Don Blames Family Value Decline On Adoption Of Western Practices

A professor of African Traditional Religion and Cultural Studies, at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Adetunbi Ogunleye, has blamed family value decline, rising divorce rates and other vices on the adoption of western practices.

Delivering the 49th Inaugural Lecture of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, titled “Resting in Peace? The Dilemma of the Living Dead,” Ogunleye said, the growing acceptance of practices such as cohabitation and same-sex relationships has been identified as a factor in the collapse of family values and the rise in divorce cases in the country.

According to him, the practices are alien not only to Yoruba culture but also detrimental to the sanctity of marriage in the country, explaining that the traditional Yoruba worldview does not see sexuality as merely about pleasure or personal freedom but as a sacred act tied to procreation, spirituality, and community continuity.

“The harmonious union between male and female is not just natural but essential for societal balance and moral order,” he said.

Ogunleye further warned that the erosion of traditional values has triggered a moral crisis, evident in the rise of indecent dressing, sexual promiscuity, indiscriminate killings, and a general insensitivity to ethical and communal values that once held societies together.

He said these negative trends are clear signs of moral confusion resulting from the neglect of indigenous culture and belief systems.

Ogunleye described culture as the sum of material and intellectual tools people use to satisfy their biological and social needs.

He observed that many cultural values and practices that once defined Africans – especially the Yoruba – are fast disappearing under the weight of modernity and foreign influences.

The professor noted that traditional customs such as naming, marriage, and burial ceremonies have been altered by Western education and foreign religions to the extent that they no longer produce the moral and social outcomes they once guaranteed.

He pointed out that many now give names to children without deep thought or connection to the circumstances of birth, adding that the adoption of meaningless foreign names has weakened the moral attachment people once had to their names and identities.

According to him, the combined effects of Western civilization, foreign religions, and modernization have eroded the cultural pillars that sustained moral discipline and social harmony, leading to widespread moral decay and disorder in society.

He also linked the weakening of ancestral influence to the adoption of improper burial practices, noting that this deviation from tradition has disrupted the sacred connection between the living and their ancestors, who were once regarded as guardians of morality and protectors against evil.