chants, prose, and poetry may all be transmitted orally or musically. In this method, a culture can pass down oral history, oral literature, oral law, and other types of information to future generations without the need for writing systems or even in conjunction with them.

Between 2020 and 2022, the Wikimedia User Group Nigeria and the Yoruba Wikimedians User Group, with the support of the Wikimedia Foundation, which owns Wikipedia, produced 100 Nigerian oral histories and 20 audiovisual recordings of Yoruba Indigenous work to support learning, teaching, and other educational purposes.

On January 18, 2023, the Wikimedia User Group Nigeria and the Yoruba Wikimedians User Group collaborated to donate these materials to the Department of Linguistics and African Languages at the University of Ibadan.

The event was held at the Department of Linguistics and African Languages at the University of Ibadan. It was attended by the Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Professor O.A. Oyesile; the Head of the Department, Linguistics and African Languages, Professor Oye Taiwo; and the Head of the Department, History, Professor Rasheed Olaniyi.

Others included Professor Phillips Ogundeji, Professor Wole Oyetade, Professor Herbert Igboanusi, Professor Duro Adeleke, and other members of the academic staff.

The Head of the Department of Linguistics and African Languages, University of Ibadan, Professor Oye Taiwo, welcomed everyone to the event and introduced the faculty members to the donors, the Wikimedia User Group Nigeria, and the Yoruba Wikimedians User Group delegates, led by Olaniyan Olushola and Mikaeel Sodiq, respectively.

According to the Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Professor O.A. Oyesile “The work is most appreciated, especially because it creates new sources of knowledge and contributes to cultural revival.

“The work is not only useful for academia but also useful for indigenous cultures generally. The university is open to more collaboration between the town and the gown. It is my hope that the department will utilize this opportunity very well.”

Speaking at the University of Lagos on January 20, 2023, during the donation of audiovisual education materials to the Department of Linguistics, African, and Asian Studies, University of Lagos, Professor Nnabuihe Chigozie, the head of the department, said the donation to the department was timely as it happened at the time the faculty was discussing how to review its curriculum and promote collaboration between the town and the gown.

He thanked the Wikimedia User Group Nigeria and Yoruba Wikimedians User Group delegates for the donation and noted that the department is open to collaborations.