The House of Odùduwà wishes to inform the general public, both locally and internationally, that
ODÙDUWÀ MOBILE MUSEUM PROJECT will be unveiled. The museum is an initiative
which involves the Ọòni ̣ of Ifè,̣ the governments of Brazil and Cuba and over twenty other
countries of the world. The historic event will be flagged-off on 7
th September 2019 at the
Brazilian Embassy in Lagos. The whole event will last 60 days (two months) during which a
number out of over 1000 awesome artefacts of African origin gathered from different parts of the
world will be strategically moved from place to place within Lagos and exhibited for all to see. It
is a unique event that is scheduled to coincide with the 197th Independence Anniversary of
Brazil. Therefore, it will be a befitting celebration of Brazil’s independence of 7
th September
1822 on the continent of origin of millions of Brazilians. Being the only country of the world
with over 80 million Odùduwà descendants as part of her population, as a country that has
adopted Yorùbá as official language (lingua franca), and the first country to collaborate with the
House of Odùduwà on the promotion of African Heritage, the crucial place of Brazil in the
Odùduwà Mobile Museum project is worthy of note. It is therefore appropriate that the museum
project has been designed to have Ilé-Ifè ̣and Brazil as its bifurcated base.
As part of the unveiling ceremony, there will be a-four day exhibition of antiquities, art
recreations of divinities, and treasures of ancestors of the Odùduwà people. The cultural items
slated for the exhibition recall the earliest and superb civilization of the Odùduwà people spread
across the world and the place of preeminence of the Odùduwà people in the history of
humankind. The cultural items combine to reinforce the belief that, indeed, humanity originated
from Ilé-Ifè, the acclaimed origin of ̣ the Odùduwà people located in the South Western part of
Nigeria.
It should be recalled that science, through the MTDNA examination of blood of Odùduwà
human, has revealed 120,000 years of existence of the Odùduwà specie of humanity. The House
of Odùduwà also wishes to reiterate that researches have shown that the Odùduwà people started
the tradition of arts in casting, sculpturing, carving, and molding. Remains of ancestors of the
Odùduwà race dating back to well over thirteen thousand years ago have also been discovered
inside Ihò Eléérú (ashes cave) at Ìsàrun near Ìgbàrà-Òkè in Ondó State, Nigeria through valid
academic research. Valid academic investigations have also shown fossil of ancestors of the
Odùduwà people dating back to thousands of years ago. Somewhere in Ìresi in Òṣ̣ un State also,
tools showing civilization dating back to about 5, 000 years ago have been discovered by
certified researchers. All these are in addition to glass beads of different types such as sè ̣gi, Iyùn,
and ṣé ̣ṣé ̣efun discovered to have been in existence for several thousands of years have also been
discovered in Ile-Ife. All these are evidence of a great civilization which once existed. The
Odùduwà Mobile Museum Project is committed to showcasing all these as part of the necessary
reconstruction of the black human person who increasingly is being scientifically proven to be
the oldest specie of humanity. All these discoveries are of major interest to the House of
Odùduwà because of the credence they combine to lend the age-long belief that Ilé-Ifè, the ̣
spiritual capital of the Odùduwà people located at the center of Africa, is indeed the first city of
humanity from where all dispersed to various parts of the world.
Odùduwà Mobile Museum Project is a huge investment in the restoration and promotion of
African culture. The project promises lots of economic, political, and socio-cultural benefits as it
seeks to draw global attention to the richness of Odùduwà culture and stimulate a well-sustained
healthy conversation and international collaborations that will enhance the promotion of the
essence, values and beauty of Odùduwà cultural heritage. The Museum project is therefore
aimed at attracting and coordinating various interests and interest groups across the globe for
sustainable global peace and development initiatives that place emphasis on youth
encouragement and development. Specifically, it will serve as the hub for the collection of
diverse African cultural productions and knowledge-retrieval, knowledge-renewal and, of course,
knowledge-production center for traditional African material and intellectual cultures. In
recognition of the value of good memories and personalities worthy of emulation, the museum
project will equally be committed to honoring and celebrating persons who are of Odùduwà
ancestry and who are known to have performed or attained great feats as a way of spurring other
Odùduwà descendants to enviable heights.
In the light of the foregoing, Odùduwà Mobile Museum Project – the first of its kind – is set to
pursue the following broad objectives:
• to recognize the strategic importance of United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) acknowledgment of the great benefits in the
collaboration between the Municipal Secretariat of Culture of the City of Rio de Janeiro
and the Kingdom of Ifè, Nigeria, for the establishment of a House of Heritage, the ̣
Odùduwà Heritage House, in Rio de Janeiro
• to work for the reinforcement of “the historic ties of Brazil with Africa” as recognized by
the UNESCO
• to valorize the “memory and the cultural diversity” of Africa as a way of enlarging the
scope of valorizing the memory and the cultural diversity at the Valongo Wharf, as
inscribed on the World Heritage List in July, 2017
• to serve as the center for the collection, protection, exhibition, and promotion of
antiquities, treasures and traditional art forms of Africa
• to embark on initiatives that can restore and reinforce the dignity of the African person
such as the uprooted in the diaspora
• and to work in all possible ways for healthy global cultural interaction which will afford
African and Africans the rare privilege of showcasing their cultures and histories
• to encourage more collaborations (local and international) between the Ọòni ̣ of Ifè ̣and
nations/institutions/organizations/individuals that may be interested in the safety and
promotion of African heritage
• to promote rare positive virtues by which the Odùduwà hero/heroine is traditionally
defined through celebration of Odùduwà personalities (past or present) known for such
virtues.
The House of Odùduwà, on behalf of His Imperial Majesty, the Ọònị , the Brazilian government
and other major stakeholders in the Odùduwà Mobile Museum Project invite very important
dignitaries from government circles within and outside Nigeria, traditional rulers across regions
of Nigeria and the world at large, captains of industries within and outside Nigeria, cultural
ambassadors and promoters within and outside Nigeria, academicians, historians of repute,
cultural workers, enthusiasts and defenders of Odùduwà culture and history of all shades, among
others, to this epoch-making event.
It cannot be any other time apart from now for the world to hear from and through ILÉ-IFẸ̀,
WHERE IT ALL STARTED, the narrative of a continuum of the past, the present and the future!
